Ten questions to answer.
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
F amilies and cultures have always stressed
education for children who are past early
childhood but not yet adolescents. In
some cultures and centuries, girls and
poor children were not sent to school; they learned
how to perform the tasks required of adults in their
cultures. Today, most children worldwide—including
girls and less advantaged boys—begin their educa-
tion before early childhood and continue after ado-
lescence, preparing for school or building on what
they have learned. But the period from age 7 to 11 is
still prime time for learning—hence these are “the
school years.” Although sometimes called middle
childhood, we have chosen to emphasize what is
special about these years—and schooling is it.
If asked to pick the best years of the entire life
span, you might choose ages 7 to 11 and defend your
choice persuasively. For many children, these healthy
and productive years allow measured (not dramatic)
growth; mastery of new athletic skills; and acquisition
of concepts, vocabulary, and intellectual abilities. In
psychosocial development, children typically appre-
ciate their parents, make new friends, and are proud
of their nationality, gender, and ethnicity.
All this is true for many, but not all. Some school-
age children struggle with special educational needs;
some live in dysfunctional families; some cope with
poverty or homelessness; some contend with obesity,
chronic health problems, learning disabilities, or
bullying. The next three chapters celebrate the joys
and acknowledge the difficulties of these school
years.
PA R T I V
281
The School Years: Biosocial Development
C ontext changes, so everything changes. No longer do children depend entirely on their families to dress, feed, and wash them, or to send them to a preschool where they encounter a limited number of similar children. By age 6 or 7, self-care (dressing,
eating, bathing) is routine and attendance at school is mandated—usually a school with a formal curriculum and, often, hundreds of fellow learners from many backgrounds.
This chapter describes similarities among all school-age children, but also differences that suddenly become significant—in size, in health, in learning ability, and in almost everything else. Children make comparisons, and almost every child sometimes feels inadequate. I moved a thousand miles in the second grade, entering a new school. I was self-conscious and lonely. Cynthia talked to me; she seemed willing to be my friend.
“We cannot be friends,” she told me, “because I am a Democrat.” “So am I,” I answered. (I knew my family believed in democracy.) “No you’re not. You are a Republican,” she said. I was stunned. We never became friends.
Neither Cynthia nor I realized that each child is unusual in some way (per- haps from another culture, family type, or, in this case, political background) and yet capable of friendship with children who are different. I wish that some adult had noticed my loneliness and helped me. Cynthia would have made a good friend.
A Healthy Time Genetic and environmental factors safeguard childhood. Most fatal child- hood diseases and accidents occur before age 7, and by the school years a measure of caution and several doses of vaccine are protective. Even during times of high infant mortality and before immunization, school-age children have always been quite hardy, protected until they reach their reproductive years and can produce the next generation.
The same factors operate today. Middle childhood, the period after early childhood and before adolescence, approximately from age 7 to 11, is the healthiest period of the entire life span (see Figure 11.1). Fatal illness is very rare and mortal injuries are unusual during this time.
11
283
CHAPTER OUTLINE
c A Healthy Time
Size and Shape
Physical Activity
Chronic Illness
c Brain Development
Advances in Brain Functioning
Measuring the Mind
c Children with Special Needs
A CASE TO STUDY: Billy: Dynamo or Dynamite?
Developmental Psychopathology
THINKING LIKE A SCIENTIST: Overdosing and Underdosing
Educating Children with Special Needs
middle childhood The period between
early childhood and early adolescence,
approximately from age 7 to 11.
overweight In an adult, having a BMI (body
mass index) of 25 to 29. In a child, being
above the 85th percentile, based on the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s 1980
standards for his or her age and sex.
obesity In an adult, having a BMI (body mass
index) of 30 or more. In a child, being above
the 95th percentile, based on the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control’s 1980 stan-
dards for his or her age and sex.
284 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Size and Shape
The rate of growth slows down, allowing school-age children to undertake their basic self-care, from brushing their teeth to buttoning their jackets, from making their own lunch to walking to school. Muscles become stronger: The average 10-year-old can throw a ball twice as far as a 6-year-old. Lung capacity expands: With each passing year, children run faster and exercise longer without breathing more heavily (Malina et al., 2004).
In fact, partly because of slower growth and stronger muscles, during these years children can master almost any motor skill that doesn’t require adult size. For instance, 9-year-olds can race their elders on bicycles, but they can’t compete in adult basketball.
Culture, motivation, and practice are crucial for any motor skill. This is illus- trated by the use of chopsticks, a fine motor skill that is attained in chopstick- using cultures by half of the 4-year-olds and virtually all the 6-year-olds (Wong et al., 2002), but by almost no 7- to 11-year-olds elsewhere.
Typically, school-age children in developed nations eat enough, as their bodies grow taller. Healthy 6-year-olds tend to have the lowest body mass index (BMI, a number expressing the relationship of height to weight) of any age group (Guillaume & Lissau, 2002) and, until puberty, children typically stay slim.
As you know, however, not every school-age child is slim. The most common nutritional problem at this age is overweight, defined as having a BMI above the 85th percentile of the growth charts as compiled (according to age and sex) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Obesity is defined as having a BMI above the 95th percentile. (The definitions for adults are different: a BMI between 25 and 29 for overweight and 30 or above for obesity).
0
.20
.50
1.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Age (years)
Number of
deaths,
per 1,000
individuals
U.S. Annual Death Rates
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, “Deaths: Final Data for 2003”, Table 4; www.cde.gov/nchs/fastats, accessed August 15, 2007.
0
70
50
60
40
30
20
10
5–9
Age (years)
Number of
deaths,
per 1,000
individuals
10–14 15–19 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 50–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 75–79 80+
FIGURE 11.1
Death at an Early Age? Almost Never!
Schoolchildren are remarkably hardy, as
measured in many ways. These charts show
that death rates for 7- to 11-year-olds are
lower than those for children under 7 or over
11 and about a hundred times lower than
for adults.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 286):
From the bottom graph, it looks as if ages 9
and 19 are equally healthy, but they are
dramatically different in the top graph. What
is the explanation?
The average child of every age, family income, nationality, and cultural group is heavier today than in 1980 (see Figure 11.2). Older and poorer children show the most worrisome gains (Ogden et al., 2006). Quality of food (e.g., high-calorie, low- nutrition “junk foods”), not quantity, is the problem. Even in China, where more than a billion people are poor, obesity is becoming a medical problem (Gu et al., 2005). Poverty no longer means starvation, except in nations beset by famine or war, where crop failures and forced migration make food very scarce.
Excess weight hinders development in every domain. Overweight children ex- ercise less and have higher blood pressure, risking health problems in adulthood, including type 2 diabetes (which is increasing among older children), heart dis- ease, and stroke. School achievement often decreases, self-esteem falls, and lone- liness rises with excessive increases in weight (Friedlander et al., 2003; Guillaume & Lissau, 2002; Mustillo et al., 2003).
What makes one child more vulnerable to being overweight than another of the same age? Genes are part of the explanation; they affect activity level, food preferences, body type, and metabolic rate. People who inherit from both parents a particular allele of a gene called FTO (as about 16 percent of all children of European ancestry do) are much more likely to be obese than are other children (Frayling et al, 2007). It is not known how often this genetic combination is found in children of other backgrounds.
But genes do not act alone: “Fat runs in families but so do frying pans, which makes it hard to know whether DNA or dripping is more to blame for today’s plague of obesity” (Jones, 2006, p. 1879).
Vulnerable children become obese because of the influence of an estimated 250 genes and because of many influences in the environment, including their parents’ and grandparents’ diets (Gluckman & Hanson, 2006). Studies suggest dozens of other environmental culprits. For instance, children who daily watch more than two hours of television and drink more than two servings of soda (“pop”) are more often overweight than are those who do neither (Institute of Medicine, 2005).
Adults may not realize that their children are over- weight and thus may not think that they have any rea- son to limit their consumption of junk food, their time spent playing video games and watching TV, and their lack of physical activity. For instance, in one study of obese African American children, only 30 percent of the parents acknowledged that their children were overweight (Young-Hyman et al., 2003).
Especially for Teachers A child in your
class is overweight, but you are hesitant to
say anything to the parents, who are also
overweight, because you do not want to
insult them. What should you do?
A Healthy Time 285
All The Same These boys are all friends in
the third grade, clowning in response to the
camera—as school-age boys like to do. Out-
siders might notice the varied growth rates
and genetic differences, but the boys them-
selves are more aware of what they have in
common.
LA U
R A
D W
IG H
T
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs; accessed August 15, 2007; Ogden et al., 2006.
20
15
10
5
0 1963–70 1971–74 1976–80 1988–94 1999–2004
Percent
Prevalence of Overweight Among U.S. Children Aged 6 –11
FIGURE 11.2
No Improvement in Sight The prevalence
of overweight among 6- to 11-year-olds in-
creased by 8 percentage points between
1988 and 1994 and between 1999 and 2004.
The picture is not much brighter among ado-
lescents: Overweight among 12- to 19-year-
olds increased by 6 percentage points, from
11 percent to 17 percent, during the same
period.
