Assignment #2.

Foundations of Education
Submitted by: April Marie Vinchelli A. Jucoy
(English major)

1. What is the relationship of psychology to education?

 Though these two different terms my also differ in definitions, since psychology is the study of human
behavior while education is the process of modifying human behavior, yet both still deal with human
behavior in different ways Education and psychology are interdependent. One psychologist said that I
did not understand how a teacher could teach without the knowledge of education Psychology.
Psychology had changed the spirit of education and it gives new meaning to learning in classroom.
Psychology also changed the old concept of education where only upper class had the ability and right
to learn. Psychology gives education the theory of individual differences that every child has different
mental ability and learns with different pace.
Today in modern era, education psychology is the foundation of education. Psychology effect education
in every filed of teaching learning process.

2. Which do you think is more important to human development, heredity or environmental influences?
Why?
 Heritability is a statistical measure that expresses the proportion of the observed variability in a trait
that is a direct result of genetic variability. Environmental influences can be divided into two classes,
shared and non-shared environment. Both heredity and environment contribute to personality traits and
that the degree of their individual contributions cannot be specified for any traits. Although a person’s
environment plays an important part in their personality development, heredity factors play a larger role
in deciding disposition of this environment. Both hereditary and environmental factors can influence a
person’s personality. Heredity sets the limitation which environmental differences decide the
concluding result. However, genetic factors have a larger effect on personality traits. Through twins
and adoption studies, and the hereditary of schizophrenia, it can be seen that hereditary has a bigger
effect on personality as compared to family environment. Thus, studies of heritability and limited
parental influence all point to the notion that personality traits are more of expressions of human biology
rather than products of life experiences.

3. What are development tasks? How would knowledge of development tasks at each level of
development help a teacher in his job?
 A developmental task is a task that arises at or about a certain period in life, unsuccessful achievement
of which leads to inability to perform tasks associated with the next period or stage in life. Teachers
need to understand what developmental tasks are typical of children and adolescents at different ages
mostly for three reasons: one, so that they can teach to the whole child, and assist students in achieving
developmental milestones; two, so that they can teach appropriately, with expectations for children that
match their developmental stages and abilities.; and three, so that they can support the child in his
education by watching for possible problems around achieving age-appropriate skills and behaviors. Of
course, developmental guidelines and their associated tasks are generalizations. The teacher must also
always consider that an individual student may or may not fit into those “standard” patterns—-in fact,
humans generally don’t.
4. List the principles of growth san development which are significant to the teacher.
 There are three principles of growth and development: the cephalocaudal principle, the
proximodistal principle, and the orthogenetic principle. These predictable patterns of growth and
development allow us to predict how and when most children will develop certain characteristics.
Growth and development is one of the important subject of psychology. It is essential for every teacher
and parents know the fundamentals of growth and development. Good, effective teaching and guidance
depend on the study of growth and development. Effective learning takes place when learning situations
are arranged in accordance with the growth and development.

5. Why is adolescence referred to as period of conflict? List down some of the conflicts that you observe
among adolescents of your acquaintance.
 Adolescence is the transitional period of your life between childhood and adulthood. It extends from
13 to 20 years of age. It is the period of rapid change, both physically and psychologically. It is the
period of challenges, one requiring adjustment to changes in the self, in the peer group and in the
family. For both children’s and their parents, it is the time of excitement and anxiety; of discovery and
confusion, of breaks with the past and links with the future, and of happiness and troubles. There is no
doubt that for parents, the teen years present a big challenge. There is lot of conflicts between children
and parents. But why this happens during this period? This is due to the various hormonal changes,
physical development, cognitive changes and social development.
 When children go through puberty, there is often a significant increase in parent–child conflict and a
less cohesive familial bond. Arguments often concern minor issues of control, such as curfew,
acceptable clothing, and the adolescent's right to privacy. Siblings are a source of conflict and frustration
as well as a support system.

6. Compare two persons you know of the same age and sex. To what extent do they differ? What do
you think are the causes of such differences?
 Two persons with the same age and sex will always have their own differences. Individual differences
primarily reflected individual specific environmental influences at all ages. They may differ in health
perceptions, physical and mental, the extent of age differences across the life span, and whether there
are different determinants in men than in women. They may also differ in diseases and symptoms, their
attitudes, abilities, skills, mental capacities and others.

7. In your own opinion, in what ways should the educational program for boys and girls different?
 The educational program for boys and girls differ in many ways. Boys and girls do differ on average in
ways that parallel conventional gender stereotypes and that affect how the sexes behave at school and
in class. The differences have to do with physical behaviors, styles of social interaction, academic
motivations, behaviors, and choices. They have a variety of sources—primarily parents, peers, and the
media. Teachers are certainly not the primary cause of gender role differences, but sometimes teachers
influence them by their responses to and choices made on behalf of students.
8. It has been said that a certain amount of conflict between adolescents and their parents is inevitable.
Do you believe this? Defend the position you take with facts.
 The ability for an adolescent to be able to think on his own and yet have parents who have rules and
expectations sets the pair of for conflict. Teenagers don't necessarily hold the same beliefs and values
as their parents, and their goal to have fun conflicts with parents’ goal to keep them safe. Conflict
happens when two people disagree based on their own goals, values, or beliefs. Parents and teenagers
inherently have many opportunities to have conflict. Adolescence is a time when independence and
parental influence conflict. Conflict is in the simple as an argument. Conflict is what happened right
before the argument. That's what two people disagreed about before they started calling each other
names. Parent/child conflict increases during adolescence as the healthy teenager pushes for more
independence to grow and healthy parents restrain that push in the interests of safety and responsibility.

