Sc506 middleandlatechildhoodpp[1]
- 1. Middle and Late Childhood
- 2. Middle and Late Childhood Period between 7 and 12 years old. During the middle and late childhood years, children grow taller, heavier, and stronger (Santrock, 2011). Middle and late childhood aged children become more skilled at using their physical skills, and they also develop new cognitive skills. The years of middle and late childhood bring many changes to children’s social and emotional lives (Santrock, 2011). Changes in parent and peer relationships occur in middle and late childhood, and schooling is more academically in-depth. Children begin to develop their self-conceptions, moral reasoning, and moral behavior in middle and late childhood years.
- 3. Physical Development in Middle and Late Childhood Body Growth and Change The period of middle and late childhood involves slow, consistent growth. During the elementary school years, children grow an average of 2 to 3 inches a year. Children gain about 5-7 pounds a year during middle and late childhood. Muscle mass and strength increase.
- 4. Physical Development in Middle and Late Childhood Con’t Motor Development Children’s motor skills become much smoother and more coordinated during middle and late childhood than they were in early childhood. Running, climbing, jumping rope, swimming, bicycle riding, and skating are just a few of many physical skills elementary school children can master. Increased myelination of the central nervous is reflected in the improvement of fine motor skills Girls usually outperform boys in their use of fine motor skills Boys are usually better at gross motor skills.
- 5. Physical Development in Middle and Late Childhood Con’t Exercise Most American children do not get enough exercise. Television and computer use are linked to lower activity levels in children. Parents and schools play important roles in children exercising and can increase it by: Offer more physical activity programs at school Have children plan community and school activities Encourage parents to exercise more and focus more on family physical activity Health, Illness and Disease Accidents are the leading cause of death during middle and late childhood. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in U.S. children 5 to 14 years of age. Being overweight is an increasing child health problem.
- 6. Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Concrete operational stage characterizes children from about 7 to 11 years of age. Concrete operations allow the child to consider several characteristics rather than focus on a single property of an object. Children have the ability to classify or divide things into different sets to consider their interrelationships. Information Processing During middle and late childhood, most children improve their ability to sustain and control attention. Long-term memory increases with age and reflects increased knowledge and increased use of strategies Environmental factors such as stressful life experiences may play a role in how children process information about their world (Suarez-Morales, & Bell, 2006)
- 7. Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood The Self Self-description increasingly involves psychological and social characteristics, including social comparison Children show an increase in perspective taking, the ability to assume other people’s perspectives and understand their thoughts and feelings. Increased self-regulation is one of the most important aspects of the self in middle and late childhood. Emotional Development Increased understanding of complex emotion such as pride and shame. Increased ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions Coping with Stress As a child gets older, they use a greater variety of coping strategies and more cognitive strategies. Researchers have offered some recommendations for parents, teachers, and other adults caring for children: Reassure children of their safety and security Allow children to retell events and be patient and listen to them Encourage children to talk about any disturbing or confusing feelings Protect children from reexposure to frightening situations and reminders of trauma Help children make sense of what happened
- 8. Moral Development in Middle and Late Childhood Piaget By age 10 children have moved into a stage called autonomous morality Children consider the intentions of the individual Believe that rules are subject to change Aware that punishment does not always follow wrongdoing Kohlberg Preconventional reasoning: lowest level of moral development, good and bad are interpreted in terms of external rewards and punishments Conventional reasoning: intermediate level of moral development, children apply certain standards set by others, such as parents of the government Postconventional reasoning: highest level of moral development, children recognize alternative moral courses, explore options, and then decide on a personal moral code
- 9. Developmental Changes in Parent-Child Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood Parents spend less time with children as they move into middle and late childhood Parents continue to play an important role in supporting and stimulating children’s academic achievements Some control is transferred from parent to child during middle and late childhood and it produces coregulation rather than control by either the child or the parent alone Parents have important managers roles of children’s opportunities, monitoring their behavior, and social initiators and arrangers. Mothers are more likely to function in a managerial role in parenting than fathers
- 10. Changes in Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood Developmental Changes As children move through middle and late childhood, their peer group increases Peer interaction is less likely to be closely supervised by adults There is an increased preference for same-sex groups An increase in time spent in social interaction with peers
- 11. Changes in Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood con’t Peer Status Popular children are frequently nominated as a best friend and are rarely disliked by peers Average children receive am average number of both positive and negative nominations from their peers Neglected children are infrequently nominated as a best friend but are mot disliked by their peers Rejected children are infrequently nominated as someone’s best friend and are actively disliked by their peers Controversial children are frequently nominated both as someone’s best friend and as being disliked
- 12. Changes in Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood Con’t Social Cognition Social cognition are the thoughts about social matters In middle and late childhood, social cognition becomes increasingly important for understanding peer relationships Social knowledge is involved in children’s ability to get along with peers
- 13. Changes in Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood Con’t Friends Throughout childhood friends are more similar in terms of age, sex and race Friends often have similar attitudes toward school, similar educational aspirations, and closely aligned achievement orientations Friends can promote self-esteem and sense of well-being Children’s friendships can serve six functions: Companionship- Friendship provides children with a familiar partner and playmate , someone who is willing to spend time with them and join in collaborative activities Stimulation- Friendship provides children with interesting information, excitement, and amusement Physical support- Friendship provides time, resources, and assistance Ego support- Friendship provides the expectation of support, encouragement, and feedback, which helps children maintain an impression of themselves as competent, attractive, and worthwhile individuals Social comparison- Friendship provides information about where the child stands face-to-face with others and whether the child is doing okay Affection and intimacy- Friendship provides children with a warm, close, trusting relationship with another individual
- 14. Aspects of Schooling in Development in Middle and Late Childhood Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning Constructivist approach -a learner centered approach that emphasizes the importance of individuals actively constructing their knowledge and understanding with guidance from the teacher. Constructivism includes an emphasis on children working together to understand Teachers will not have children memorize information but give them opportunities to construct the knowledge and understand the material Direct instruction approach –a structured, teacher-centered approach that is characterized by teacher direction and control, high expectations for students’ progress, maximum time spent by students on learning tasks, and efforts by the teacher to keep negative affect to a minimum. An important goal is maximizing student learning time.
