AQUINO, Melvin M.

Prof Largo
BEEd – 1A EED02

THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LEARNERS

AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - Meaning, Concepts and Approaches

Human Development
 the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through
the life span.
 includes growth and decline
 can be positive or negative

Major Principles of Human Development

1. Development is relatively orderly.
 Proximodistal Pattern - Development proceeds from the center of the body
outward.
 Cephalocaudal Pattern - Development proceeds from the head downward.
2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes of
developmental processes and rate of development are likely to vary among individuals.
3. Development takes place gradually.
4. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive
and socio- emotional processes.

Approaches to Human Development

1. Traditional Perspective - Believes that individuals will show extensive change from
birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and decline in late old age.
2. Life-span Approach - Believes that even in adulthood, developmental change takes
place as it does during childhood.
Characteristics of Life-span Approach:
a. Development is LIFELONG. It does not end in adulthood. No developmental
stage dominates development.
b. Development is MULTIDIMENSIONAL. Development consists of biological,
cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions.
c. Development is PLASTIC. Development is possible throughout the lifespan.
d. Development is CONTEXTUAL. Individuals are changing beings in a changing
world.
e. Development involves GROWTH, MAINTENANCE and REGULATION. Growth,
maintenance and regulation are 3 goals of human development. The goals of
individuals vary among developmental stages.
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Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice
 All areas of development and learning are important.
 Learning and development follow sequences.
 Development and learning proceed at varying rates.
 Development and learning result from an interaction of maturation and experience.
 Early experiences have profound effects on development and learning.
 Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self- regulation, and symbolic or
representational capacities.
 Children develop best when they have secure relationships.
 Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.
 Children learn in a variety of ways.
 Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation and promoting language,
cognition, and social competence.
 Development and learning advance when children are challenged. Children’s
experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning.

Janette Balagot
, Instructor at Ubiversity of Southeastern Philippines
https://www.slideshare.net/janettecbalagot/2nd-lecture-human-development-meaning-concepts-and-approaches

PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT

Introducton

A. Development – means the progressive series of changes of an orderly, coherent type

toward the goal of maturity.
1. Progressive – refers to changes that are directional, leading forward rather than
backward.
2. “Orderly” and “Coherent” – suggest that the development is not of a haphazard
casual type but rather that there is a definite relationship between each stage and
the next stage in the developmental sequence.
B. Aspects of development – there are three (3) and the three are:
1. Anatomic
2. Physiologic
3. Behavioral

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 Types and Changes in Development

A. The major types of change are:

1. Changes in size. There is a change in physical and mental growth.
2. Changes in proportion. Physical development is not limited to size. It is also
apparent in mental development. At first, the child is interested in himself alone,
but later in other and toys, and finally his interests are directed to members of the
opposite sex.
3. Disappearance of old features. Some features that disappear are the thymus
glands, baby hair, Babinski reflex, Darwinian reflex and baby forms of locomotion
such as creeping and crawling.
4. Acquisition of new features. New features are acquired such as the first and
secondary sex characteristics. New mental traits are acquired also such as curiosity,
sex urge, knowledge, morals and standards, religious beliefs, different forms of
language and all types of neurotic tendencies.

Causes of Development

A. Two Causes of Development Are as Follows:

1. Maturation
a. Is the development or unfolding of traits potentially present in the individual
from his hereditary endowment.
b. According to Gesell, it is the net sum of the gene effects operating in self-
limited life cycle.
c. It is not only changes in physical characteristics but also able in function,
capacity to perform or behave which are possible through changes in any part
of the organism.
2. Learning
a. The result of the activities of the child himself.
B. Studies of Maturation and Learning
1. Method of isolation
This is the isolation of the young from older members of the same species
to see if certain traits or behavioral characteristic of the species will appear. This is
difficult due to parents’ objection to having their babies isolated.
2. Method of co-twin control
Identical twins serve as subjects. One twin is given training or practice in
learning different functions while the other twin is given no training. Results are
compared.
3. The matched-group method
This uses two or more groups with identical characteristics. One group is given
training while the other group is not. Results are compared later.
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 4. The genetic study of large groups
Instead of small groups, large groups are used to see if development appears
even if there were differences in the environments.