If parents do recognize the problem, their attempt to put the child on a diet may boomerang. One study of 7- to 12-year-olds found that “restricting access to certain foods increases rather than decreases preference. Forcing a child to eat a food will decrease liking for that food” (Benton, 2004, p. 858). A better strategy is for adults to keep their own weight down and to exercise with the child (Patrick et al., 2004).
Physical Activity
Active play benefits children in every way, not only with weight and motor skills. Children often play joyfully, “fully and totally immersed” (Loland, 2002, p. 139). Much more than for younger children, the maturation of body and brain enables school-age children to join in active games. For them, the benefits of sports can last a lifetime:
■ Better overall health ■ Less obesity ■ Appreciation of cooperation and fair play ■ Improved problem-solving abilities ■ Respect for teammates and opponents of many ethnicities and nationalities
There are hazards as well:
■ Loss of self-esteem as a result of criticism from teammates or coaches ■ Injuries (the infamous “Little League elbow” is one example) ■ Reinforcement of prejudices (especially against the other sex) ■ Increases in stress (evidenced by altered hormone levels, insomnia) ■ Time and effort taken away from learning academic skills
Where can children potentially reap the benefits and avoid the hazards? Three possibilities are neighborhoods, schools, and sports leagues.
Neighborhood Games
Neighborhood play is flexible; children improvise to meet their needs. Rules, boundaries of where play can occur, and times are adapted to children’s availability (usually any school-age children whose parents let them). Stickball, touch football, tag, hide-and-seek, jump rope, and dozens of other games that involve running
Especially for Parents Suppose that you
always serve dinner with the television on,
tuned to a news broadcast. Your hope is that
your children will learn about the world as
they eat. Can this practice be harmful?
286 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Will She Drink Her Milk? The first word
many American children read is McDonald’s,
and they all recognize the golden arches. Fast
food is part of almost every family’s diet—
one reason the rate of obesity has doubled in
every age group in the United States since
1980. Even if the young girl stops playing with
her straw and drinks the milk, she is learning
that soda and French fries are desirable food
choices. M IC
H A
E L
N E W
M A
N /
P H
O T O
E D
IT
➤Response for Teachers (from page 285):
Speak to the parents, not accusingly (because
you know that genes and culture have a major
influence on body weight), but helpfully. Alert
them to the potential social and health problem
that their child’s weight poses. Most parents
are very concerned about their child’s well-
being and will work with you to improve the
child’s snacks and exercise level.
Answer to Observation Quiz (from page
284): Look at the vertical axis. From age 1 to 20,
the annual death rate is less than 1 in 1,000.
and catching, or kicking and jumping, can go on forever, or at least until dark. The play is active and interactive, ideal for children.
Modern life has made informal neighborhood games increasingly scarce. Exploding urbanization means fewer open areas that are both fun and safe. For example, Mexico City had an estimated 3 million residents in 1970 and 20 million in 2005; an inevitable re- sult is overcrowding, with less space for children to play.
Further, many parents keep their children inside because of “stranger danger”—although “there is a much greater chance that your child is going to be dangerously overweight from staying inside than that he is going to be abducted” (Layden, 2004, p. 96). Home- work, television, and video games all compete with outdoor play.
Exercise in School
When opportunities for neighborhood play are scarce, physical edu- cation in school is an alternative. Good gym teachers know develop- mentally appropriate, cooperative games and exercises for children (Belka, 2004). However, children may enjoy sports but hate physi- cal education. One author cites an example of two children who participate enthusiastically in sports every weekend but have a different attitude in school:
Their current softball unit in physical education hardly provokes any excitement. There are 18 students on each side, sides that are formed in an ad hoc manner each lesson. . . . Few students get turns to pitch, and many are satisfied playing the deepest of outfield positions in order to have minimal involvement in the game.
[Hastie, 2004, p. 63]
As schools are pressured to increase reading and math knowledge (see Chapter 12), time for physical education and recess has declined to a few hours a week. Typically, many children share a confined space, spending more time waiting than moving.
Athletic Clubs and Leagues
Private or nonprofit clubs and organizations offer opportunities for children to play. Culture and family influence this type of play: Some children learn golf, others tennis, others boxing. Cricket and rugby are common in England and in former British colonies, such as Australia and Jamaica; baseball is common in Japan, the United States, Cuba, Panama, and the Dominican Republic; soccer is central in many European, African, and Latin American nations.
The best-known organized recreation program for children is Little League, with 2.7 million children playing baseball and softball on 180,000 teams in 75 countries. When it began in 1939, Little League had only three teams of boys aged 9–12. Now it includes girls, younger and older children, and 22,000 children with dis- abilities, an expansion that indicates the desire of children and their parents to play sports—increasingly less available at school or on a neighborhood vacant lot.
Despite possible problems, most children enjoy organized sports. One adult confesses:
I was a lousy Little League player. Uncoordinated, small, and clueless are the accu- rate adjectives I’d use if someone asked politely. . . . What I did possess, though, was enthusiasm. Wearing the uniform—cheesy mesh cap, scratchy polyester shirt, old-school beltless pants, uncomfortable cleats and stirrups that never stayed up —gave me a sort of pride. It felt special and made me think that I was part of something important.
[Ryan, 2005]
A Healthy Time 287
Keep It Rolling This boy in Orissa, India, is
using an old bicycle tire as a hoop. Although
they use different objects, children every-
where have the impulse to play, and many of
their games are the same.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 289):
Is this boy malnourished?
S E A
N S
P R
A G
U E /
T H
E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
“Just remember son, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose—
unless you want Daddy’s love.”
T H
E N
E W
Y O
R K
E R
C O
LL E C
T IO
N 2
0 0 1 P
A T B
Y R
N E S
FR O
M C
A R
T O
O N
B A
N K
.C O
M . A
LL R
IG H
T S
R E S
E R
V E D
.
Belonging is important to every child, but that point raises one final problem with organized children’s sports: Many children are left out (Collins, 2003). Parents must pay their children’s fees, transport them to practices and games, and support their children’s teams. Children who are from poor families, who are not well coor- dinated, or who have chronic illnesses are less likely to belong to sports teams. Those are the very children who could benefit most from the exercise.
Chronic Illness
We noted that middle childhood is generally a healthy time, more so now in every nation of the world than just 30 years ago. Immunization has reduced deaths dramatically, and serious accidents, fatal illnesses, and even minor diseases are less common.
In the United States, the improved health of school-age children is evidenced in fewer chronic illnesses, less exposure to environmental toxins, and fewer surgeries performed in childhood. Hearing impairments and anemia are half as frequent as they were two decades ago, and only 1 percent of 5- to 10-year-olds had elevated blood levels of lead in 2001, compared with almost 30 percent in 1978 (MMWR, May 27, 2005; see Research Design). Elevated blood lead correlates with many disabilities, especially affecting the brain (mental retardation, hyperactivity).
Health-related problems still occur, of course. About 13 percent of all children have special health needs, some of which get worse during the school years, in- cluding Tourette syndrome, stuttering, and allergies. Such conditions often have social side effects, impairing children’s learning as well as peer acceptance. Rela- tively minor problems, such as walking with a limp, wearing glasses, repeatedly having to blow one’s nose, or even having a visible birthmark, may make children self-conscious.
Basic practices, such as eating a balanced diet, getting enough exercise and sleep, and breathing clean air, continue to be important for health and learning during these years; some evidence suggests that they become more important. Just 50 years ago, most poor children lived in rural areas; they exercised more and breathed cleaner air than city children. Now most poor children live in cities. The children who are at risk of illness for economic or social reasons are also the most vulnerable if basic health needs are not met—which is all too often the case (Buckhalt et al., 2007; Dilworth-Bart & Moore, 2006).
Any chronic condition that limits active play, impedes focused attention, or prevents regular school attendance correlates with emotional and social problems of every kind. For illustration, we examine the condition that is the most common reason for children to miss school: asthma.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that makes breathing diffi- cult. Although asthma affects people of every age, rates are highest among school-age children and are increasing worldwide (Bousquet et al., 2007). In the United States, asthma affects 9 percent of all children under age 18, with higher rates for Puerto Rican (19 percent) and African American (13 percent) children. These rates are about twice as high as they were in 1980 (Akinbami, 2006).
Many researchers are studying the possible causes of asthma, including genetic factors. Suspect alleles have been identified, but asthma has varied genetic roots (Bossé & Hudson, 2007).
In any case, as you saw with obesity, genes increase the risk of asthma, but en- vironment is crucial. Some experts suggest a “hygiene hypothesis,” the idea that contemporary children are so overprotected from viruses and bacteria that they do
Especially for Phys. Ed. Teachers A
group of parents of fourth- and fifth-graders
has asked for your help in persuading the
school administration to sponsor a
competitive sports team. How should you
advise the group to proceed?
288 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Research Design Scientists: Nine scientists working for
three U.S. government agencies: Envi-
ronmental Protection, Housing and
Urban Development, and Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Publication: Mortality and Morbidity
Weekly Report (MMWR) of May 27,
2005, published by the Massachusetts
Medical Society.
Participants: A large, representative U.S.
sample is examined every few years as
part of NHANES (the National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey). The
study cited was the 1999–2002 survey,
and these data were from blood tests of
6,283 people aged 6–19.
