THE CHILD AND

ADOLESCENT LEARNERS
AND LEARNING
PRINCIPLES

SUBMITTED BY:
DACUNO, JESSEL MAE G.

SUBMITTED TO:
MR. JEFFREY JARANTILLA
THEORIES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

What is Human Development?

Theories of development mainly focus on understanding how the child comes to
understand and deal with the rising complexity of living in the world and dealing with
themselves. As a result, theories of human development take many different stances on
how one might go about doing this effectively. The main purpose for all of these
theories, however, is to better understand the areas where issues within human
development may arise and treat or prevent them effectively.
In the early 20th century, human development theories began to rise with the treatment
of troubled children. The use of human development theories became quickly
popularized because of the apparent usefulness it has for future humanity and the
positive outlook that one's childhood might not need to affect the rest of their life.
Theories of human development allow problems of childhood to be viewed in a positive
way, as something that can be fixed according to the corresponding theory.
The main developmental theories influencing psychology today follow the thought of
major psychological schools of thought. The five most important theories are those of
Freud, Piaget, Erikson, Bowlby, and Bandura. The reason why these are the five main
theories of human development is because of their influence on schools of thought in
psychology, and the intellectuals who came up with them.

STAGES OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Stage 1 — Infancy: Trust vs. Mistrust

In the first stage of human development, infants learn to trust based on how well their
caregivers meet their basic needs and respond when they cry. If an infant cries out to
be fed, the parent can either meet this need by feeding and comforting the infant or not
meet this need by ignoring the infant. When their needs are met, infants learn that
relying on others is safe; when their needs go unmet, infants grow up to be less trusting.

Stage 2 — Toddlerhood: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

In addition to autonomy versus shame and doubt, another way to think of the second
stage is independence versus dependence. Like in the first stage, toddlers go through
this stage responding to their caregivers. If caregivers encourage them to be
independent and explore the world on their own, toddlers will grow up with a sense of
self-efficacy. If the caregivers hover excessively or encourage dependence, these
toddlers grow up with less confidence in their abilities.

For example, if a toddler wants to walk without assistance in a safe area, the caregiver
should encourage this autonomy by allowing the independent behavior. If the caregiver
insists on holding the toddler’s hand even when it’s not necessary, this attention can
lead to doubt later in life.

Stage 3 — Preschool Years: Initiative vs. Guilt

During the preschool years, children learn to assert themselves and speak up when
they need something. Some children may state that they’re sad because a friend stole
their toy. If this assertiveness is greeted with a positive reaction, they learn that taking
initiative is helpful behavior. However, if they’re made to feel guilty or ashamed for their
assertiveness, they may grow up to be timid and less likely to take the lead.

Stage 4 — Early School Years: Industry vs. Inferiority

When children begin school, they start to compare themselves with peers. If children
feel they’re accomplished in relation to peers, they develop strong self-esteem. If,
however, they notice that other children have met milestones that they haven’t, they
may struggle with self-esteem. For example, a first grader may notice a consistently
worse performance on spelling tests when compared with peers. If this becomes a
pattern, it can lead to feelings of inferiority.

ISSUES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The Study of Development Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that

describes, explains, predicts, and sometimes aims to modify age-related behaviors from
conception to death; this field emphasizes maturation, early experiences, and various
stages in development. All fields of psychology are faced with theoretical issues. There
are three theoretical issues in human development; nature versus nurture, continuity
versus stages and stability versus change.

 The first issue is nature versus nurture.

This controversy goes back to the ancient Greeks. Early philosophers believed that at
birth our minds are a 'blank state' and that one's environment determines the messages
that will be written on the slate. Naturists believe that human behavior and development
are governed by automatic, genetically predetermined signals in maturation. There is a
favorable period after birth called a critical period when the organism's exposure to
stimuli or experiences produce proper development. Nurturists argue that development
occurs by learning through observation and experience. For example, a child would
learn behaviors by watching his or her parents or other close family members.

 The second issue is continuity versus stages.

Continuity proposes that development is continuous, with new abilities, skills and
knowledge gradually added at a relatively uniform rate. It also suggests that adult
thinking and intelligence differ from a child's. For example, adults have more verbal
skills than children. Stage theorists suggest that development occurs at different rates
that vary from little change to rapid, abrupt change. Stage theories include: Piaget's
theory of cognitive development, Erikson's psychosocial theory of development, and
Kohlberg's theory of moral development.

 The third and final issue is stability versus change.

Stability proposes that individuals maintain their personal characteristics from childhood
to adulthood. They emphasize that one can tell what kind of character an individual will
have by the characteristics they display during childhood. Psychologists who emphasize
change disagree entirely. They believe that a child's personality and characteristics bear
little resemblance to the characteristics present in adulthood.

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
Developmental theories present systematic ways of thinking about how human beings
grow from babies to adolescents to adults to elderly people, and the various changes
they undergo as they make this passage.

Types of Developmental Theory

1. Psychoanalytic theory
 Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of
personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating
psychopathology. First laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century,
psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work.
Psychoanalytic theory divides the psyche into three functions:
the id—unconscious source of primitive sexual, dependency, and aggressive
impulses;
the superego—subconsciously interjects societal mores, setting standards to live
by; and
the ego—represents a sense of self and mediates between realities of the moment
and psychic needs and conflicts. 

