Early Childhood Development, Case Study Example

Introduction

Early childhood development has several aspects apart from cognitive and language skills. Socialization and emotional skills can – and often do – develop slower than the rest of the skills. This can be a sign of a condition, such as Aspergers syndrome or slight autism. However, it is also possible that socialization patterns and conditions affect the behavior of the child. Piaget’s theory of play and imitation will help teachers support the child. It is important, however, to discusses the aspects of emotions and social/cognitive views on learning. The social cognitive theory will also be useful in analyzing the case of John and the reasons behind his delayed social and emotional development. This review of the two basic theories; the theory of play by Piaget (1958) and Vygotsky (1987) and the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977) will provide the authors with important information about child development, in order to successfully develop an intervention framework for John.

Case Analysis

John’s cognitive development skills are developing according to his age, however, his social and emotional skills seem to stagnate. This can later have an adverse effect on John’s academic achievement. According to Lynch & Simpson (2010, p. 1.),  social skills development can lays the foundation of academic success. The authors created a list of skills that are related to social development, and examining these skills in the case of John will provide the authors with important information on development areas. The social skills determined by Lynch & Simpson (2010) are: empathy, participation in group activities, helping others, communicating with peers, negotiating and solving problems. From the case study of John, it is clear that he does not successfully communicate; he has difficulties with interaction. Further, he does not share, help others or negotiate by taking turns. He lacks generosity and helpfulness among his peers. His inability of expressing his emotions and identifying others’ feelings shows that he lacks empathy.  He is unable to solve problems and often confronts with other children, instead of sharing and negotiating. The case of John is a clear example of underdeveloped social skills, therefore, intervention of educators is needed. John might have developed incorrect responses to experiences he has received from his environment. He might have copied somebody’s behavior, or he would have no knowledge about the consequences of his actions; therefore, he needs to be instructed and directly taught social skills. In the below theory and intervention framework review, the authors attempt to reveal the best methods for teachers to promote John’s emotional and social skills development.

Related Theoretical Perspectives

Development Theories

Social Learning Theory of Cognitive Development. Piaget’s (1964) social learning theory will help teachers determine the social factors of the child’s emotional development. Further, the ideas the author presents about sociomoral development will also be examined. Piaget’s definition of being socialized is to develop a sense of reason based on observations, experiences and interactions within the social environment. Therefore, children who develop social skills can determine the consequences of their actions on a cognitive level, based on their experiences. They learn from others’ responses to their behavior, while perceiving norms of interaction. Based on Piaget’s social learning theory, it is evident that the missing link in John’s case is understanding norms and decoding messages of others.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory. Building upon Piaget’s social learning theory, Vygotsky (1978) created an important thesis that has a great importance in examining social learning and development. He stated that “learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function” (p. 90.). According to Vygotsky (1978), culture has a major impact on learning. He focuses on the impact of social factors on cognitive development. He further mentions that children’s learning of social skills can be influenced by collaborative dialogues. He emphasized the importance of influences on children’s development.

Learning Theories

Social Learning Theory: Bandura. Bandura (1977) reviewed the role of observatory learning in social skills and emotional development. His social learning theory indicates that there are two types of learning: based on direct experience and that of a result of observing others. (Bandura, 1977, p. 3.) An important statement of his theory is that apart from environmental reinforcement, intrinsic reinforcement also influences behavior. Intrinsic reinforcement is a type of internal reward; something a person feels when the complete an action. For example, John might feel like he is stronger and winning when he refuses to share toys. Understanding these motivations can help educators develop strategies to improve social and emotional skills. The author states that at an early age, environmental stimuli has little or no influence on behavior. However, he also states that inappropriate stimulus control (among children and adults as well) can result in irrational defensive behaviors (p. 17), and this explanation can possibly be valid in the case of John. It is possible that John thinks that sharing and interacting with others is wrong for some reasons or carries negative consequences; the task of the educators is to find out whether this is true.