9. As you look back on your own adolescence, what do you consider the most important events or
experiences which were evidences of your achieving independence from adults?
 During my adolescent days, there were indeed hefty of important events that happened in my life of
which I call important experiences which were evidences of me achieving my very most awaited
independence not only from my adult siblings but also from my parents. These happen when I do good
in school and they see that my grades were continually improving, they would commend me and trust
me more which would start with little things such as trusting me with my study habits with less
supervision, giving me additional money for my “baon”, they start to give me some outlets for thrill
seeking, and trust me with the people I befriend with. Those are just few of the experiences I had but I
treasured them the most. Though they gave me a bit of freedom and trust, they never fail to let me feel
that I can always rely on their support, anytime, that they would always be there for me to guide and
teach me lessons about life and how I should be dealing with it.

10. Prepare a list of ways by which the theories of Piaget and Erikson may be applied in the classroom
by the teacher.
 The theory proposed by Piaget focuses on the various stages of a child where transition from one stage
to the other follows a sequence. He developed the stages with key ideas as his building blocks. It is
necessary to look into the concepts that form the bases of his theory. Firstly is the issue of schemata
that he conceptualized as the mental structure that represents the world. Through the learning process,
children change their schemata by adapting, due to assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation adds
new information to the existing schemata while adaptation modifies new information into the schemata.
Ideally, there is balance between assimilation and accommodation to ensure equilibrium. Erikson’s
theory dealt in the development with eight unique stages across the life of a person. New hurdles characterized
each stage; the way the person deals with hurdles at a stage determines the aftermath. Consequently, naming of
the stages occurred with the likely outcomes in mind. Erikson draws inspiration from the psychoanalytic
school of thought as earlier espoused by Freud (Smart 79). His theory came into being later than
Piaget’s; Erikson added more ideas to Freud’s theory, that the environment determined personality in
individuals. Erikson recognized the significance of sense, autonomy versus shame and doubt provides
a compelling example of this. The child uses symbols to represent people and places. Challenges are
bound to occur in every stage in Erikson’s theory; in contrast, Piaget focus ends in adulthood while
assuming the advent of old age.
 Piaget believed that children reach distinct stages in cognitive development. Between ages 2 and 7,
children are egocentric and have trouble understanding different viewpoints or empathizing with
 others. They classify objects by a single characteristic, such as color or shape, without acknowledging
other qualities. From ages 7 to 11, children are capable of logical thought about objects or events.
They classify objects by several different characteristics. Young people over the age of 11 are able to
think abstractly and hypothetically. They feel more concern for ideological and moral issues, not just
concrete reality. Guide the students. Piaget recommended that teachers take an active, mentoring role
toward students. Instead of pushing information at students while they sit and listen passively, share
the learning experience and encourage students to be active and engaged. Take your students
seriously and respect their ideas, suggestions and opinions. Supplement traditional lectures with
relevant, hands-on classroom activities that let students experience the content for themselves. Allow
students to learn from their mistakes. Piaget believed that children develop knowledge about the
world through trial and error. Mistakes can be frustrating for the students as well as the teacher, but
try to model patience and guide the student toward a different conclusion. Mistakes show that the
student is actively interacting with the world around her and trying out new ideas for herself. Focus
on the process as well as the result. Instead of focusing on having one right answer, pay attention to
the many different steps it takes to reach a finished product. For instance, during an art lesson ask the
students to notice the different ways they create a painting. Some may start at the bottom edge of the
easel while others begin at the middle. Respect each student's individual interests, abilities and limits.
Different children reach developmental stages at different times. Rather than pressuring every child to
adapt to one learning style, pay attention to each child's developmental stages and adapt the lessons
accordingly. Piaget encouraged independent, hands-on learning and opportunities for discovery. Plan
a variety of classroom activities that accommodate different learning styles, such as visual or
auditory.
 For Erikson’s theory, he suggested to give children the opportunity to make choices and act upon
those choices. Because the crisis of initiative vs. guilt determines whether a child learns to plan
activities on her own or comes to associate self-directed behavior with punishment, she must have the
opportunity to make decisions. Provide a portion of the day when children can choose their own
activities. Have a classroom library where children can pick their own books during reading time.
This allows children the opportunity to learn how to make decisions for themselves. Break instruction
and activities down into small steps. This makes it easier for children to succeed and encourages them
to take risks. Without this framework, children may become frustrated by activities and sense that
they are doomed to complete them poorly.