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Janet Belsky’s

Experiencing the Lifespan, 2e

Chapter 7

Settings for Development:

Home and School

Meredyth Fellows, West Chester University of PA

Settings for Development: Home

�Two-parent Families

�Traditional

�Blended

�Adoptive, Gay,

Foster, and

Grandparent-headed

families

�One-parent Families

�Typically mother-

headed

Keys to Thriving: Home

Setting

�Secure Attachment

�Goodness-of-fit

�Parenting Styles: Diana Baumrind

�Classified by two dimensions:

�Parental Responsiveness

�Structure, or “rules”

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

�Authoritative

�Authoritarian

�Permissive

�Rejecting-

Neglecting

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Critiquing Baumrind’s

Parenting Styles

�Each parent may adopt a different

discipline style

�Key is to “agree to disagree”

�Do not argue in the presence of the child

�Parenting involves more than providing

love and discipline

�Teach values, help with homework,

arrange after-school activities

Critiquing Baumrind’s

Parenting Styles

�Child-rearing approaches

vary by culture and

ethnicity

�Life conditions matter!

�The best parents adapt

their discipline style to the

environment.

Resilient Children

�Qualities

�Superior emotional regulation skills

�Outgoing personality

�Special talent

�High self-efficacy and optimistic world view

�Strong faith or sense of meaning in life

�At least one warm loving relationship

�Good “genes”: easy temperament, superior

intellectual and social skills

Do Parents Matter?

�Questioning Baumrind’s correlations:

behavior geneticists argue—

�“Easy” child may evoke authoritative

parents (temperament drives parenting

style)

�Warm, loving parents may pass on the

“warm, loving” genetic predispositions

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Do Parents Matter?

�Judith Harris: our

peers socialize us to

become adults

�Learning is

context-specific

�Acculturation

�Immigrants

assimilate to any

new culture

Conclusion: Variety of Influences

Shape Development

�Developmental Systems approach

�Developmentalists agree:

�Provide best possible environment

�Provide sensitive caregiving

�Proper discipline (avoid power assertion)

Corporal Punishment Debate

�Against the law in most

E.U. countries

�U.S., most believe

spanking acceptable

�Spanking peaks in

preschool

�Some parents use more

severe practices

�Psychologists split about

this issue

Child Abuse/Maltreatment

�Categories

�Physical

�Neglect

�Emotional

�Sexual

�Risk Factors

�Parent personality issues

�Life stress

�Child Characteristics

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Interventions: Child Abuse

�Report suspected abuse to child

protection services

�Options

�Remove child from home; place in foster

care; limit or terminate parental rights

�Leave child in home while providing

intensive support and counseling to

caregivers

Divorce

�Global studies: children of

divorce are more at risk for

academic, social, physical

and mental difficulties

�Contributing Factors

�Economic stresses of single-

parent household

�Difficulties and transitions

experienced both prior to and

during divorce

Divorce: Interventions

School: Socioeconomic Status

and School Readiness

�At right, kindergartners’

scores on tests of

readiness for reading and

math

�Economic status has

strong influence on

children’s readiness and

chances for academic

success at start of school

careers.

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Intelligence and IQ Tests

�IntelligenceTests

�Given individually

�Designed to predict general academic potential

�Measures only cognitive abilities

�AchievementTests

�Given to groups of children

�Measure knowledge in various subjects

�WISC

�Standard intelligence test used in childhood; given to

groups of children

�Verbal (answer questions)

�Performance (manipulate materials)

Bell-Shaped Curve: WISC

�68% (68thpercentile)

scores between 85 & 115

�95.44% scores between

70 & 130

�Gifted= 130, 98th

percentile, top 2% for

age

�Mentally Retarded=

70 (if other behaviors

warrant this

designation)

Specific Learning Disability

�Label given when IQ is far higher than

achievement test scores

�Dyslexia (underlying neurological impairment)

�Other than ADHD, most frequently diagnosed

�Reading, spelling difficulties

�Diagnosed more in boys than girls

�Higher risk for developing other mental difficulties

(anxiety, depression)

�May be diagnosed with ADHD (15%-50%)

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Criteria for Test Accuracy

�Reliability

�Scores must be fairly similar when taken

more than once

�IQ tests reliable after age 6

�Validity

�Does the test measure what it is supposed

to measure?

�IQ tests are valid: good predictor of

academic performance

Do IQ Scores Predict Real-

World Performance?

�The Debate:

�“G-factor” Psychologists: IQ scores tap into

the g-factor—genetic capacities for success

in every domain

�Anti g-factor: IQ is onlyvalid as test of

academicperformance

�We have different talents

�Do not label as “smart” or “not smart”

Robert Sternberg: Successful

Intelligence

�The optimal form of

cognition, involving

a balance of the

following

intelligences:

�Analytical (academic)

�Creative

�Practical

Howard Gardner: Multiple

Intelligences

�Verbal and Mathematical

�Spatial skills

�Kinesthetic abilities

�Interpersonal talents

�Intrapersonal skills

�Musical skills

�Naturalist talent

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Interventions: Lessons for

Schools

�Gardner

�Multiple-intelligences theory helps non-

traditional learners succeed in traditional

schools

�Sternberg

�Experimental results: teaching with every

type of intelligence produces better

classroom performance

Successful Schools

�Teachers serving disadvantaged

children are beating the odds:

�Set high standards for everyone

�Believe students can succeed

�Offer excess of nurture to both students

and teachers

�Have defined, structured priorities

�Authoritative in approach

Producing Eager Learners

�The Problem:

�School erodes intrinsic motivation by

providing external reinforcers

�Grading system contributes to feelings of

inadequacy

�School lessons do not tap into a child’s

creativity (lessons often rote and boring)

Producing Eager Learners

�The Solution: encourage extrinsic learning to

be more intrinsic

�Foster relevance and application; make extrinsic

learning relate to internal goals and desires

�Provide autonomy (offer choices of how to do

work)

�Foster relatedness between teacher and student

�Provide creative projects

�Don’t compare students

�Assume every child is intelligent and can succeed