Design: Blood levels of lead were ana-
lyzed by spectrophotometry in a CDC
laboratory. The cutoff for an “elevated”
level was 10 µg per deciliter, a standard
recognized by many public health
authorities.
Major conclusion: Compared with previ-
ous NHANES data, a marked decrease in
blood levels of lead was found among
all groups. The decrease was attributed
to “coordinated, intensive efforts” that
included removing lead from gasoline,
paint, and the metal used to make food
cans.
Comment: This study confirmed that a
public health campaign to reduce expo-
sure to lead was succeeding. The data
also reveal some problems: Children
under 6 years are about 10 times more
likely to have elevated lead levels than
are adolescents, and rates are still rela-
tively high among African and Latino
Americans.
asthma A chronic disease of the respiratory
system in which inflammation narrows the
airways from the lungs to the nose and
mouth, causing difficulty in breathing.
Signs and symptoms include wheezing,
shortness of breath, chest tightness, and
coughing.
not get the infections and childhood diseases that would strengthen their immune systems (Busse & Lemanske, 2005; Tedeschi & Airaghi, 2006).
Several aspects of modern life—carpets, pets inside the home, airtight windows, less outdoor play—are known to contribute to the increased rates of asthma (Tamay et al., 2007). Many allergens that trigger asthma attacks (pet dander, cigarette smoke, dust mites, cockroaches, and mold) are more concentrated in today’s well- insulated homes than in the houses of a century ago. Air pollution is also a problem. A study in Mongolia, where many people still live in sparsely populated and poor rural areas, confirmed that asthma increases with modern, city life, even though Mongolian urban dwellers are still quite poor (Viinanen et al., 2007).
Prevention of Asthma
The three levels of prevention discussed in Chapter 8 apply to every chronic health problem, including asthma. Primary prevention is the most difficult. Better ventilation of schools and homes, decreased pollution, eradication of cockroaches, and construction of many more outdoor play areas would make asthma less common by helping all children.
The benefit of primary prevention was revealed during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Various meas- ures aimed at reducing traffic congestion (e.g., free mass transit) also reduced air pollution and, unexpectedly, cut the number of asthma attacks almost in half (Friedman et al., 2001). Similar conclusions, using an entirely different methodology, were found regarding air pollution and asthma in Beijing (Pan et al., 2007).
Secondary prevention reduces the occurrence of asthma among high-risk chil- dren. When asthma runs in the family, then breast-feeding and ridding the house of dust, pets, smoke, and other allergens cut the rate of allergies and asthma in half (Elliott et al., 2007; Gdalevich et al., 2001). For asthma (as well as all other health problems), regular checkups aid secondary prevention.
Finally, tertiary prevention (reducing the damage caused by asthma once it develops) includes the prompt use of injections and inhalers, which markedly reduce acute wheezing and overnight hospitalizations (Glauber et al., 2001). The use of hypoallergenic materials (e.g., for mattress covers) can also reduce the rate of asthma attacks—but not by much, probably because tertiary prevention at home occurs too late (MMWR, January 14, 2005).
Adequate tertiary prevention is provided for less than half the children with asthma in the United States. Why? One reason is economic. One-third of school- age children, including more than half of African American and Hispanic children, have no health insurance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). Another reason is mistrust of doctors (mostly White, high-income older men) by parents of young children (often non-White, low-income young women).
Language and cultural barriers add to the problem. Among one group of immi- grant mothers of asthmatic children, 88 percent thought drugs were overused in the United States, and 72 percent did not give their children the medication their doctors prescribed (Bearison et al., 2002). In a large multiethnic study, half the parents who bought drugs for childhood asthma did not acknowledge that their child was asthmatic (Roberts, 2003). It may be that the prescribing doctor did not explain, or that the parents did not understand, or that they refused to acknowl- edge a chronic illness.
Children reflect their parents’ attitudes. Only half of a group of 8- to 16-year- olds with asthma followed their doctor’s advice about medication; those children
Especially for School Nurses For the past
month, a 10-year-old fifth-grade girl has been
eating very little at lunch and has visibly lost
weight. She has also lost interest in daily
school activities. What should you do?
A Healthy Time 289
K A
T H
Y M
C LA
U G
H LI
N /
T H
E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
➤Response for Parents (from page 286):
Habitual TV watching correlates with obesity,
so you may be damaging your children’s
health rather than improving their intellect.
Your children would probably profit more if
you were to make dinner a time for family
conversation.
Pride and Prejudice In some city schools,
asthma is so common that using an inhaler is
a sign of prestige, as suggested by the facial
expressions of these two boys. The prejudice
is more apparent beyond the walls of this
school nurse's room, in a society that allows
high rates of childhood asthma to occur.
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from
page 287): Although malnutrition is common
in India, school-age children worldwide are
more often too fat than too thin. This boy has
healthy hair; his ribs do not show; and, most
important, he seems to have adequate energy
and coordination for active play. Although a
definitive answer depends on percentiles, he
is probably just fine.
who were older, minority, and low-income were least likely to comply (McQuaid et al., 2003). This lack of compliance among older children is also a major prob- lem in the treatment of diabetes, PKU, sickle-cell anemia, and almost every other chronic childhood condition.
Asthma and many other adult health problems can be prevented during the school years if two things occur. First, parents must be diligent in providing regular preventive care for dental health (early treatment prevents later tooth loss and gum disease), eye health (specific exercises can postpone the need for glasses), spine curvature (a back brace may encourage normal growth), and so on. Second, chil- dren must develop the habit of taking care of their health so that their adolescent rebellion erupts in some way (such as green hair) that does not make them sick.
S U M M I N G U P
School-age children are usually healthy, strong, and capable. Immunizations during the
play years protect them against childhood diseases, and developmental advances give
them sufficient strength and coordination to take care of their own basic needs (eating,
dressing, bathing). However, their growing awareness of themselves and of each other
makes every physical condition a potential problem that might interfere with peer ac-
ceptance and school attendance. Obesity and asthma are two notable examples. Both
have genetic and early-childhood origins, but both become more problematic during
middle childhood. Primary prevention is crucial, but many children do not get the safe,
active play or the ongoing care that they need. ■
Brain Development Recall that, in early childhood, emotional regulation, theory of mind, and left–right coordination emerge. The maturing corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain. The prefrontal cortex—the executive part of the brain— plans, monitors, and evaluates. These developments continue in middle child- hood. We look now at advances in reaction time, attention, and automatization, and at ways to measure brain activity, particularly tests of ability that indicate whether a child is developing as expected.
Advances in Brain Functioning
Increasing myelination results “by 7 or 8 years of age, in a massively intercon- nected brain” (Kagan & Herschkowitz, 2005, p. 220). One consequence is a reduction in reaction time, the length of time it takes to respond to a stimulus. Over the decades of adulthood, reaction time slowly lengthens again. Conse- quently, for instance, grandparents might lose to a teenage grandchild at rapid- response video games but be fairly matched with an 8-year-old one.
Advances in the “mental control processes that enable self-control” (Verté et al., 2005, p. 415) allow planning for the future, which is beyond the ability of the impatient younger child. Now children can analyze possible consequences before they lash out in anger or dissolve in tears and can figure out when a curse word seems advisable (on the playground to a bully, perhaps) and when it does not (in the classroom or at home).
Neurological advances allow children to process different types of information in many areas of the brain at once and to pay special heed to the most important elements. Selective attention, the ability to concentrate on some stimuli while
reaction time The time it takes to respond
to a stimulus, either physically (with a
reflexive movement such as an eye blink)
or cognitively (with a thought).
selective attention The ability to concentrate
on some stimuli while ignoring others.
290 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
➤Response for Phys. Ed. Teachers (from
page 288): Discuss with the parents their
reasons for wanting the team. Children need
physical activity, but some aspects of compet-
itive sports are better suited to adults than to
children. Recommend that the parents think
of ways to foster their children’s health and
cooperative spirit without the element of
competition.
ignoring others, is crucial for early school competence (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2003). Selective attention requires ongoing myelination and the increased production of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) and improves noticeably at about age 7. School-age children not only notice various stimuli (which is one form of attention) but can also judge the appropriate response when several possibilities conflict (Rueda et al., 2007).
Attention deficits may underlie many of the problems seen in 6-year-olds, including poor motor skills that gradually improve with age (Wassenberg et al., 2005). Motor and cognitive impairments are not entirely the result of inattention, but inattention is part of the problem.
In the classroom, selective attention allows children to listen, take concise notes, and ignore distractions (all very difficult at age 6, better by age 10). In the din of the cafeteria, children can understand one another’s gestures and expres- sions and respond quickly. Playing ball, batters ignore the other team’s attempts to distract them, while alert fielders start moving into position as soon as a ball is hit their way. Selective attention underlies all of these abilities.
Another major advance in brain function in middle childhood is automatiza- tion, the repetition of a sequence of thoughts and actions until it becomes auto- matic, or routine. At first, almost all behaviors under conscious control require careful and slow thought. After many repetitions, as neurons fire in sequence, actions become automatic and patterned. Less thinking is needed because firing one neuron sets off a chain reaction.
