Lesson 6: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES AND OTHER RELEVANT THEORIES

D. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Individuals, when confronted by situations where they need to make moral decisions,
exercise their own ability to use moral reasoning. Lawrence Kohlberg was interested in
studying the development of moral reasoning. He based his theory on the findings of Piaget
in studying cognitive development. Our ability to choose right from wrong is tied with our
ability to understand and reason logically.

Lawrence Kohlberg built on Piaget’s work and set the groundwork for the present
debate within psychology on moral development. Like Piaget, he believed that children form
ways of thinking through their experiences which include understandings of moral concepts
such as justice, rights, equality and human welfare.
If Piaget designed specific tasks (Piagetian Task) to learn about the cognitive
development of children, Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas (Kohlberg Dilemmas) . From
his research, Kohlberg identified six stages of moral reasoning grouped into three major
levels. Each level represents a significant change in the social-moral reasoning or
perspective of the person.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Level Stage Description

Punishment/Obedience one is motivated
Preconventional Level 1 by fear of punishment. He will act in order
Moral reasoning is based on the to avoid punishment
consequences/result of the act, not
on the whether the act itself is good Mutual benefit one is motivated to act by
or bad. 2 the benefit that one may obtain later. You
scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

Social Approval one is motivated by what

Conventional Level 3 others expect in behavior – good boy,
Moral reasoning is based on the good girl. The person acts because he/she
conventions or “norms” of society. values how he/she will appear to others.
This may include approval of He/she gives importance on what people
others, law and order will think or say.

4 Law and Orders, one is motivated to act

in order to uphold law and order, the
Post-Conventional person will follow the law because it is the
Moral reasoning is based on law
enduring or consistent principles. It 5 Social Contract laws that are wrong cab
is not just recognizing the law, but changed. One will act based on social
the principles behind the law. justice and the common good
6 Universal Principle this is associated with
the development of one’s conscience.
Having a set of standards that drives one
to posse’s moral responsibility to make
societal changes regardless of
consequences to oneself. Examples are
Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King.
E. Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory

The key theme of Vygotsky’s theory is that social interaction plays a very important
role in cognitive development. He believed that individual development could not be
understood without looking into the social and cultural context within which development
happens. Scaffolding is Vygotsky’s term for the appropriate assistance given by the
teacher to assist the learner accomplish a task.

When Vygotsky was a young boy he was educated under a teacher who used the
Socratic Method. This method was a systematic question and answer approach that
allowed Vygotsky to examine current thinking and practice higher levels of understanding.
This experience, together with his interest in literature and his work as a teacher, led him to
recognize social interaction and language as two central factors in cognitive
development. His theory became known as the Social-Cultural Theory of Development.

Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky worked on his theory around the same time as Piaget in between the
1920’s and 30’s but they had clear differences in their views about cognitive development.

Piaget Vygotsky
More individual in focus More social in focus
Believed that there is universal stage of Did not propose stages but emphasized on
cognitive development. cultural factors in cognitive development
Did not give much emphasis on language Stressed the role of language in cognitive
development

Social Interaction

Piaget’s theory was more individual, while Vygotsky was more social. Piaget’s work
on Piagetian’s tasks focused heavily on how an individual’s cognitive development became
evident through the individual’s own processing of the tasks. While Vygotsky gave more
weight on the social interactions that contributed to the cognitive development of individual.
For him, the social environment or the community takes on a major role in one’s
development.

Vygotsky emphasized that effective learning happens through participation in social

activities, making the social context of learning crucial. The parents, teachers, and other
adults in the learning environment explain, model, assist, give directions, and provide
feedback to the learners. Peers on the other hand, cooperate and collaborate and enrich the
learning experiences.

Cultural Factors

Vygotsky believed in the crucial role that culture played on the cognitive development
of children. Piaget believed that as the child develops and matures, he goes through
universal stages of cognitive development that allows him to move from simple explorations
with senses and muscles to complex reasoning. Vygotsky on the other hand, looked into the
wide range of experiences that a culture would give to a child. For instance, one culture’s
view about education, how children are trained early in life all can contribute to the cognitive
development of the child.
Language

Language opens the door for learners to acquire knowledge that others already have.
Learners can use language to know and understand the world and solve problems.
Language serves a social function but it also has an important individual function. It helps
the learner regulate and reflect on his own thinking. Children talking to themselves is an
indication of the thinking that goes on in the mind of the child. This will eventually lead to
private speech. Private speech is a form of self-talk that guides the child’s thinking and
action.
Vygotsky believed in the essential role of activities in learning. Children learn best
through hands-on activities than when listening passively.

Zone of Proximal Development

When a child attempts to perform a skill alone, she may not be immediately proficient
at it. So, alone she may perform at a certain level of competency. We refer to this as the
zone of actual development. However, with the guidance of a More Knowledgeable
Other (MKO), competent adult or a more advanced peer, the child can perform at a higher
level of competency. The difference between what the child can accomplish alone and what
she can accomplish with the guidance of another is referred to as zone of proximal
development. The zone represents a learning opportunity where a knowledgeable adult
can assist the child’s development.