- 15. Aspects of Schooling in Development in Middle and Late Childhood Con’t Accountability U.S. public and governments at every level demand increased accountability from schools State-mandated test are required to measure what students learn and have not learned. Statewide standardized testing have a number of positive effects: Improved student performance More time teaching subjects that are being tested High expectations for all students Identification for of poorly performing schools, teachers, and administrators Improved confidence in schools as test scores rise
- 16. Socioeconomic Status The Education of Students from Low-Income Backgrounds Children from low-income backgrounds have more difficulties in school than middle-socioeconomic-status children. Children in poverty face problems that create barriers to their learning at school as well as at home. Their parents may not set high educational standards, incapable of reading to them, don’t have the money to pay for educational materials and experiences. Children may be malnourished or live in areas where crime and violence are the only way of life. Schools in low-income areas are more likely to have more students with low achievement test scores, low graduation rates, and small percentages of students going to college than schools in higher income areas. Young teachers with less experience are more likely to teach in low-income area schools
- 17. Ethnicity Ethnicity in Schools Low expectations for ethnic minority children represent one barrier to their learning. Ethnic minority status is associated with characteristics that may increase a child’s risk for anxiety (Suarez-Morales, & Bell, 2006)
- 18. Culture Cross-Cultural Comparisons American children are more achievement-oriented than children in many countries but less achievement-oriented than many children in Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and Japan (Santrock, 2011).
- 19. Elementary School Counselors Elementary School Counselors Roles Counselors in elementary schools can meet individually or in a group with children referred by teachers or parents. They anticipate children coming to counseling offices for assistance, advice, support, substance abuse issues, child abuse, divorce, and discrimination. Acting as a consultant and speaking directly with teachers, parents, administrators and other helping professionals to help a student in the school setting. This way the counselor is helping others to assist the student in dealing more effectively with development or adjustment needs. Elementary school counselors have a coordinator’s responsibility as well. They are to coordinate various guidance activities within classrooms as well as school activities. They may also be called to coordinate the contributions of school psychologists, social workers, and other intraschool and interagency referrals. (Gibson, and Mitchell, 2008)
- 20. Elementary School Counselors Con’t Elementary Schools Counselors Roles Con’t Serving as an agent for orientation , the elementary school counselor recognizes the importance of the child’s orientation to the goals and environment of the elementary school. The counselor may plan group activities and consult with teachers to help children learn and practice the relationship skills necessary in the school setting. The counselor in the elementary school can be called on to interpret and gather both test and non test data, serving as an agent of assessment . They have the task of putting the data into focus not only to see but to be able to interpret the child as a total human being. With this task, the counselor should also understand the impact of culture, the sociology of the school, and other environmental influence on the students behavior. In elementary school, there are early warning signs of future problems for young children such as learning difficulties, general moodiness and acting out behaviors. Elementary school counselors serve as an agent of prevention , and are called on and challenged to develop and implement programs that seek to anticipate, intervene in, and prevent the development of these problems. (Gibson, and Mitchell, 2008)
- 21. Middle and Junior High School Counselor Middle and Junior High School Counselor Involvement Middle and junior high school counselors help with student orientation and transitional needs. This includes the initial orientation of students and their parents to the programs, policies, facilities, and counseling activities of a new school and later their pre-entry orientation to the high school they will attend. Both individual and group counseling should be used by school counselors at this level. It appears that middle and junior high school counselors tend to use group counseling more frequently than individual counseling. Counselors at this level will provide consultation to faculty, parents, school administrators, and other helping professionals in the school system regarding the developmental and adjustment needs of individual students. School counselors in middle and junior high school are usually involved in course and curricular placement of students not only within their own schools but also cooperatively with their counterparts in the feeder secondary schools. It is important that student development be given specific attention by the school counselors. This means understanding the developmental characteristics of this age group and the developmental tasks and planning programs that are appropriately responsive to their needs. (Gibson, and Mitchell, 2008)
- 22. References Gibson, O. L., & Mitchell, M. H. (2008). Introduction to counseling and guidance. Prentice Hall. Santrock, J.W. (2011). Life-span development (13 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Suarez-Morales, L., & Bell, D. (2006). Relation of childhood worry to information-processing factors in an ethnically diverse community sample. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35 (1), 136-147.