Rate of Development

A. The Rates of Development Are:

1. Rapid – during the pre-natal period and continues throughout babyhood (except
for the first two weeks known as “plateau stage” when no physical development
takes place) up to the first 6 years.
2. Slow – from six years to adolescence. In adolescence, the rate of development is
once more accelerated.
B. Implications of the Rate of Development are:
1. Because development is dependent on maturation and learning, it makes variation
possible.
2. Maturation which depends upon the hereditary endowment of the individual sets a
limit beyond which development cannot go on even when learning is encouraged.
3. The effectiveness of learning depends upon maturity. A child cannot learn until he
is ready to learn. The necessary physical and mental development must be present
before new skills and abilities can be built upon the foundations.
4. Premature forcing of the child results in negativistic resistant behavior which
militates against successful learning and which may even retard learning.
5. Developmental readiness is the individual’s state of preparedness with respect to
one or more areas of functioning.
C. Three Ways to Indicate a Child’s Readiness to Learn Are the Following:
1. Child’s interest in learning
2. How sustained his interest will remain over a period of time.
3. What progress he makes with practice.

Characteristics of Development
A. The Characteristics of Development Are the Following:
1. Development follows a pattern.
Development in every specie follows a pattern in rate and limit. The same
pattern is followed from the pre-natal to the post-natal and up to the adolescent
stage. The baby, for example, cuts his incisors, can stand before he walks, etc.
a. Cephalo-caudal sequence.
This means that the control of the body as well as improvements in the
structure itself, develops first in the head and progresses later to regions
farthest from the head.
b. Proximo-distal.

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 Developmental sequence starts from the center to the peripheral
segments of the body.
c. General patterns of development.
There is a great pattern that all babies follow, as:
1) From 4 to 16 weeks, he gains command of his 12 oculo-motor muscles.
2) From 16 to 28 weeks, he gains command of the muscles which supports his
head and move his arms. He then begins to reach out for things.
3) From 28 to 40 weeks, he gains control of his trunk and hands. This enables
him to sit, grasp, transfer and manipulate objects.
4) From 40 to 52 weeks, he extends control to his legs and feet, to his
forefinger and thumb. He can now stand upright, poke, and pluck.
5) During the second year, he walks and runs; articulates words and phrases;
acquires bowel and bladder control; and acquires an rudimentary sense of
identity and personal possession.
6) During the third year, he speaks in sentences and uses words as tools of
thoughts. He displays a propensity to understand his environment and to
comply with cultural demands.
7) During the fourth year, he asks innumerable questions, perceives
analogies, and displays a tendency to generalize and conceptualize. In the
routines of home life, he is nearly self-dependent.
8) At the age of 5 years, the child is well matured in motor control.
d. Specific phases of development.
Not only does total development follow a pattern but specific phases of
development, such as motor, social and play, follow a pattern also.
2. Development proceeds from general to specific responses.
In all phases of development whether motor or mental, the child’s
responses are of a general sort before they become specific. The infant moves his
body at one time instead of moving any one part of it. A baby can see large objects
first before he sees small ones, because his eye movements are not coordinated
enough at first to focus on small objects. The baby produces general, babbling
sounds before he can say words.
3. Development is continuous.
Growth continues from the moment of conception until the individual
reach maturity.
4. Individual differences in rate of development remain constant.
The common belief that is the baby who is physically or mentally below
average will “catch up” to the average has not been substantiated by scientific
evidence. On the contrary, there is plenty of evidence to show that the rate of
growth is consistent. Those who developed rapidly at first will continue to do so,
while those development was slow will continue to develop slowly.
5. Development occurs at different rates for different parts of the body.

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 Not all parts of our body grow at the same rate, nor do all aspects of
mental growth proceed equally. The brain attains its mature size around the age of
6 to 8 years but gains much in organization after that. The feet, the hands, and the
nose reach their maximum development early in the adolescent years.
6. Most traits are correlated in development.
The child whose intellectual development is above average is generally
above average in size, sociability and special aptitudes.
7. Development is predictable.
Because the rate of development for each child is fairly constant, the
immensely important consequence is that it is possible for us to predict at an early age
the range within which the mature development of the child is likely to fall.
8. Each development phase has traits characteristic of it.
At each age, some traits develop more rapidly and more conspicuously than
others.
9. Many forms of so-called “problem behavior” are normal behavior of age in which
they occur.
Lack of understanding of the normal behavior of children at different ages is
responsible for much of the parent-child friction.
10. Every individual normally passes through each major stage of development.
B. The Implications of the Characteristics of Development
1. It helps us to know what to expect and when to expect the development.
2. It gives the adult information as to when to stimulate and when not to stimulate
growth in the child.
3. Knowing what the normal developmental pattern is, makes it possible for parents,
teachers, and others who work with children to prepare the child ahead of time for
the changes that will take place in his body, his interests, or behavior.
C. The Major Developmental Tasks for Childhood
1. Infancy and early childhood (birth to 6 years)
a. Learning to walk.
b. Learning to take solid foods.
c. Learning to talk.
d. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes.
e. Learning sex differences and sexual modesty.
f. Achieving physiological stability.
g. Forming simple concepts of social physical reality.
h. Learning to relate oneself emotionally to parents, siblings, and other people.
2. Middle childhood (6 to 12 years)
a. Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games.
b. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism,
c. Learning to get along with age mates.
d. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine role.
e. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating.
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 f. Developing concepts necessary for everyday living.
g. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values.
h. Achieving personal independence
i. Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions.