The support or assistance that lets the child accomplishment a task he cannot
accomplishment independently is called scaffolding. Scaffolding is not about doing the
task for the child while he watches. It is not about doing shortcuts for the child. Scaffolding
should involve the judicious assistance given by the adult or peer so that the child can move
from the zone of actual to the zone of proximal development. The instructor should scaffold
in such a way that the gap is bridged between the learner’s current skill levels and the
desired skill level. As learners become more proficient, able to complete task on their own
that they could not initially do without assistance, the guidance can be withdrawn. This is
called scaffold and fade-away technique. Scaffolding, when done appropriately can make
a learner confident and eventually he can accomplish the task without any need for
assistance.
When the MKO scaffolds, the process moves in four levels:
1. I do, you watch.
2. I do, you help.
3. You do, I help.
4. You do, I watch.
Learning will depend in the skill of the MKO, and the learners readiness and ability to
learn and the difficulty of the skill being learned.

F. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Urie Bronfenbrenner came up with a simple yet useful paradigm showing the different
factors that exert influence on an individual’s development. It points out the ever-widening
spheres of influence that shape every individual, from his/her immediate family to the
neighborhood, the country, even the world.

Bronfenbrenner’s model also known as the Bioecological Systems theory presents

child development within the context of relationship systems that comprise the child’s
environment. It describes multipart layers of environment that has an effect on the
development of the child. Each layer is further made up of different structures. The term
“bioecological” points out that a child’s own biological make-up impacts as a key factor in
one’s development.
Through the child’s growing and developing body and the interplay between his
immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his
development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers.

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model: Structure of Environment

The microsystem

The microsystem is the layer nearest the child. It comprises structures which the
child directly interacts with. It includes structures such as one’s family, school and
neighborhood. As such, the microsystem covers the most basic relationships and
interactions that a child has in his/her immediate environment. In this layer, relationship
effects happen in two directions- both away from the child and toward the child. The child is
affected by the behavior and beliefs of the parents; however, the child also affects the
behavior and beliefs of the parents. Bronfenbrenners calls these Bi-directional influences
and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. This is quite similar to what
Erickson’s termed as “mutuality” in his psychosocial theory.
Bronfenbrenner’s theory looks into the interaction of structures within a layer and
interactions of structures between layers. At the microsystem level, the child is most
affected by these bi-directional influences. However, interactions at outer layers still
influences the structures of the microsystem.

The mesosystem

This layer serves as the connection between the structures of the child’s
microsystem. For example, the mesosystem will include the link or interaction between the
parents and teachers, or the parent and health services or the community and the church.

The exosystem

This layer refers to the bigger social system in which the child does not function
directly. This includes the city government, the workplace and the mass media. The
structures in this layer may influence the child’s development by somehow affecting some
structure in the child’s microsystem. This includes the circumstances of the parent’s work
like the location and schedules. The child may not interact directly with what is in the
exosystem,but he is likely to feel the positive or negative impact this system creates as it
interacts with the child’s own system.

The macrosystem:

This layer is found in the outermost part in the child’s environment. This includes the
cultural values, customs and laws. The belief system contained in one’s macrosystem
permeates all the interactions in the other layers and reaches the individual. For example, in
China and some parts of the world, sons are more valuable than daughters. This may pose
challenges for girls as they are growing up. Because of differences in in beliefs and
customs, children from different parts of the world experience different child-rearing
practices and therefore differences in development as well.

The chronosystem:

it covers the element of time as it relates to a child’s environments. This involves

“patterns of stability and change” in the child’s life. This involves whether the child’s day
is characterized by an orderly predictable pattern or whether the child is subjected to
sudden changes in routine. This system can affect or influence the child externally, like the
timing of other siblings coming or the timing of parental separation or even death. Effect can
also be internal like in the bodily changes that occur within the developing child like the
timing of menstrual onset for girls. As the children grow older, they may acquire the ability to
cope and decide to what extent they will allow changes around them to affect them.

NB
The ecological systems theory focuses on the quality and context of the child’s
environment. Bronfenbrenner pointed out that as a child develops, the interplay within the
layers of environment systems becomes more complex. This bioecological theory helps us
determine how the different circumstances, conditions and relationships in the world affects
the child as he or she goes through the more or less predicatable sequence of natural
growth and development.

The Role of Schools and Teachers

According to the bioecological theory, if the relationships in the immediate

microsystem breakdown, the child will not have the tools to explore other parts of his
environment. Children looking for the affirmations that should be present in the child/parent
relationship look for attention in inappropriate places. These deficiencies show themselves
especially in adolescence as anti-social behavior, lack of self-discipline, and inability to
provide self-direction.
This theory helps teachers look into every child’s environmental systems in order to
understand more about the characteristics and needs of each child/learner. The schools and
the teachers can contribute stability and long term relationships but only to support and not
replace the relationships in the home. They should work together so that the school
becomes an environment that welcomes and nurtures families.
Bronfenbrenner also stressed that society should value work done on behalf of
children at all levels, and consequently value parents, teachers, extended family, mentors,
work supervisors and legislators.