Increased myelination and hours of practice lead to the “automatic pilot” of cognition (Berninger & Richards, 2002). Consider a child learn- ing to read. At first, eyes (sometimes aided by a finger) concentrate, painstakingly making out letters and sounding out each one. This se- quence of actions leads to perception of syllables and then words. Even- tually the process becomes so automatic that a glance at a billboard results in reading without any intentional effort.
Automatization is apparent in the acquisition of every skill. Speaking a second language, reciting the multiplication tables, and writing one’s name are haltingly, even painfully, difficult at first but then gradually become automatic. A transformation to a more efficient form of neural processing, freeing the brain for more advanced reading, speaking, com- putation, and writing, is the reason for this advance (Berninger & Richards, 2002). Practice makes perfect (almost).
Measuring the Mind
Measuring developmental changes in brain functioning can be done via repeated brain scans, such as the fMRI. One laboratory reported that the cortex (the top layers of the brain) is relatively thin at the beginning of childhood and then grows thicker during the school years, reaching a peak at about age 8. The brains of children who are very intelligent follow the same pattern, but it is more pronounced (notably thinner and then thicker) and the thickening develops more slowly, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (Miller, 2006).
Intriguing research like this is arduous and expensive; it has not yet been repli- cated or even fully understood. More often, mental processes are measured via written questions on a standardized test. Each child’s answers are compared with those of other children the same age (to assess aptitude) or the same school grade (to measure achievement).
automatization A process in which repeti-
tion of a sequence of thoughts and actions
makes the sequence routine, so that it no
longer requires conscious thought.
Brain Development 291
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➤Response for School Nurses (from page
289): Something is wrong, and you (or the
school psychologist, or both) should talk to
the girl’s parents. Ask whether they, too, have
noticed any changes. Recommend that the
child see her pediatrician for a thorough
physical examination. If the girl’s self-image
turns out to be part of the problem, stress
the importance of social support.
Neurons at Work Brain development is
evident in this duet, since playing the piano
requires selective attention, practice, and
automatization, as does singing in harmony.
These girls are about 9 years old; compare
their proficiency with the piano banging and
off-key singing of the typical preschooler.
Aptitude and Achievement
In theory, aptitude is the potential to master a particular skill or to learn a par- ticular body of knowledge. The most important aptitude for school-age children is intellectual aptitude, or the ability to learn in school. Intellectual aptitude is measured by IQ tests (see Figure 11.3).
In theory, achievement is distinct from aptitude. Achievement is not what a person might learn but what a person has learned. Achievement tests are taken routinely by students (as mandated in the United States by the No Child Left Behind Act, discussed in Chapter 12), measuring learning in reading, math, writ- ing, science, and other subjects.
The words in theory precede those definitions because aptitude and achieve- ment tests are designed to measure different traits; but the scores on them are highly correlated, not just for individuals but also for nations, according to a study of 46 countries (Lynn & Mikk, 2007). Both aptitude and achievement also corre- late with wealth, individually and nationally (Lynn & Vanhanen, 2002). It is not surprising, then, that a child’s IQ score predicts later education and then adult success. To be specific, children with high IQs usually earn good grades in school and graduate from college. As adults, they typically hold professional or manage- rial jobs, marry, and own homes (Sternberg et al., 2001).
The average IQs of entire nations have risen substantially—a phenomenon called the Flynn Effect, after the researcher who first described it (Flynn, 1999). At first, the Flynn Effect was doubted because IQ was thought to be totally genetic and genes don’t change. But developmentalists now agree that the Flynn Effect is real (Rodgers & Wänström, 2007) and believe that the reasons are envi- ronmental, including better health, smaller families, and more schooling.
IQ is an abbreviation for “intelligence quotient.” Originally, an IQ score was based on an actual quotient: mental age (as indicated on the test) divided by chronological age, and the result was then multiplied by 100. Children whose test performance equals the average performance of all children the same age have a mental age equal to their chronological age. In that case, mental age divided by chronological age equals 1, and 1 times 100 gives an IQ of 100. Thus, an IQ of 100 is exactly average.
The current method of calculating IQ is more complicated, but it is still assumed that a person’s aptitude for learning increases through adolescence, so dividing the score by years of age equals the IQ. An IQ of 100 is held to be average at any age. In adulthood, aptitude is assumed not to change year by year (see Chapter 21). About two-thirds of people of all ages have an IQ between 85 and 115. Almost all (96 percent) are between 70 and 130.
292 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
aptitude The potential to master a particular
skill or to learn a particular body of knowl-
edge.
IQ tests Tests designed to measure intellec-
tual aptitude, or ability to learn in school.
Originally, intelligence was defined as
mental age divided by chronological age,
times 100—hence the term intelligence
quotient, or IQ.
achievement tests Measures of mastery or
proficiency in reading, math, writing, sci-
ence, or any other subject.
40
Theoretical Distribution of IQ Scores
16055 70 85 100 115 130 145
Superior
Gifted
Genius
Slow learner
Mild retardation
Moderate to
severe retardation
Average
68.26% 13.6%13.6% 2.13%
0.14% 2.13%
0.14%
IQ Score
FIGURE 11.3
In Theory, Most People Are Average Almost
70 percent of IQ scores fall within the normal
range. Note, however, that this is a norm-
referenced test. In fact, actual IQ scores have
risen in many nations; 100 is no longer exactly
the midpoint. Further, in practice, scores below
50 are slightly more frequent than indicated by
the normal curve shown here, because severe
retardation is the result not of the normal dis-
tribution but of genetic and prenatal factors.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 295):
If a person’s IQ is 110, what category is he or
she in?
Flynn Effect The rise in average IQ scores
that has occurred over the decades in
many nations.
Especially for People Who Know Their
IQ Score How would you interpret scores of
125, 100, and 75?
Highly regarded and widely used IQ tests include the Stanford-Binet test, now in its fifth edition (Roid, 2003), and the Wechsler tests. There are Wechsler tests for preschoolers (the WPPSI, or Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intel- ligence), for adults (the WAIS, or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), and for school-age children—the WISC, or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, now in its fourth edition (Wechsler, 2003).
The WISC has 10 subtests, including tests of vocabulary, general knowledge, memory, and visual awareness, each of which provides a score. The Wechsler tests allow calculation of two IQ scores, one “verbal” (measured by tests of vocabulary, word problems, etc.) and the other “performance” (solving puzzles, copying shapes, etc.).
Gifted or Retarded
A child with a very high IQ (usually above 130) may be considered gifted and placed in “gifted and talented” classes. In the United States, school policies and programs for gifted children vary from state to state. In 2000, 14 percent of children in Oklahoma were in gifted classes; in Vermont, only 1 percent were (Digest of Educational Statistics, 2005). Very high IQs are just as common among children in Vermont as in Oklahoma, but adults—voters, legislators, educators—in these two states have decided to educate these children in different ways.
Thirty years ago the definition of mental retardation was straightforward: All children or adults with an IQ below 70 were classified as mentally retarded, with further subdivisions for progressively lower scores: mild retardation, 55–70; mod- erate retardation, 40–54; severe retardation, 25–39; profound, below 25. Each of these categories signified different expectations, from “educable” (mildly retarded, able to learn to read and write) to “custodial” (profoundly retarded, unable to learn any skills). However, the mere label mentally retarded sometimes led parents and teachers to expect less of a child than the child was actually capable of, which reduced learning.
Further, in the population as a whole, where the average IQ is 100, only about 2 percent of children score below 70; but children in many immigrant, low- income, and minority groups have an average IQ well below 100. The reason is probably cultural bias embedded in the IQ tests, not those children’s lack of intel- lectual aptitude. The result is that disproportionate numbers of those children (significantly more than 2 percent) are designated mentally retarded (Edwards, 2006; Pennington, 2002). That seems unfair.
Accordingly, the current definition stipulates that, in addition to having an IQ below 70, children who are designated as mentally retarded must be unusually far behind their peers in adaptation to life. Thus, a 6-year-old who, without help, gets dressed, fixes breakfast, walks to school, and knows the names of her classmates would not be considered mentally retarded, even if she had an IQ of 65. Adapta- tion is often measured with the Vineland Test of Adaptive Intelligence or some other assessment tool (Venn, 2004).
Criticisms of IQ Testing
Many developmentalists criticize IQ tests. They argue that no test can measure potential without also measuring achievement and that every test score reflects the culture of the people who wrote, administer, and take it (Armour-Thomas & Gopaul-McNicol, 1998; Cianciolo & Sternberg, 2004). Even tests designated as culture-free, because they ask children to perform universally familiar tasks
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
(WISC) An IQ test designed for school-
age children. The test assesses potential in
many areas, including vocabulary, general
knowledge, memory, and spatial compre-
hension.
mental retardation Literally, slow, or late,
thinking. In practice, people are consid-
ered mentally retarded if they score below
70 on an IQ test and if they are markedly
behind their peers in adaptation to daily
life.
Brain Development 293
Performance IQ This puzzle, part of a per-
formance subtest on the Wechsler IQ test,
seems simple until you try it. The limbs are
difficult to align correctly, and time is of the
essence. This boy has at least one advantage
over most African American boys who are
tested. Especially during middle childhood,
boys tend to do better when their examiner is
of the same sex and ethnicity.
