Learning outcomes
0 Become familiar with the requirements for the
formative and summative assessments within this
module
0 Analyse a range of factors to be considered within the
social world of the child and young adult
0 Evaluate the significance of attachment theory for the
emotional well-being of children and young adults
and for later life experiences
What do we mean by social and
emotional development?
The child as an
individual….
0 Personality
0 Attitudes to learning
0 Social skills
0 Sense of self
0 Emotional security
0 Communication skills
…developing within a context
Concept of ‘well being’: “feeling at
home, being oneself and feeling happy”
(Laevers, 1994, p. 5, in Waters, 2009, p.24)
Sense of self
0 Trust
0 Autonomy
0 Initiative
0 Empathy
0 Self-confidence
(Hohman and Weikart, 2002)
0 ‘Mirroring’ process
0 Perceiving ourselves
through eyes of others
0 ‘Significant others’
0 Profound influence of
approaches and responses
of people around us
0 (Roberts, 1998)
Self-esteem
0 Feelings and thoughts about yourself (both
positive and negative)
0 Respect or regard for yourself (or lack of it)
0 Self-worth ( how you value yourself)
0 Importance of “involved and loving parenting”
as opposed to “authoritarian and rejecting
parents” (Doherty and Hughes, 2009, p.387)
Ways to promote:
0 Listen to children/ young
people – take them
seriously
0 Encourage children/
young people to talk
about and express
feelings eg. jealousy,
anger
0 Tell children it is OK to
have strong feelings; it’s
how you express them
that counts
0 Take an interest in
children’s drawings,
paintings and stories
0 Ensure that you praise
EFFORT as well as
achievement
0 Appreciate qualities
other than academic
success eg. kindness,
humour
0 Be a positive role model –
children and young
people will scrutinise
your every move! Have
high self-esteem yourself
as a practitioner and
children will be able to
copy your example!
The family as a site of
socialisation
“At the heart of the relationship between child
and parent is attachment….This is the bond
that exists between the two even before birth
and the cornerstone of subsequent
relationships” (Doherty and Hughes, 2009, p.
395)
0 How the primary caregiver responds in a
range of situations will shape attachment
behaviours of the child (Zwozdiak-Myers,
2007, p.60). Sensitivity v. insensitivity.
Theoretical frameworks:
0 Bowlby: internal working model or
representation of attachment relationships
which develops during interaction between
child and primary carer
0 Patterns of attachment reflect expectations
about likely responses by care givers
0 Child abstracts from these expectations a set
of assumptions about how close relationships
function
The Strange Situation
0 http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&um=1&q=family%20cartoons&ie=
UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iv&start=0#q=strange+situation&hl=en&view=2&emb=0
4 primary types of attachment relationships:
0 Secure: I missed you but now you’re back!
0 Avoidant: You left me again. I always have to
take care of myself!
0 Resistant: Why do you do this?..leave me
without warning. I get so angry!
0 Disorganised (disoriented): What’s going on
here? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
(adapted from Kail,2006, p. 322)
Today’s understanding of
attachment theory
0 If the ‘mothering’ is of high quality and is provided
by figures who remain the same during the child's
early life, then (at least up to 4 or 5 mother figures)
multiple mothering need have no adverse affects
(Rutter, 1972)
0 Question: Is child-care a good alternative to family
care?
References
0 Doherty, J. and Hughes, M. ((2009) Child Development. Theory and
practice 0-11. Harlow: Pearson Education
0 Hohman, M. and Weikart, D. P. (2002) Educating Young Children, 2nd
edition. High/Scope Educational Research Foundation
0 Kail, R.V. (2006) Children and Their Development. 4th edition. New
Jersey: Pearson Education
0 Roberts, R. (1998) Thinking about Me and Them: personal and social
development. in Siraj-Blatchford, I. (ed) A curriculum development
handbook for early years childhood educators. Stoke: Trentham, pp.155-
174.
0 Rutter, M. (1972) Maternal Deprivation Reassessed. Harmondsworth:
Penguin
0 Waters,J. (2009) Well-Being. in Waller, T. (ed) An Introduction to Early
Childhood. 2nd edition. London: Sage, pp. 16-30.
0 Zwozdiak-Myers, P. (2007) (ed) Childhood and Youth Studies. Exeter:
Learning Matters