Behaviorist Theories of Learning. According to this theory, behaviors and learning are based on the relationship between stimulus and response. Experiences are created by stimuli from the environment. Assuming that classical conditioning can be achieved through creating stimulus, this theory is applicable in practice for modifying behavior, managing classrooms and instruction. Classical conditioning has four elements: unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response and conditioned response. During the classical conditioning process, a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned one, therefore, it can produce a conditioned response. Driscoll (2000, p. 3) described learning as “a persisting change in performance or performance potential that results from experience and interaction with the world”. Reinforcement and punishment can be delivered through classical conditioning.

Teaching Strategies

Discussion

In order to create an effective education intervention framework that would help John develop the essential social and emotional skills, however, it is important to review the social environment of the child, described by McDewitt &Ormrod   (n.d.). The authors lists environmental influences based on Bronfenbrenner’s design. The socialization environment of the child consists of the microsystem: child care providers, family members and peers, the mesosystem: relationships within the close environment, exosystem: employers and social agencies, and macrosystem: culture and government. This description alongside with Ormrod’s statement that social cognition is needed to become successful in interpersonal relationships (p. 71) will provide the authors a focus of study: environment, culture and social cognition.

Further, Ormrod (2013) talks about behaviorism in relation with social skills development. He concludes that the basic assumptions of behaviorism are that environments and experiences influence one’s behavior, learning results in a change of behavior, it results in stimuli and responses, as a continuity of events, while learning principles are universal across all species. This statement confirms that the teacher’s initial approach to look into the family environment of John, while observing his emotional responses is correct in this case.

Ormrod (2013, p. 74) provides various reasons for aggressive behavior. When John engages in a fight, this might be a result of poor perspective-taking ability, misinterpretation of social clues, prevalence of self-serving goals (prefers to play on his own), ineffective social problem-solving strategies or belief in the aggression’s appropriateness (lack of understanding social norms, in other words).

In the case of John, educators need to focus on strategies that support him in tackling the above development areas. According to Piaget, play is a form of overcoming ego-centrism. Further, theorists assume that children play to teach themselves, and this is clearly visible in the case of John. Teaching social skills through play is the best approach, according to several authors. Some of the intervention strategies will be reviewed below.

Instrumental Conditioning

Ormrod (2013, p. 270) describes some effective education intervention strategies to address counterproductive emotional responses, detailed in the case study of John. One of the methods he describes is instrumental conditioning. This approach involves reinforcement and punishment of behaviors. In John’s case, praise should be used when he engages in sharing, while he receives punishment when he does not behave according to classroom norms. It is important that the teacher engages in a discussion about norms of behavior with John, before implementing this intervention method, to make sure that he perceives the rules on a cognitive level. The teacher can also use positive reinforcement, when the correct behavior has a positive impact on the result. Using active feedback is another strategy that Ormrod (2013) recommends. Negative reinforcement can be a removal of stimulus, such as taking away playtime. However, the author says that teachers should use this method rarely, and only as a last resort.

The Importance of Play

Tepperman (2007) in his policy brief highlights the importance of play in early years. Play, according to the author, promotes self regulation and social negotiation; a skill that is needed to be developed in the case of John. Tepperman (2007) states that “as children interact with each other, negotiating the sharing of materials or planning imaginative play, they learn concepts and skills in cooperating, advocating one’s own ideas and listening to others, handling frustration, and empathizing with others. (p. 5.) This statement confirms the initial thesis of intervention that the best approach of teachers will be to develop games that improve John’s social and negotiation skills. Focusing on these skills alone through planned games coordinated by the teacher, John could learn patterns of behavior accepted by the majority of children and the teacher. The author recommends that teachers will become facilitators of play through responsive interactions.