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like drawing a person or naming their classmates, depend on cultural experiences.
Developmentalists also know that intellectual potential does in fact change over the life span. A child who needs special education in an early grade might later be classified as above average, or even gifted, like my nephew David (see Chapter 1). Like any other psychological test, an IQ test is a snapshot, providing a static, framed view of a dynamic, ever- developing brain at work.
Many measures are thus used to indicate learning potential. If an 8-year- old cannot read, for instance, vision and hearing assessments are done; then tests of comprehension, word recognition, and phonetic skills are given to supplement the IQ test. If brain damage is suspected, tests of balance and coordination (“Hop on one foot,” “Touch your nose”) or of brain– eye–hand connection (“Copy this drawing of a diamond”) are useful.
Even with a battery of tests, assessment may be inaccurate, especially when tests that have been standardized in the United States are used in cultures where academic intelligence is not prized (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2004).
Like many other Western technological inventions (such as the printing press, the sewing machine, the bicycle, and the tractor), the intelligence test (popularly known as the IQ test) has been widely exported around the world. Like tractors, intelligence tests bring with them both osten- sible utility and hidden implications.
[Serpell & Haynes, 2004, p. 166]
A more fundamental criticism concerns the very concept that there is one general thing called intelligence (often referred to as g, for general
intelligence). Humans may have multiple intelligences. If they do, then the use of a test to find one IQ score is based on a false premise. Robert Sternberg (1996) describes three distinct types of intelligence:
■ Academic, measured by IQ and achievement tests ■ Creative, evidenced by imaginative endeavors ■ Practical, seen in everyday problem solving
Other psychologists stress a kind of intelligence called emotional intelligence, including the ability to regulate one’s emotions and perceptive understanding of other people’s feelings. Emotional intelligence is thought to be more important than intellectual ability in determining success in adulthood (Goleman, 1995; Salovey & Grewal, 2005).
The most influential of all multiple-intelligence theories is Howard Gardner’s, which describes eight intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (social understanding), intra- personal (self-understanding), and naturalistic (understanding of nature, as in biology, zoology, or farming) (Gardner, 1983, 1999; Gardner & Moran, 2006).
A person might be gifted spatially but not linguistically (a visual artist who can- not describe her work), or someone might have interpersonal but not naturalistic intelligence (a gifted clinical psychologist whose houseplants wither). Gardner’s theory has been influential in education, especially with young children (e.g., Rettig, 2005); it has also been widely criticized (Kincheloe, 2004; Visser et al., 2006; Waterhouse, 2006).
According to those who hold that humans have multiple intelligences, standard IQ tests measure only part of brain potential. If intelligence is the multifaceted jewel that Gardner believes it to be, tests and schools need to expand their curric- ula so that every child can shine.
Especially for Teachers What are the
advantages and disadvantages of using
Gardner’s eight intelligences to guide your
classroom curriculum?
294 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Demonstration of High IQ? If North
American intelligence tests truly reflected
all aspects of the mind, children would be
considered mentally slow if they could not
replicate the proper hand, arm, torso, and
facial positions of a traditional dance, as this
young Indonesian girl does brilliantly. She is
obviously adept in kinesthetic and interper-
sonal intelligence. Given her culture, it would
not be surprising if she were deficient in the
logical-mathematical intelligence required to
use the Internet effectively or to surpass an
American peer in playing a video game.
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During middle childhood, neurological maturation allows faster, more automatic reactions.
Selective attention enables focused concentration in school and in play. Aptitude tests,
including IQ tests, compare mental age to chronological age. Actual learning is measured
by achievement tests. The concept that an IQ score measures underlying aptitude (g) is
challenged by Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, and others, who believe that the brain
contains not just one aptitude but many. Determining who is gifted and who is retarded
may be useful for educators, but there is much more change in IQ scores than originally
imagined. Adaptation to circumstances is crucial. ■
Children with Special Needs Parents watch with pride as their offspring become smarter, taller, and more skilled. These feelings may mingle with worry when their children are not like other children. Often slowness, impulsiveness, or clumsiness is the first problem to be noticed; other problems become apparent once formal education begins.
Such children with special needs require extra help in order to learn because of differences in their physical or mental characteristics. Many of them seem fine until they encounter the demands of primary school. One example is Billy.
children with special needs Children who,
because of a physical or mental disability,
require extra help in order to learn.
Children with Special Needs 295
a case to study Billy: Dynamo or Dynamite?
Billy was born full term after an uncomplicated pregnancy;
he sat up, walked, and talked at the expected ages. His parents
were proud of his energy and curiosity: “Little Dynamo,” they
called him affectionately. He began to read on schedule, and he
looked quite normal. But when Billy was in third grade, his
teacher, Mrs. Pease, referred him to a psychiatrist because his
behavior in class was “intolerably disruptive” (Gorenstein &
Comer, 2002, p. 250), as the following episode illustrates:
Mrs. Pease had called the class to attention to begin an oral ex-
ercise: reciting a multiplication table on the blackboard. The
first child had just begun her recitation when, suddenly, Billy
exclaimed, “Look!” The class turned to see Billy running to the
window.
“Look,” he exclaimed again, “an airplane!”
A couple of children ran to the window with Billy to see the
airplane, but Mrs. Pease called them back, and they returned to
their seats. Billy, however, remained at the window, pointing at
the sky. Mrs. Pease called him back, too.
“Billy, please return to your desk,” Mrs. Pease said firmly. But
Billy acted as though he didn’t even hear her.
“Look, Mrs. Pease,” he exclaimed, “the airplane is blowing
smoke!” A couple of other children started from their desks.
“Billy,” Mrs. Pease tried once more, “if you don’t return to your
desk this instant, I’m going to send you to Miss Warren’s office.”
[Billy did sit down, but before Mrs. Pease could call on anyone,
Billy blurted out the correct answer to the first question she asked.]
Mrs. Pease tried again. “Who knows 3 times 7?” This time Billy
raised his hand, but he still couldn’t resist creating a disruption.
“I know, I know,” Billy pleaded, jumping up and down in his
seat with his hand raised high.
“That will do, Billy,” Mrs. Pease admonished him. She delib-
erately called on another child. The child responded with the
correct answer.
“I knew that!” Billy exclaimed.
“Billy,” Mrs. Pease told him, “I don’t want you to say one
more word this class period.”
Billy looked down at his desk sulkily, ignoring the rest of the
lesson. He began to fiddle with a couple of rubber bands, trying
to see how far they would stretch before they broke. He looped
the rubber bands around his index fingers and pulled his hands
farther and farther apart. This kept him quiet for a while; by this
point, Mrs. Pease didn’t care what he did, as long as he was quiet.
She continued conducting the multiplication lesson while Billy
stretched the rubber bands until finally they snapped, flying off
and hitting two children, on each side of him. Billy let out a yelp
of surprise, and the class turned to him.
“That’s it, Billy,” Mrs. Pease told him, “You’re going to sit out-
side the classroom until the period is over.”
“No!” Billy protested. “I’m not going. I didn’t do anything!”
“You shot those rubber bands at Bonnie and Julian,” Mrs.
Pease said.
“But it was an accident.”
“I don’t care. Out you go!”
Billy stalked out of the classroom to sit on a chair in the hall.
Before exiting, however, he turned to Mrs. Pease. “I’ll sue you for
this,” he yelled, not really knowing what it meant.
[Gorenstein & Comer, 2002, pp. 250–251]
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from
page 292): He or she is average. Anyone with
a score between 85 and 115 is of average IQ.
➤Response for People Who Know Their
IQ Score (from page 292): Above average,
average, and below average compared with
others the same age. For example, if three
children are 12 years old, one might have a
mental age (as determined by the test) of 15,
another 12, and the third, 8. Then their IQ
scores would be: 15/12 =1.25 × 100 = 125
(above average); 12/12 = 1 × 100 = 100
(average); 8/12 = 0.75 × 100 = 75 (below
average).
You will read more about Billy later in this chapter. Dozens of specific diagnoses lead to classification as a child with special needs,
including anxiety disorder, Asperger syndrome, attachment disorder, attention- deficit disorder, autism, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, clinical depression, developmental delay, and Down syndrome. In the United States, two-thirds of school-age children with special needs are said to have a learning or language disability—neither of which may have been evident in earlier years or may still be evident in later years.
Every special need probably begins with a biological anomaly, perhaps the extra chromosome of Down syndrome or simply an unusual allele that affects some neurological connections. Biology is only the beginning; the social context affects how disabling the condition becomes.
296 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
the 21st pair (trisomy-21) do not have “Down’s syndrome,”
although a Dr. Down first described the condition in 1866. They
are now referred to as people with Down syndrome (no ’s) so as
not to imply that their condition belongs to someone else.
In addition, some people choose to refer to themselves as
challenged, not handicapped, because challenges can more read-
ily be overcome. Disability is preferred over handicap.
Using Language Carefully: People First
Labels can stereotype and restrict rather than describe and enable.
People-first designations are preferred when speaking or writing
about people with special needs. The idea is to begin with the
general human term (e.g., child, boy, person) and add “with [the
type of special need].” Thus, we write about children with autism,
not autistic children, people with AIDS, not AIDS patients.
