Middle childhood is a period where children expand their roles and the environment. They spend less time with their family and engage in other activities such as education and television games or with peers. During this stage, their motor skills, muscle strength, and stamina increase considerably. In addition, they acquire motor skills that allow them to participate in physical activities. As a result, the school has a significant impact on middle childhood development.
It gives children opportunities to acquire at least fundamental competencies in reading, computation, and writing. As much as there varying content and purpose of schools across countries, the main function of schools are to provide learners with knowledge and skills that will enable them to participate in different institution in the society. At these levels, teachers group them at a given age or grade level, utilizing particular instructional materials, and the results of this are given the highest priority. They also serve other social functions such as encouraging social competencies development, delaying children's entrance into the workforce, and offering custodial care when parents are working or pursuing personal interests.
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Apart from encouraging children's societal development, schools sort, and select children to maintain or impede developed organizations, institutions, and social roles in the future. Regarding socialization, schools promote normative outcomes. As opined by Sørlie, Hagen & Nordah (2020) , they provide children with psychological capabilities required for participating in societal institutions by promoting specificity, universalism, independence, and achievement. Thus, the school in middle childhood years contributes to children's development both societally and academically because the academic and normative functions of children depend on societal institutions. The most notable example is the interaction between the family and school because much of the parent’s control and monitoring functions are done by the school the day and even before and after some areas. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss the impact of schools on middle childhood development. It will further summarize two research articles that support or refute the influence of schools on middle childhood development.
Osher, D., Kendziora, K., Spier, E., & Garibaldi, M. L. (2014). School influences on child and youth development. In Defining prevention science (pp. 151-169). Springer, Boston, MA.
According to this article, schools play a crucial role in the development of middle childhood. They act as social microcosms of the wider society and inversely impact people and communities. They function as protector factors that foster relationships, motivation, safety and support positive middle childhood results. Within the school social field of childhood, students deal with critical developmental challenges such as negotiating intergroup social relationships and acquiring significant capacities to achieve. From a protection perspective, schools for middle childhood create a safe harbor for them, promote positive relationships with adults and peers, develop competencies and a sense of efficacy. Likewise, schools also provide middle childhood with access to mental health support, social capital, and leadership opportunities. Osher et al. (2014) indicated that the school climate and conditions of learning promote positive middle childhood development.
Emotionally warm and positive approaches in school can contribute to constructive behavior in children, which can directly impact their success in both school and life. Students' and adults’ emotional and social approaches to discipline meaningful participation opportunities for students, supportive and caring interpersonal relationships coupled with effective classroom management practices are characteristics that shape the conditions for learning. However, as much as schools can promote relationships, safety, and motivation, this article also indicates that schools can function as a risk factor, especially when schools inflexible bureaucratic structures that promote harsh and exclusionary discipline that can result in negative outcomes.
The techniques schools used by schools to ensure that students comply with behavioral expectations may affect student outcomes. In most cases, these techniques to discipline are connected to various negative outcomes, such as increasing the likelihood of students repeating a grade, not graduating, or adjudicated into the justice system. Instead of protecting children, they can expose them to emotional and physical violence, academic frustration, boredom, bullying, poor relationships with peers and adults, humiliation and failure, teasing, and dismissal from the school. To foster better development of middle childhood, the article proposes that schools adopt appropriate models that explicitly teach behavior expectations. The strategies used should concentrate on enhancing efficacy and hold the power of classroom activities where students participate.
Blaževic, I. (2016). Family, Peer and School Influence on Children's Social Development. World Journal of Education , 6 (2), 42-49.
This article illustrates the role of family and school in the comprehensive development of middle childhood students. According to the article, children’s development can be motivated by thoughtful school activities planning in the school curriculum. The article further indicates that the creators of the school curriculum should develop various school activities that give students a chance to express their skills, knowledge, capabilities and develop socially as well. In the middle childhood period, schools should strengthen social development it is the time when first friendships are made. The role of schools in stimulating the integral development of students lies within three knowledge domains: psychomotor, cognitive, and effective. To achieve this, teachers are expected to stimulate students' capabilities and observe as a human being and social being. More classes that represent understanding social relations capabilities and appropriate psychosocial functioning are being developed to orient the child in line with the above.
The positive influence of teachers on social development in school emphasizes how socially developed children can acquire good developing outcomes that will enable them to participate in the community competently. In the middle childhood period, the influence of the school plays an extremely important in the child's social development. It is indicated in the article that children that create a relationship of trust with their teacher in school become socially competent in the relationship with their peers. Furthermore, schools prepare students for future professions and work in the community. In this case, teachers should impart an educative effect on students and encourage them to work in groups, focus their classes on interactions, cooperation, and partnerships.
To contribute to the better social development of students, teachers should learn about social development theories to create quality school activities that stimulate the social and integral development of children. As Blaževic (2016) opines, the social development features in school include differentiation of capabilities, self-respect growth, regulating emotions, mutual trust. In this period, teachers’ interactions have a prominent role in developing peer relations because their interaction creates a feeling of safety, informing their relations with their peers. During this time, peer groups are not firm and mainly consist of children of the same sex. Friendships are superficial, and they orient themselves to mutual interest or participate in activities they enjoy. Friendships become more stable based on care, mutual giving, and support as they continue to stay together in school.
Indeed, school plays a critical role in middle childhood development both socially and academically. Firstly, they enable them to acquire fundamental competencies in reading, writing, and computational skills. School also prepares children for the future profession and work in communities. Finally, children can improve their social relationships at school because it gives children a platform to make friendships. Therefore, for better children's development at school, teachers should stimulate students’ capabilities, create activities that promote social and integral development and minimize harsh punishments that may discourage students from going to school.
References
Blaževic, I. (2016). Family, Peer and School Influence on Children's Social Development. World Journal of Education , 6 (2), 42-49.
Osher, D., Kendziora, K., Spier, E., & Garibaldi, M. L. (2014). School influences on child and youth development. In Defining prevention science (pp. 151-169). Springer, Boston, MA.
Sørlie, M. A., Hagen, K. A., & Nordahl, K. B. (2020). Development of social skills during middle childhood: Growth trajectories and school-related predictors. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology , 1-19.