Promoting Social Skills through Organized Play and Direct Induction

Lynch & Simpson (2010) state that teachers should arrange play areas and school environment to promote social skills. This involves the placement of toys that encourage cooperative play, generosity and sharing. Further, through observation and organized play, teachers should enhance social functioning, such as role playing, the creation of a dramatic play area and building structures together, when the coordination of the play is the teacher’s task. The authors (Lynch & Simpson, 2010, p. 4) state that “for children who are socially isolated, play offers important occasions for social interaction and skill development”. This indicates that increasing the number of opportunities when John can interact with others through coordinated play will help him overcome his difficulties. It is, however, important that he has positive experiences attached to collaborative play, and that is why teachers need to plan and coordinate the games. Further, the authors suggest that teachers should actively teach social skills. The social skills script provided by the authors (Appendix A) will be useful intervention material for John’s teacher.

In the case of John, this intervention method would be effective, because it would tackle both John’s social isolation and his understanding of social behavioral norms.

Further Intervention Methods to Consider

LeBlanc (1989) talks about methods to support early social skills development, such as: group discussions, environment manipulation, and conflict resolution through role play.  Like Lynch & Simpson, the author focuses on teacher coordination. The policy brief describes children who need to develop their social skills. Based on Piaget’s theory that children learn skills, relationships, communication and conflict resolution skills through peer relationships, the author recommends that positive modeling, feedback from the teacher and information feedback needs to be implemented in the plan.

Boyd, Barnett, Bodrova, Leong & Gomby  (2005) highlight the importance of school and home environment. The authors review studies that evaluate intervention plans and provisions put in place by educators. This intervention recommendation is based on the model of Piaget’s (1964) social learning theory.

Miller and Almon (2009) state that “research shows that children who engage in complex forms of socio-dramatic play have… better social skills, more empathy, more imagination, and more of the subtle capacity to know what others mean”. (p. 7), This statement confirms the above reviewed authors’ intervention recommendations through play. Therefore, the teacher should involve socio-dramatic play and coordinated collaborative play in the intervention plan.

Conclusion

The above reviewed theories of social development and learning, as well as the intervention recommendations have revealed the need for proactive play-focused social skills enhancement strategies’ implementation. Instrumental conditioning should be introduced in play and teaching in order to allow John to understand what is expected of him. Introducing socio-dramatic play in the kindergarten is another approach that focuses on play, instead of direct conditioning. Further, it is recommended that teachers engage in role play and use Lynch, & Simpson’s (2010) direct instruction script example to help John understand the positive aspects of interaction. However, based on Bronfenbrenner’s design, quoted by McDewitt &Ormrod (n.d.), the socialization context of John needs to be reviewed, too. This involves discussions with parents in order to reveal what type of experiences have framed John’s responses. The use of the behaviorist theory of learning would help the teacher reveal the aspects of John’s classical conditioning processes before he entered kindergarten.

The teacher should also modify the play environment to promote collaborative play and actively observe, coordinate activities John is involved in. Finally, to address counterproductive social and emotional responses, the teacher should develop a positive reinforcement strategy.

References

Bandura, A. (1977) Social learning theory. General Learning Press.

Boyd,J.,  Barnett, S., Bodrova, E.,  Leong, D.& Gomby, D. (2005) Promoting children’s social and emotional development through preschool education. National Institute for Early Education Research.

Driscoll, M. P. (2000). Psychology of learning for instruction (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

LeBlanc, L. (1989) Let’s Play: Teaching social skills. Day Care and Early Education.

Lynch, S. & Simpson, C. (2010) Social Skills:Laying the Foundation for Success. Dimensions Of Early ChildhoodVolume 38, Number 2

Miller, A. & Almon, J. (2009) Crisis in the kindergarten. Why children need to play in school. Alliance for Childhood.

Ormrod, J. (2013) Educational psychology. Developing learners. 8th Edition. Pearson.

Piaget, J. (1964). Development and Learning. In: R. E. Ripple & V. N. Rockcastle (Eds.)

Piaget, J. (1959). The language and thought of the child (Vol. 5). Psychology Press.

Tepperman, J. (ed.) (2007) Play in the early years: key to school success. Policy Brief. Bay Area Early Childhood Funders.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.