Further, the names of syndromes are no longer expressed in
the possessive. For example, people with three chromosomes at
Developmental Psychopathology
One part of the science of development is called developmental psychopath- ology, which links the study of typical development to that of various disorders, and vice versa. The goal is “to understand the nature, origins, and sequelae [con- sequences] of individual patterns of adaptation and maladaptation over time” (Davies & Cicchetti, 2004, p. 477).
Four lessons from developmental psychopathology apply to everyone:
1. Abnormality is normal. Most people sometimes act oddly, and those with seri- ous disabilities are, in many respects, like everyone else.
2. Disability changes year by year. Someone who is severely disabled at one stage may become quite capable, or vice versa.
3. Adulthood may be better or worse. Prognosis is difficult. Many infants and chil- dren with serious disabilities that affect them psychologically (e.g., blindness) become happy and productive adults. Conversely, some conditions become more disabling at maturity, when interpersonal skills become more important.
4. Diagnosis depends on the social context. According to the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-R), “nuances of an individual’s cultural frame of reference” must be considered before a diagnosis can be made (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. xxxiv). Perhaps psycho- pathology resides “not in the individual but in the adaptiveness of the relation- ship between individual and context” (Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003, p. 613).
We now focus on only three of the many categories of disorders that develop- mental psychopathologists study: attention deficits, learning disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorders. Understanding these three can lead to a better understanding of all children.
developmental psychopathology The field
that uses insights into typical development
to study and treat developmental disorders,
and vice versa.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-R) The Ameri-
can Psychiatric Association’s official guide
to the diagnosis (not treatment) of mental
disorders. (IV-R means “fourth edition,
revised.”)
➤Response for Teachers (from page 294):
The advantages are that all the children learn
more aspects of human knowledge and that
many children can develop their talents. Art,
music, and sports should be an integral part
of education, not just a break from academics.
The disadvantage is that they take time and
attention away from reading and math, which
might lead to less proficiency in those subjects
on standard tests and thus to criticism from
parents and supervisors.
comorbidity The presence of two or more
unrelated disease conditions at the same
time in the same person.
Attention-Deficit Disorders
A major problem for about 10 percent of all young children is that they have difficulty paying attention. They have an attention-deficit disorder (ADD), which is sometimes accompanied by an impulse to be continually active, leading to one of the most exasperating developmental disruptions, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD have three problems: They are inattentive, impulsive, and overactive, with individual variations in which of these three is most evident (Barkley, 2006).
After sitting down to do homework, a child with ADHD might look up, ask questions, think about playing, get a drink, fidget, squirm, tap the table, jiggle his or her legs, and go to the bathroom—and then start the whole sequence again. The child’s difficulty may be caused by a slow-developing prefrontal cortex, an overactive limbic system, or an imbalance of neurotransmitters (Wolraich & Doffing, 2005). No matter what the cause, their brains make it hard to pay atten- tion, and this often becomes a lifelong problem (Barkley, 2006).
About 5 percent of U.S. children are diagnosed with ADHD (more boys than girls, more European Americans than Latinos). One such child was Billy, the 8-year-old already described, who ran to the window when he was supposed to stay seated and who blurted out the answers without waiting to be called on. Children with ADHD often think they are being punished unfairly. Remember that Billy com- plained: “I knew that!”, “I didn’t do anything!”, and finally “I’ll sue you.”
Often, other disorders are comorbid with ADHD (Barkley, 2006). (Comorbid- ity means the presence of two or more unrelated disease conditions at the same time in the same person.) Some comorbid conditions, such as delinquency, may be consequences of untreated ADHD, but many predate it and may have the same underlying cause. Among these conditions are “conduct disorder, depres- sion, anxiety, Tourette syndrome, dyslexia, and bipolar disorder, . . . autism and schizophrenia” (Pennington, 2002, p. 163).
The most effective treatment for ADHD is usually medication plus psychother- apy, with training for parents and teachers (Abikoff & Hechtman, 2005). Curiously, many drugs that are stimulants for adults, including amphetamines (e.g., Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin), calm down children with ADHD. Prescribing drugs for children is controversial, with some fearing overdosing while others argue that refusing to prescribe drugs for ADD is akin to withholding insulin from a diabetic. The following feature details the ongoing debate.
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) A condition in which a person
not only has great difficulty concentrating
for more than a few moments but also is
inattentive, impulsive, and overactive.
Children with Special Needs 297
Especially for Health Workers Parents
ask that some medication be prescribed for
their kindergarten child, who they say is much
too active for them to handle. How do you
respond?
Not a Cure-All Ritalin has been found to
calm many children with ADHD—but it does
not necessarily make them models of good
behavior. Like this 5-year-old boy with multi-
ple handicaps, including ADHD (for which he
is given Ritalin), they are still capable of hav-
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298 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
thinking like a scientist Overdosing and Underdosing
In the United States, more than 2 million children and adoles-
cents under age 18 take prescription drugs to regulate their
emotions and behavior. This rate doubled between 1987 and
1996 (Brown, 2003; Zito et al., 2003). It has leveled off in re-
cent years but remains high, with 1 in 20 children aged 6 to 12
taking stimulants (usually for ADHD) (Zuvekas et al., 2006).
The most commonly prescribed drug is Ritalin, but at least
20 other psychoactive drugs, including Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil,
are being used to treat children as young as 2 for depression,
anxiety, and many other conditions (Gorski, 2002). Few of these
substances have been studied with children, who might respond
better with higher or lower doses than those given to adults
(Brown, 2003).
Many people fear that drugs are prescribed too early and too
often. One writer contends:
Squirming in a seat and talking out of turn are not “symptoms”
and do not reflect a syndrome. [Such behaviors may be] caused
by anything from normal childhood energy to boring classrooms
or overstressed parents and teachers. We should not suppress
these behaviors with drugs.
[Breggin & Baughman, 2001, p. 595]
Almost all child psychologists agree that drugs are both un-
derused and overused in treating children with ADHD (Angold
et al., 2000; Brown, 2003). Some children who would benefit
are never given medication; other children are given more med-
ication than they need. Dosage is a particular concern, because
children’s weight and metabolism change continuously, so that a
dose that is right at age 5 might be too low at age 10. Further,
overdosage could be especially problematic when brains and
bodies are still developing.
We all have opinions about drugs: Some of us are suspicious
of anything that is not natural; others believe that medication
can cure almost anything. Thinking like a scientist requires
looking at evidence, not being swayed by preconceived ideas.
Of course, it is impossible to be entirely objective, but many
researchers, doctors, and parents try to consider the particular
needs of each child rather than acting on general principles.
One group of researchers, seeking to find out whether drugs
helped children with ADHD, began with small doses that were
gradually increased until behavior improved as much as possible
without side effects. After several weeks at that optimal dose,
the children were given a placebo for a week. The children, par-
ents, and teachers knew that this might occur but did not know
when. Without the medication, the children’s ability to function
deteriorated rapidly, according to all observers. That convinced
the scientists that the medication was effective (Hechtman
et al., 2005).
Might childhood drug treatment for psychological problems
(whether or not the origin is in the brain) have long-term conse-
quences? This is a common fear. A particular concern is that
such children will become drug dependent and will abuse
chemical substances as adolescents. However, longitudinal re-
search comparing nonmedicated and medicated children with
ADHD finds the opposite: Childhood medication reduces the
risk of adolescent drug abuse (Faraone & Wilens, 2003).
Far fewer children are diagnosed with ADHD in Europe than
in North America. In the United States, rates of medication are
highest among boys from low-income, non-Hispanic, southern
households (see Table 11.1) (Martin & Leslie, 2003; Rowland
et al., 2002; Witt et al., 2003; Zito et al., 2003). To a scientist,
these differences suggest that culture and setting, not just bio-
chemistry, influence diagnosis and treatment. Might girls in
Kansas or London be underdiagnosed or English-speaking boys
in Mississippi be overdiagnosed? Is prejudice at work here?
A British writer suggests that the diagnosis of ADHD is a way
for low-income families to get more public money, part of the
“madhouse of modern Britain, where families of badly behaved
children are rewarded by the state” (McKinstry, 2005). Such an
opinion obviously reflects bias more than science, but it indi-
cates the need for public understanding.
Thinking like a scientist means asking questions. For each
child, exactly what genetic or environmental conditions foster
ADHD and what intervention is best (not just drugs, but which
drug at what dose; not just family, but which child-rearing prac-
tices and family structures; not just school, but which teacher
and placement)? Literally thousands of scientists in dozens of
nations are seeking answers.
Ritalin was prescribed for Billy, and his parents and teacher
were taught how to help him. He “improved considerably,” be-
coming able not only to stay in his seat and complete his school-
work but also to make friends (Gorenstein & Comer, 2002).
TABLE 11.1
Rates of Diagnosis and Medication for ADHD
Percent of Those
Diagnosed Taking
Percent Diagnosed Medication
with ADHD for ADHD
Girls 4.7 63
Boys 14.8 73
1st and 2nd grades 7.4 70
3rd, 4th, and 5th grades 12.2 72
Non-Hispanic White 10.8 76
Non-Hispanic Black 9.1 56
Hispanic 4.0 53
Source: Rowland et al., 2002.
