Unit 14 Understanding theories and philosophical approaches to child development
1.1 Explain theories and philosophical approaches to how children learn and develop
Erik Erikson
Erikson was greatly influenced by Freud. He believed that we pass through eight psychosocial stages throughout our entire lives and at each stage, our psychological needs will conflict with those of society.
John Bowlby
Bowlby stated that early attachments are crucial to a child’s development and are a key part of the way in which we build relationships later on in our lives.
Jean Piaget
Piaget thought that children think differently to adults, he believed that the way children think and learn is led by their age and stage of cognitive development. This is because learning is based on experiences that they build on as they become older. As children’s experiences change for example, a child who only ever sees green apples will believe that all apples are green. Children need to extend their experiences in order to extend their learning. They will eventually achieve this themselves so that they can think about experiences that they have not yet developed.
Albert Bandura
Bandura’s ‘social learning’ or ‘modelling’ theory stated that learning takes place through observing others rather than being taught. Children will often simply copy adults and their peers without being told to do so, meaning that their learning is spontaneous.
Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky believed that culture and social factors both play a crucial role in a child’s development, and that cognitive functions will be affected by the beliefs and values of the society in which children grow up. He also believed that children learn actively, through hands-on experience.
B. F. Skinner
Skinner believed that children learn through experience or conditioning. He promoted the theory that our learning is based on a consequence following a particular behaviour. We will repeat experiences that are enjoyable and avoid those that are not....