The age range of 6-13 years is representative of middle childhood, period characterized by consistent physical, cognitive, and social emotional growth. As explained by Rodgers (2013), during this time, children participate in the outside world, paying attention to establishing friendships and having a sense of achievement in school related activities. The paper aims provides a case study for Abigail, a nine year old and evaluate her developmental stage. It focuses on the physical, emotional, social, and moral development.
The case study involves nine-year-old Abigail, the last born in a family of two. She has an older sister who is thirteen years old. As a student in the fourth grade, she points out playing with her friends and watching SpongeBob square pants as her favorite activities. In consideration of those to have in the case study, she was the most convenient following that I have rapport with the parents. This follows that I babysat Angela, Abigail’s elder sister. I genuinely feel a connection with the family and studying Abigail helps provide meaning to understanding the developmental process. I observed Abigail during playtime at the park with a group of her friends. As children, both Angela and Abigail are under the mother’s custody following divorce from the father. During the play session in the park, it was interesting that they role played as models and stylists participating in a competition. In a sense, the nature of the play took on a gendered approach, as the boys and girls appeared segregated with the boys riding their bicycles along the park. Observation of Abigail was within two contexts, the external and internal environment. The purpose of carrying out observation from both approaches centered on having an understanding of her development. Internally, observation occurred within the home environment.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
During the session at the park, in as much as Abigail and her friends engage in role-playing, there were expressions of gratitude. This is using terms such as thank you. For example, Abigail said thank you when one of her friends braided her hair in preparation for the fashion show. The creativity in the nature of play reveals cognitive development in an understanding of gender roles. Development theorists explain that from a cognitive standpoint, thinking becomes complex, reasoning more logical and the child’s sense of morality expands, (Rodgers, 2013). The external environment in the park conveyed an important aspect of development, which is physical development. Physically, at the age of nine, Abigail’s height is within the parameters of middle childhood and similar to her peers. With the play activities in the park involving plenty of motor movements such as jumping, running, and climbing, they are indicative of development of fine motor skills. The environment in the park equally sheds light on the social interactions Abigail engages in and their role in strengthening her social-emotional development.
From the internal environment, the context was in her helping her mother prepare cookies. In being part of the process, Abigail engaged me and asked if I liked cookies to which I responded yes. She smiled and made me aware of her liking towards chocolate chip and inquired on mine. I replied blueberry as my favorite. She pointed out that it has a unique flavor and soon she will learn to make them. By asking my preference and sharing hers, she revealed a transition to the concrete operational stage. This follows that she displayed the ability to focus on another’s opinion that is different from her own. She also displayed a willingness to try out something new outside of her comfort zone. As part of casual conversation, I asked Abigail how she felt if one of her friends was going through bullying. She mentioned that bullying was bad and that no one deserves bullying. If one of her friends were going through it, she would talk to the teacher and confront the bully to stop. The response conveyed a sense of pre-conventional moral reasoning. She judged bullying as bad based on lessons in schools about bullying being a negative behavior. She brings in the teacher as a figure of authority, able to confront the situation. As explained by Charlesworth, Wood and Viggiani (2007), Kohlberg proposed development of cognitive skills, as the precursor to moral development and with Abigail displaying cognitive development; her moral development is equally evident.
Effect of Diversity and Differences
Abigail comes from an all-American family. During her interaction with her friends at the park, the play session did not draw attention to perceived ethnic differences among each other. Some of her friends come from an Asian and African American background. According to Charlesworth, Wood and Viggiani (2007), children in non-dominant groups struggle in their quest for identity development. During cognitive development, the advances in cognition allow children to view themselves as belonging to more than one category. Segregation based on race or ethnicity is possible during this stage and children are more likely to hold negative attitudes towards groups they do not belong. In this case, it is important to help children navigate through identity development by helping them understand their cultural heritage.
Abigail is indeed a mirror reflection of my childhood and her perception of culture is somewhat similar to mine. Growing up, I was aware that individuals came from different ethnicities, however in play and school; I did not consider myself any different from them. Regardless, I was cautious about my statements around my friends and classmates who were of a different race, as I did not want to say anything that would offend them. As Charlesworth, Wood and Viggiani (2007), explain, the positive identity development of children depends on schools and the home environment valuing diversity. The family environment equally plays a critical role in shaping cultural identity and the various biases that children develop within the course of their development.
Concerning biases, if observation involved a child from a different race, I would spend time identifying looming stereotypes apparent in the child’s behavior. This limits attention from observing the child in a holistic way.
Human Behavior and the Social Environment
One of the factors that account for Abigail’s healthy development is the environmental context she is in. One of the factors includes good parenting. The first social patterns of behavior whether positive or negative serve as the basis upon which the child interacts with their peers. For example, children raised by authoritarian parents make friends easily and experience acceptability in groups, (Blazevic, 2016). However, such children struggle with freely expressing their own opinions. Parents that encourage open communication, help develop desirable social skills and capabilities in solving problems. Despite the divorce, the system of communication in the family encourages Abigail to have a sense of secure attachment in her interaction with her parents and peers. Part of another element that contributes to healthy development is the role in peers. During middle childhood, children spend a significant amount of time navigating through the societal structures with peer relationships helping them socially. Interaction with peers plays an important role in socialization with, bad peer relations potentially leading to negative socially unacceptable behaviors, (Blazevic, 2016). Erik Erikson identifies the period of middle childhood characterized by industry vs. inferiority. While children work hard in school to succeed, they also build successful friendships. The provision of social support equally seems to be an important component in healthy development; Abigail draws support from her elder sister who in my observations appeared protective of her. The relationship between Abigail and her mother is also supportive which accounts for Abigail’s healthy social emotional growth.
Aspects of human behavior that account for the apparent cognitive growth center around Abigail’s strong sense of self-awareness. She is aware of her likes and considers the varying viewpoints of others.
Conclusion
Abigail was an interesting case study. She shed light on the importance of middle childhood as a developmental stage keen on helping children prepare for adolescents. Central to development is the influence of the social environment in shaping development. At this stage, children are keen on school activities, spending time with their friends and being the best at what they do. Concerning physical development, parents have an obligation to ensure their children receive the necessary food supplements to encourage growth. Socially and culturally, they should provide an environment that encourages children to develop their identity. Following the cognitive development children go through, they are aware of the existing racial differences among their peers. The concern then is having children understand the meaning of the differences and work towards developing a strong sense of self and appreciation for other cultures and ethnicities.
References
Blazevic, I. (2016). Family, Peer and School Influence on Children's Social Development. World Journal of Education , 6 (2), 42.
Charlesworth, L., Wood, J., & Viggiani, P. (2008). Middle childhood. Dimensions of human behavior: The changing life course. New York (NY): Guilford , 177-226.
Rodgers, Annisa. (2013). Human Behavior in the Social Environment . 3 rd Edition. New York: Taylor and Francis Group.