Learning Disabilities
Many people have some specific learning disability that leads to difficulty mas- tering a particular skill that most other people acquire easily. If Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences is correct, almost everyone has a learning disability. Perhaps one person is clumsy (low on kinesthetic intelligence), while another sings off key (low in musical intelligence).
A learning disability becomes prob- lematic when the child falls markedly behind in some aspect of school curricu- lum, despite the best efforts of the child and the teacher. The child may have an average or above-average IQ but “scat- tered” scores on subtests, with some high and others low. The child may seem less capable in some areas than in others.
Learning disabilities do not usually result in lifelong impediments. Children typically find ways to compensate; they learn effective strategies to work around their deficiency. As an adult, such a child may function well. This seems to have been true of Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and Hans Christian An- dersen, all of whom probably had learning disabilities as children. Or an adult may feel inferior, afraid to do many things, because of childhood disability.
One common learning disability is dyslexia, which refers to unusual difficulty with reading. No single test accurately diagnoses dyslexia (or any other learning disability), because every academic achievement includes many skills (Sofie & Riccio, 2002). A child with a reading disability might have trouble sounding out words but excel in other reading skills, such as comprehension and memory of printed text. Thus, various forms of dyslexia have been identified.
Poor listening skills are often at the root of dyslexia. Early theories of dyslexia hypothesized that visual difficulties—e.g., reversals of letters (reading was instead of saw) and mirror writing (b instead of d)—were the origin, but in fact dyslexia originates with speech and hearing problems (Pennington, 2002). An early warn- ing occurs if a 3-year-old does not talk clearly and does not experience a language explosion. Early speech therapy might not only improve talking but also reduce or prevent later reading problems.
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Autism is a disorder characterized by woefully inadequate social skills. Two decades ago, it was considered a single, rare disorder affecting fewer than one in a thousand children, who experienced “an extreme aloneness that, whenever possi- ble, disregards, ignores, shuts out anything . . . from the outside” (Kanner, 1943). Children who developed slowly but were not so withdrawn were diagnosed as being mentally retarded or as having a “pervasive developmental disorder.” Now such children are usually said to have an autistic spectrum disorder, which characterizes about 1 in every 150 8-year-olds (three times as many boys as girls) in the United States (MMWR, February 9, 2007).
There are three signs of an autistic spectrum disorder: delayed language, impaired social responses, and unusual play. Underlying all three is a kind of emotional blindness (Scambler et al., 2007). Children with any form of autism
autism A developmental disorder marked by
an inability to relate to other people nor-
mally, extreme self-absorption, and an
inability to acquire normal speech.
autistic spectrum disorder Any of several
disorders characterized by inadequate
social skills, impaired communication, and
abnormal play.
dyslexia Unusual difficulty with reading;
thought to be the result of some neurolog-
ical underdevelopment.
Children with Special Needs 299
learning disability A marked delay in a par-
ticular area of learning that is not caused
by an apparent physical disability, by men-
tal retardation, or by an unusually stressful
home environment.
Is She Dyslexic? No. Some young readers
have difficulty “tracking” a line of print with
their eyes alone. Using a finger to stay on
track can be a useful temporary aid.LA U
R A
D W
IG H
T
➤Response for Health Workers (from
page 297): Medication helps some hyper-
active children, but not all. It might be useful
for this child, but other forms of intervention
should be tried first. Compliment the parents
on their concern about their child, but refer
them to an expert in early childhood for an
evaluation and recommendations. Behavior-
management techniques geared to the
particular situation, not medication, will be
the first strategy.
find it difficult to understand the emotions of others. Consequently, they do not want to talk, play, or otherwise interact with anyone. The problem may be a deficit in the brain’s mirror neurons (see Chapter 1; Oberman & Ramachandran, 2007) that makes them feel alien, like an “anthropologist on Mars,” as one adult with autism expressed it (Sacks, 1995).
Because autistic disorders cover a wide spectrum, or range, their degree of severity varies. Some children never talk, rarely smile, and play for hours with one object (such as a spinning top or a toy train). Others, including those with Asperger syndrome, are called “high-functioning,” which means that they are unusually intelligent in their specialized area and that their speech is close to normal. However, their social interaction is impaired. Still others are slow in all three areas (language, social interaction, play) but are not as severely impaired as are children with classic autism.
Some children with autistic characteristics show signs in early infancy (no social smile, for example) and continue to resist social contact. Others improve by age 3 (Chawarska et al., 2007). Still others (about a fourth) start out developing normally and then deteriorate (MMWR, February 9, 2007). The most dramatic example of the latter pattern occurs in girls with Rhett syndrome. They seem normal at first, but their brains develop very slowly and are much smaller than those of other children the same age (Bienvenu, 2005).
In other children with autism, the problem may be too much neurological activity, not too little. Their heads are large, and parts of the brain (especially the limbic system) are unusually sensitive to noise, light, and other sensations (Schumann et al., 2004). The effect was described by Temple Grandin, a woman with autism:
Every time you take the kid into Wal-Mart, he’s screaming. Well, the reason for that is that the fluorescent lights are flickering and driving him crazy, the noise in there hurts his ears, the smells overpower his nose. Wal-Mart is like being inside the speaker at a rock and roll concert.
[Medscape Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2005]
300 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Culture Clash This Tibetan boy attends a
Chinese school. Chinese is very difficult to
learn to read, especially if it is not one’s native
language. He may indeed have learned to
decode the printed symbols—or he may have
learned to fake it.
K E N
T M
E IR
E IS
/ T
H E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
Hope for Autism The prime prerequisite in break-
ing through the language barrier in a nonverbal
autistic child, such as this 4-year-old, is to get the
child to pay attention to another person’s speech.
Note that this teacher is sitting in a low chair to
facilitate eye contact and is getting the child to
focus on her mouth movements—a matter of little
interest to most children but intriguing to many
autistic ones. Sadly, even such efforts were not
enough: At age 13, this child was still mute. AL A
N C
A R
E Y
/ T
H E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
Asperger syndrome A specific type of
autistic spectrum disorder characterized by
extreme attention to details and deficient
social understanding.
The incidence of autistic spectrum disorders may have tripled during the 1990s, as reported in California, Minnesota, and other areas. Certainly the num- ber of children receiving special educational services because of autistic disorders has increased dramatically (Newschaffer et al., 2005).
This increase may reflect an expanded definition of the condition, earlier diag- nosis, and availability of special education (before 1980, children diagnosed as autistic were not provided special education in the United States) (Gurney et al., 2003; Parsell, 2004). This hypothesis received support from a detailed study in Texas, showing that, over a six-year period, the number of children with autism tripled in the wealthiest school districts but did not change in the poorest districts (with fewer specialists) (Palmer et al., 2005; see Research Design).
Another possibility is that some new teratogen is harming many embryonic or infant brains. One suspect was thimerosal, an antiseptic containing mercury that is used in childhood immunizations. Many parents of autistic children first noticed their infants’ impairments after their MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vac- cinations (Dales et al., 2001).
This immunization hypothesis has been disproven. Of all 500,000 children born in Denmark from 1991 to 1998, about a fifth never received MMR vaccinations. They were just as likely to be diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders as those who were vaccinated (Madsen et al., 2002). Further, thimerosal was removed from vaccines a decade ago, but the rates of autism are still rising.
Many other substances (pesticides, cleaning chemicals, some of the ingredi- ents in nail polish) remain to be tested. Problems with risk analysis (explained in Chapter 4) are evident in this research, as in all research in developmental psycho- pathology. Scientists are not sure exactly why some children have autistic spectrum disorders, nor why symptoms vary.
It is known, however, that the original cause of autistic spectrum disorders is biological (genes, stress, perhaps chemicals). But treatment that relieves symptoms of autism involves early education. Each core symptom (problems with language, social connections, and play) has been a focus of treatment.
In programs that emphasize language, one-on-one training with teachers and parents helps children learn to communicate. Usually, this training involves ap- plied behavior analysis, with data collection and intervention that reinforces each step in the right direction, a method developed from behavioral theory (Wolery et al., 2005). Other programs emphasize play (Greenspan & Wieder, 2006), as with Jacob in Chapter 7. Remember that when Jacob’s parents learned to play with him, his language abilities improved dramatically.
Still other programs stress attachment (Beppu, 2005). Achieving even stronger parent–child bonds of attachment is a goal favored in Japan, where “successful diagnosis of high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome has resulted in high detection rates” (p. 204). In one program, a 6-year-old boy with autism noticed his older brother pouring water and tried to take a turn. “When his mother praised him, [the boy] looked back at his mother with a smile and poured his water even more eagerly” (p. 211). According to this therapist, the boy’s smile and pride were signs that he was aware of social praise and formed an attachment by connecting with his mother.
Educating Children with Special Needs
For all children with special needs, individualized instruction before age 6 can help them develop better learning strategies (Berninger & Richards, 2002; Silver & Hagin, 2002). Even children with severe symptoms of autism can be helped, although few ever learn to function normally (Ben-Itzchak & Zachor, 2007). For
Children with Special Needs 301
Research Design Scientists: Raymond Palmer, Stephen
Blanchard, and David Mandall designed
the study, and C. R. Jean provided criti-
cal interpretation.
