THEORIES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Theories of Child Development

Theories of Child Development

Leo Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist and philosopher in the 1930s, is most often associated with the social constructivist theory. (Constructivism, 2004)

He emphasizes the influences of cultural and social contexts in learning and supports a discovery model of learning. This type of model places the teacher in an active role while the student's mental abilities develop naturally through various paths of discovery. He argued for the inclusion within psychology of the study of consciousness; however he rejected introspection as a method. He maintained that a study of the mind, as opposed to just behavior, was necessary to distinguish human beings from lower animals. There are some interesting facts about Lev Vygotsky.

He believed that thinking patterns are not totally due to our biology; they are products of our interactions in cultural situations and other social activities. That cognitive development occurs when children internalize the tools that are taught through the social interactions. It is through social activities that children learn cultural tools and social inventions. These include language, counting systems, writing, art, and music. Vygotsky maintained that adults have the responsibility to share their greater collective knowledge with the younger generations. Vygotsky s theories had three general claims: (a) The claim that human social and psychological processes are fundamentally shaped by cultural tools; (b) The claim that higher mental functioning in the individual emerges out of social processes; and (c) the developmental method Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the concept that the potential of the child is limited to a specific time span.

According to Vygotsky's theory the Zone of Proximal Development problem-solving skills of tasks can be placed into three categories. These are as follows: (a) those performed independently by the student; (b) those that cannot be performed even with help; and (c) those that fall between the two extremes, the tasks that can be performed with help from others. Vygotsky's ZPD emphasizes his belief that learning is, fundamentally, a socially mediated activity.

There are two parts to ZPD, scaffolding and subjectivity. Scaffolding is the help given to a child that supports the child's learning. The type and quality of these tools (i.e. people) surrounding the child greatly determine the pattern and rate of development of the child. Arguments and Comparisons Egocentric speech is contrasted with socialized speech. Egocentric speech is split into three categories. They are repetition, monologue (thinking aloud) and dual/collective monologue. Vygotsky argues that speech moves from communicative "social speech" to inner egocentric speech. Vygotsky found that a child spoke egocentrically when he was grasping or remedying a situation.

“Behaviorism is the view that only observable, overt activities that can be measured scientifically should be studied by Psychology. Behaviorists believe that internal events, such as thoughts, images, feelings, and intentions are immeasurable, and so should not be part of Psychology”

The theory is then accepted only if the new observations are consistent with the theory. Vygotsky found this theory to be true, but also added that behavior causes environment as ...