Ever feel like in this age of accountability we’ve lost sight of what matters most? Ever wonder if policy makers know anything about child development? Ever been pressured to write an outcome or implement a practice that wasn’t DAP?
The answers to these questions are likely yes, yes, and YES!
However, while it is easy to point the finger at others and highlight their lack of knowledge, we need to also be aware of our own actions and reactions. For example, I’ll be the first to admit, there have been times where I’ve lost sight of what really matters. I’ve also been known to think a child who can hold their own head up is gifted. Anyone else?
It’s easy to lose sight of what matters with daily pressures and talk about getting kids “ready.” Further, it’s hard to remember what “typical” development looks like when what you see, day in and day out, is anything but “typical.” Right?
I thought it might be a good idea to revisit some truths regarding child development.
This post highlights 10 characteristics of early development that should be front and center as we make broad educational policies, as well as day-to-day instructional decisions.
You can also listen to this post…
The first five are extensions of Michael Gramling’s writings about early development versus early learning, and all are grounded in years of research regarding young children.
- Development, for the most part, unfolds in a predictable and logical set of stages and sequences. For example, development generally progresses from simple to complex, from static to dynamic, from the center outward, from externally controlled to internally controlled, and from Ego-centric to hopefully and eventually, world-centric.
- Early development is highly variable. One child’s development can look very different from another child’s, despite the predictable and predetermined sequences that exist. Further, this variability only increases with age. By the time a child is four, our ability to predict when a behavior will “appear,” actually diminishes. You know…like trying to predict that all children will be”ready” by September 1st of the year they turn five.
- We have little control over making development happen faster. The truth is, even if a child is raised by highly responsive adults, lives in a safe and engaging environment, and is exposed to quality instruction, development tends to unfold at its own rate and pace. It doesn’t mean we can’t have an impact, we just can’t control or speed things up, regardless of what an educational policy or law states.
- There is very little advantage to trying to speed up or slow down a child’s development. Keep in mind, development is heavily driven by maturation (that passage of time) and, while influenced by other variables, tends to move at a rate that whether sped up or slowed down has very few advantages, despite what policy makers might lead you to believe. Think of it this way, if you were an “early walker” or “early reader,” are you now any better than the majority of the other humans around you in terms of getting from point A to point B or reading this blog?
- Early development requires multiple and varied experiences. As early educators, we need to be mindful about ensuring a wide variety of experiences, as well as fostering those that are innately strong within a child or family. Much of early development, while unfolding according to our DNA, is also impacted by our immediate culture and context. In other words, children tend to develop strengths in areas that are supported, encouraged, and where they get consistent feedback.
- Later steps/stages/milestones become more complex and more fully integrated. For example, it’s hard to learn to ride a bike, which is a complex action, without having a variety of skills working together, such as visual-spatial ability, impulse control, and curiosity about one’s environment. All of these skills must evolve concurrently and work in an integrated fashion in order to successfully accomplish a task, such as riding a bike.
- Earlier stages remain part of the child’s repertoire, even as more complex or later skills are acquired. For example, have you given up using one word-utterances? If you said, “No!” then you see the point. Just because we can speak in longer sentences, as our development progresses, it doesn’t mean we don’t need or rely upon earlier skills. This is particularly true when we are faced with challenges or novel situations.
- Early learning is highly dependent and inter-related with early development. Following the issues highlighted in Characteristics 6 and 7 is the notion that early learning is dependent and related to early development. For example, it is hard to learn to count without also developing skills related to working memory and knowledge of associations.
- Development, while fast and furious during the early years, is really a life-long process. By definition, development is a process, and there are many critical stages that occur across the life-span. This is also an important reminder for those of us who work with adults. However, as Cooke-Greuter, 2004 reminds us, “The depth, complexity, and scope of what people notice can expand throughout life. Yet, no matter how evolved we become, our knowledge and understanding is always partial and incomplete.”
- Development, at any age, should not be measured in a single dimension or binary way. We can’t, nor should we aim to measure development in terms of having occurred or not, as being mastered or not, or as being sufficiently ready or not. Again, development, by definition, is a process, one that spirals and is quite dynamic. Further…”not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” (William Bruce Cameron).
So, have you lost sight of what matters most?
Have you forgotten about one or more of these 10 critical characteristics of early development?
After you’ve read this post, I invite you to share your thoughts regarding the 10 characteristics of early development over on FB.
And…as always, please use the social share icons to help spread the word about the #ece {r}evolution.
P.S. “Other fundamental neuroscience concepts that are supported by extensive research in both model systems and humans that have equally important implications for policy development include (1) the hierarchical nature of simple-to-complex circuit formation (Hammock and Levitt, 2006); (2) the neurobiology that underlies the concept of complex skills building on a foundation of simpler skills; (3) the highly interactive nature of cognitive, emotional, and social development; and (4) the decreasing plasticity of brain circuitry over time. The effective communication of these concepts provides a compelling rationale for public investment in early childhood intervention to protect the developing brain from the anatomical, molecular, and physiological disruptions that can be associated with excessive or prolonged activation of the stress response.” Shonkoff & Levitt