2. Cognitive Development

The Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist,

suggests that children's intelligence undergoes changes as they grow. Cognitive
development in children is not only related to acquiring knowledge, children need
to build or develop a mental model of their surrounding world (Miller, 2011).

Stages of Cognitive Development

According to Jean Piaget, stages of development takes place via the interaction

between natural capacities and environmental happenings, and children experience a
series of stages (Wellman, 2011). 

 From birth to 18-24 months: Sensorimotor stage (Object permanence)

The infants use their actions and senses to explore and learn about their surrounding
environment.

 From 2 to 7 years: Preoperational stage (Symbolic thought)

Young children and Toddlers gain the ability to represent the world internally through
mental imagery and language.

 7 to 11 years: Concrete operational stage (Logical thought)

At this stage, children start to show logical thinking about concrete events.

 age 12 and above: Formal operational stage (Symbolic reasoning)

At this stage, individuals perform concrete operations on things and they perform formal

operations on ideas. Formal logical thinking is totally free from perceptual and physical
barriers.

3. Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory of moral development is a theory that focuses on how children

develop morality and moral reasoning. Kohlberg's theory suggests that moral
development occurs in a series of six stages. The theory also suggests that moral logic
is primarily focused on seeking and maintaining justice.
Stages of Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory is broken down into three primary levels. At each level of moral
development, there are two stages. Similar to how Piaget believed that not all people
reach the highest levels of cognitive development, Kohlberg believed not everyone
progresses to the highest stages of moral development.

Level 1. Preconventional Morality

Preconventional morality is the earliest period of moral development. It lasts until

around the age of 9. 

 Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment): The earliest stages of moral

development, obedience and punishment are especially common in young
children, but adults are also capable of expressing this type of reasoning.

 Stage 2 (Individualism and Exchange): At the individualism and

exchange stage of moral development, children account for individual points of
view and judge actions based on how they serve individual needs. 

Level 2. Conventional Morality

The next period of moral development is marked by the acceptance of social rules
regarding what is good and moral. During this time, adolescents and adults internalize
the moral standards they have learned from their role models and from society.

 Stage 3 (Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships): Often referred to as

the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of the interpersonal relationship of
moral development is focused on living up to social expectations and roles.

 Stage 4 (Maintaining Social Order): This stage is focused on ensuring that

social order is maintained. At this stage of moral development, people begin to
consider society as a whole when making judgments.

 Level 3. Postconventional Morality

At this level of moral development, people develop an understanding of abstract

principles of morality. The two stages at this level are:

 Stage 5 (Social Contract and Individual Rights): The ideas of a social contract
and individual rights cause people in the next stage to begin to account for the
differing values, opinions, and beliefs of other people.

 Stage 6 (Universal Principles): Kohlberg’s final level of moral reasoning is

based on universal ethical principles and abstract reasoning.

4. Sociocultural Theory
Sociocultural theory stresses the role that social interaction plays in psychological
development. It suggests that human learning is largely a social process, and that our
cognitive functions are formed based on our interactions with those around us who are
"more skilled."2
According to the sociocultural perspective, our psychological growth is guided, in part,
by people in our lives who are in mentor-type roles, such as teachers and parents.
Other times, we develop our values and beliefs through our interactions within social
groups or by participating in cultural events. Sociocultural theory grew from the work of
psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who believed that parents, caregivers, peers, and the
culture at large are responsible for developing higher-order functions. According to
Vygotsky, learning has its basis in interacting with other people. Once this has occurred,
the information is then integrated on the individual level.

Vygotsky contended that children are born with basic biological constraints on their
minds. Each culture, however, provides "tools of intellectual adaptation." These tools
allow children to use their abilities in a way that is adaptive to the culture in which they
live.

5. Ecological Theory

Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory views child development as a complex

system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment, from
immediate settings of family and school to broad cultural values, laws, and customs.

To study a child's development then, we must look not only at the child and her
immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.
Bronfenbrenner divided the person's environment into five different systems: the
microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the
chronosystemm. The microsystem is the most influential level of the ecological systems
theory. This is the most immediate environmental settings containing the developing
child, such as family and school. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory has
implications for educational practice.

The Five Ecological Systems

Bronfenbrenner (1977) suggested that the environment of the child is a nested
arrangement of structures, each contained within the next. He organized them in order
of how much of an impact they have on a child.

The Microsystem
The microsystem is the first level of Bronfenbrenner's theory, and are the things that
have direct contact with the child in their immediate environment, such as parents,
siblings, teachers and school peers.

The Mesosystem
The mesosystem encompasses the interactions between the child’s microsystems, such
as the interactions between the child’s parents and teachers, or between school peers
and siblings.

The Exosystem
The exosystem is a component of the ecological systems theory developed by Urie
Bronfenbrenner in the 1970s. It incorporates other formal and informal social structures,
which do not themselves contain the child, but indirectly influence them as they affect
one of the microsystems.

The Macrosystem
The macrosystem is a component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory that
focuses on how cultural elements affect a child's development, such as socioeconomic
status, wealth, poverty, and ethnicity.

The Chronosystem

The fifth and final level of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is known as the
chronosystem.
This system consists of all of the environmental changes that occur over the lifetime
which influence development, including major life transitions, and historical events.
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