Factors Influencing Development

A. There are Nine Factors That Influence Development.

1. Intelligence. Of all factors influencing the development of the child, intelligence
seems to be the most important. High grade intelligence is associated with a
speeding up of development, while low grade intelligence is associated with
retardation.
2. Sex. Sex differences in physical growth are evident. At birth, boys are slightly larger
that girls, but girls grow more rapidly and mature sooner than boys.
3. Glands of internal secretion. Glands affect both the pre-natal and post-natal
development.
4. Nutrition. The amount of food as well as the vitamin, protein, etc. content is
important. Quality is as important, if not more important, than quantity. The higher
stature of children are in part due to improved feeding in their early years of life.
5. Fresh air and sunlight. Fresh air and sunlight affect the size, general health
condition and the maturing age of the child.
6. Injuries and diseases. Any injury to the child such as head injuries, toxic poisons
from diseased tonsils, adenoids or typhoid fever, will retard to a certain extent the
child’s development.
7. Race. Children of Mediterranean races develop sooner than do the children of the
countries of Northern Europe. Children of the Negro and Italian races are slow in
their development compared to children of white and yellow races.
8. Culture. Children show the same social and motor responses despite the
differences in culture.
9. Position in the family. The second, third or fourth children in the family usually
develop more quickly than the first-born not because of their native endowment
but more because of the fact that the younger children imitate the older brothers
and sisters. The youngest is usually “babied”.

Developmental Periods
A. The Five Major Developmental Periods, With their Characteristic Forms of
Development, Approximate Ages and Names Commonly Applied to Them Are as
Follows:
1. Pre-natal Period. This period extends from conception, when the female ovum is
fertilized by the male spermatozoon to the time of birth, roughly nine calendar
months or 280 days. The zygote develops from a microscopic organism to an

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 individual weighing from 6 to 8 pounds and measuring approximately 20 inches in
length.
2. Infancy. From birth to the age of 10 to 14 days is the period of infancy. It is divided
into two periods, the partunate and the neonate. During the first week, growth
comes to a standstill and this growth is not resumed until the infant is able to cope
up with the environment.
3. Babyhood. This period extends from the age of two weeks to approximately two
years. Gradually, the baby learns to control his muscles so that he can feed himself,
walk, dress himself, talk and play. This is followed by a period of independence.
4. Childhood. Strictly speaking, childhood extends from the age two years to puberty.
Development is characterized by growth of control over the environment. The child
learns to make social adjustments at this age. The name “gang” age is sometimes
given to this period because group activities of all sorts play so important a role in
the child’s live.
5. Adolescence. The age of adolescence extends from the onset of puberty, between
11 to 13 years in the average child, to the age of maturity, 21 years. This is
subdivided into three shorter periods. These are:
a. Pre-adolescence. This is the year immediately preceding adolescence proper. In
girls, it comes about 11 to 13 years, and in boys, it comes approximately a year
later. This is also called the “negative phase” because there is normally a
negative attitude or an “about-face” in their behavior at this time.
b. Early adolescence. This extends from the age of 16 to 17 years. It coincides with
the high school years. This is usually called the “awkward stage”. During this
time, physical and mental growth are completed.
c. Late adolescence. This coincides with the college age and is usually referred to
as the “smart” and “show-off” age because of the keen delight the boy or girl
shows in being the center of attention. The most important form of
development is the adjustment to a mature form of life in which the child
learns to be independent of adults. There is gradually an adjustment to the
opposite sex in different activities. At the end of adolescence, the individual
becomes legally and socially regarded as mature. He learns to be independent
of adult supervision and guidance.

Rufino S. Siruno and Edgar V. Siruno

Child Growth and Development
pp. 1-10

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