Child and

Adolescent
Development
Looking at Learners at Different
Life Stages

EDUC 50
 UNIT 1: BASIC CONCEPTS AND ISSUES ON
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Part I: Introduction

Module 1: Human Development: Meaning, Concepts and

Approaches

Growth
¬ Pertains to the physical change and increase in size.
¬ Can be measured quantitatively.
¬ Indicators of growth are height, weight, bone size and dentition.
¬ The growth rate is rapid during the prenatal, neonatal, infancy, and adolescence.
¬ It slows during childhood.
¬ It is minimal during adulthood.
Development
¬ Involves increases in the complexity of function and skill progression.
¬ Is the capacity and skill of a person to adapt to the environment.
¬ Pertains to the behavioral aspect of growth.
Maturation
¬ Consists of changes that occur relatively independent of the environment.
¬ Usually considered to be genetically-programmed the result of heredity.

Human Development
Human development is the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and
continues through the life span.
Development includes growth and decline, it means that development can be positive or
negative (Santrock, 2002).

Principles of Human Development

1. Development is relatively orderly.
Proximodistal Pattern - the muscle control of a childs’ trunk and arms comes earlier
compared to the hands and fingers. A child can sit, walk and crawl before they can run, from
inner to outer.
 Cephalo-caudal Pattern - the greatest growth always occurs at the top during infancy.
The head, with physical growth in size, weight and future differentiation gradually work its way
down, from top to bottom (from neck to shoulder to middle trunk and so on).
By understanding how characteristics develop, we can make relatively accurate and useful
predictions learners and design effective instructional strategies.

2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes of developmental

processes are likely to vary among individuals.
If a child came from a good family, they may become responsible adults. But if they were
raised in a deprived environment, they may develop into irresponsible adults.
Factors such as heredity and environment can make an individual to develop differently
from other individuals.Because of these factors, we can expect individual differences in
developmental characteristics and variations in the ages when people will experience events that
will influence their development.

3. Development takes place gradually.

While some changes occur in a flash, development takes weeks, months or years for a
person to undergo changes that results in the display of developmental characteristics.

4. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive

and socioemotional processes.
Biological Processes involve changes in the individual’s physical nature. They will gain
weight, experience hormonal changes when they reach puberty and cardiovascular decline as
they approach adulthood.
Cognitive Processes involve changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence and
language.
Socioemotional processes include changes in the individual’s relationship with other
people, changes in emotions and in personality.
These processes are intertwined with each other; the effect of one process or factor on a
person’s development is not isolated from the other processes.
2 Approaches to Human Development
Traditional Approach – an individual shows extensive change from birth to adolescence,
little or no change in adulthood, and decline in late old age.
Life-span Approach – even in adulthood, developmental change takes place as it does
during childhood.

 Characteristics of Development in Life-span Perspective

1. Development is lifelong. It does not end in adulthood. No development stage
dominates development.
2. Development is multidimensional. Development consists of biological, cognitive
and socio-emotional dimensions.
3. Development is plastic. Development is possible throughout the life-span.
4. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing beings in a changing world.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation. Growth,
maintenance, and regulation are the 3 goals of human development. The goals of individual
vary among developmental stages.

Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice:

Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in early childhood program for children from birth
through age 8, which were stated in the position paper of the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (2009). They affirm the principles of human development and
characteristics of life-span development approach. Find out which one is a re-statement of the
principles of human development.

1. All the domains of development and learning – physical, cognitive and socio-emotional are
important, and they are closely interrelated. Children’s development and learning In one
domain influence and are influenced by what takes place in other domains.

2. Many aspects of children’s learning and development follow well documented sequences,
with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already acquired.

3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven
rates across different areas of a child’s individual functioning.

4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of biological
maturation and experience.
5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a child’s
development and learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of development and
learning to occur.

6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or

representational capacities.

7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive
adults and opportunities for positive relationship with peers.

8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.

9. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children learn in a
variety of ways; a wide range of teaching strategies and interactions are effective in
supporting all these kinds of learning.

10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting
language, cognition and social competence.

11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just
beyond their current mastery, and also when they have many opportunities to practice newly
acquired skills.

12. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning such as
persistence, initiative and flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and behaviors affect their
learning and development.