Publication: American Journal of Public
Health, (2005).
Participants: All 1,040 school districts in
Texas over six school years, 1994 to 2001.
Design: The school districts were sorted
into tenths according to their resources:
income, salaries, community wealth,
proportion of disadvantaged students
and so on. Within each tenth, the num-
ber of students designated as autistic
was tallied each year.
Major conclusion: Increases in rate of
students with autistic spectrum disor-
ders correlated with wealth, from an
increase of 300 percent in districts in
the top two-tenths to no change in the
bottom tenth. For every 10,000 children,
21 in the top districts and 3 in the bot-
tom districts were designated as having
autism.
Comment: These findings, covering an
entire state, suggest that increases in
the incidence of autism are caused by
better diagnosis, greater availability of
special education, and perhaps parental
insistence on diagnosis and treatment.
all disorders, psychologists advocate “preventive intervention rather than waiting to intervene when language and learning problems begin to cast a long and wide shadow” (Plomin, 2002, p. 59).
Although the underlying physiological roots of childhood disorders are probably the same everywhere, the education of children with special needs during the school years varies dramatically. Most children with special needs are first spotted by a teacher (not a parent or pediatrician), who makes a referral, a request for evaluation. Then other professionals observe and test the child. If they agree that the child has special needs, they discuss an individual education plan (IEP) with the parent (see Table 11.2). Some parents want such specialized help; others dread the social consequences of special education for their child.
Before 1960, most children with special needs simply left school—they either dropped out or were forced out. Some were never even accepted to any school at all. That changed in the United States with a 1969 law that required that all children be educated. At first, children with special needs were placed together, but neither their social skills nor their academic achievement advanced.
individual education plan (IEP) A document
that specifies educational goals and plans
for a child with special needs.
302 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
E LL
E N
S E N
IS I /
T H
E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
She Knows the Answer Physical disabilities
often mushroom into additional emotional
and cognitive problems. However, a disability
can be reduced to a minor complication if it is
recognized and if appropriate compensation
or remediation is made a part of the child’s
education. As she signs her answer, this deaf
girl shows by her expression that she is ready
to learn.
TABLE 11.2
Laws Regarding Special Education in the United States*
PL (Public Law) 91-230: Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act, 1969
Recognized learning disabilities as a category within special education. Before 1969, learning-
disabled children received no special education or services.
PL 94-142: Education of All Handicapped Children Act, 1975
Mandated education of all school-age children, no matter what disability they might have, in
the least restrictive environment (LRE)—which meant with other children in a regular class-
room, if possible. Fewer children were placed in special, self-contained classes, and even
fewer in special schools. This law required an individual education plan (IEP) for each child
with special needs, specifying educational goals and periodic reassessment.
PL 105-17: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 1990;
updated 1997 and 2004
Refers to “individuals,” not children (to include education of infants, toddlers, adults), and to “disabilities,” not handicaps. Emphasizes parents’ rights in placement and IEP.
*Other nations have quite different laws and practices, and states and school districts within the United States vary
in interpretation and practice. Consult local support groups, authorities, and legal experts, if necessary.
In response, a 1975 U.S. law called the Education of All Handicapped Children Act mandated that children with special needs must learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Often that meant educating them with children in the regular class, a policy called mainstreaming.
Some schools set aside a resource room, where mainstreamed children with special needs spent time with a teacher who worked individually with them. How- ever, pulling children out of the regular classroom so that they could spend time in the resource room sometimes undermined their friendships and learning.
Another approach, inclusion, seemed wiser. Children with special needs were “included” in the general classroom, with “appropriate aids and services” (special help from a trained teacher who worked with the regular teacher).
In theory, parents decide what education their children receive. This is not always the case, however, partly because experts, teachers, and parents often disagree about the goals and practices of special education (Connor & Ferri, 2007; Rogers, 2007). Currently, children with special needs typically have fewer friends and learn less than other children, no matter what placement they are given (Wiener & Schneider, 2002).
Compared with the United States, most other nations recognize fewer children with special needs and have fewer laws and specialized teachers for helping those children. It is not clear whether singling them out for special education is better or worse for children with special needs.
S U M M I N G U P
Many children have special learning needs that originate in their brain development.
Developmental psychopathologists emphasize that no one is typical in every way; the
passage of time sometimes brings improvement and sometimes not. People with
attention-deficit disorders, learning disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorders may
function adequately or may have lifelong problems, depending on severity, family,
school, and culture as well as on comorbid conditions. Specifics of diagnosis, prog-
nosis, medication, and education are debatable; no child learns or behaves exactly like
another. ■
Children with Special Needs 303
least restrictive environment (LRE) A legal
requirement that children with special
needs be assigned to the most general
educational context in which they can be
expected to learn.
resource room A room in which trained
teachers help children with special needs,
using specialized curricula and equipment.
inclusion An approach to educating children
with special needs in which they are includ-
ed in regular classrooms, with “appropriate
aids and services,” as required by law.
Every Child Is Special One reason for a
school policy of inclusion is to teach children
to accept and appreciate children who have
special needs. The girl with Down syndrome
(in yellow) benefits from learning alongside
her classmates, as they learn from her. An ef-
fective teacher treats every child as a special
individual.LA U
R A
D W
IG H
T
A Healthy Time 1. Middle childhood is a time of steady growth and few serious ill- nesses. Increasing independence and self-care allow most school- age children to be relatively happy and competent.
2. Childhood obesity is becoming a worldwide epidemic. Although genetics plays a role in body weight, less exercise and the greater availability of unhealthy food are also culprits. Many adults, includ- ing parents, have not fully recognized this problem, which allows contempory children to be heavier than children a generation ago.
3. Physical activity not only retards obesity, it aids health and joy in many ways. Current environmental conditions make child play increasingly scarce.
4. Most other health problems are less common than they were 30 years ago, but the incidence of asthma is increasing. Although the origins of asthma are genetic and the triggers are specific al- lergens, effective primary prevention involves extending the breast-feeding period, making sure children get more outdoor play, and reducing air pollution.
Brain Development 5. Brain development continues during middle childhood, enhanc- ing every aspect of development. Myelination increases, speeding communication between neurons. The prefrontal cortex and the corpus callosum continue to mature, allowing not only analysis and planning but also selective attention and automatization.
6. IQ tests are designed to quantify intellectual aptitude. Most such tests emphasize language and logical ability and predict school achievement. IQ tests also reflect the culture in which they were created.
7. Achievement tests measure what a person has actually accom- plished. Most standard achievement tests measure academic learning. Sometimes measuring adaptation to daily life is crucial, especially in diagnosing mental retardation.
8. Critics contend that intelligence is actually manifested in mul- tiple ways, which conventional IQ tests are too limited to measure. The concept of multiple intelligences recognizes creative and practical abilities, some of which are difficult to test.
Children with Special Needs 9. Developmental psychopathology uses an understanding of normal development to inform the study of unusual development. Four general lessons have emerged: Abnormality is normal; dis- ability changes over time; adolescence and adulthood may make a condition better or worse; and diagnosis depends on context. Every disability has a physical and psychic component.
10. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have potential problems in three areas: inattention, impulsiveness, and overactivity. The treatment for attention deficits is a combi- nation of medication, home management, and education. Stimu- lant medication often helps children with ADHD to learn, but the dosage must be carefully monitored.
11. Some young children with obvious educational or psychologi- cal disabilities are recognized, referred, evaluated, diagnosed, and treated in early childhood. For the most part, however, behavioral or learning problems are not spotted until children enter elemen- tary school and are compared with other children in a setting that demands maturity and learning.
12. Children with autistic spectrum disorders typically show odd and delayed language ability, impaired interpersonal skills, and un- usual play. Several specific disorders, including Asperger syndrome and Rhett syndrome, fall under this category. Autism may improve with intensive early education but never disappears.
13. People with learning disabilities have unusual difficulty in mastering a specific skill that other people learn easily. The most common learning disability that manifests itself during the school years is dyslexia, unusual difficulty with reading. Children with learning disabilities can be helped if the problem is spotted early and if the assistance is individualized to suit the particular child.
14. About 10 percent of all school-age children in the United States receive special education services. These services begin with an IEP (individual education plan) and assignment to the least restrictive environment.
15. Inclusion of children with special needs into regular educa- tion may aid the social skills of all children. However, inclusion does not meet every child’s needs.
middle childhood (p. 283) overweight (p. 284) obesity (p. 284) asthma (p. 288) reaction time (p. 290) selective attention (p. 290) automatization (p. 291) aptitude (p. 292) IQ tests (p. 292)
achievement tests (p. 292) Flynn Effect (p. 292) Wechsler Intelligence Scale for
Children (WISC) (p. 293) mental retardation (p. 293) children with special needs
(p. 295) developmental psychopathology
(p. 296)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-R) (p. 296)
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (p. 297)
comorbidity (p. 297) learning disability (p. 299) dyslexia (p. 299) autism (p. 299)
autistic spectrum disorder (p. 299)
Asperger syndrome (p. 300) individual education plan
(IEP) (p. 302) least restrictive environment
(LRE) (p. 303) resource room (p. 303) inclusion (p. 303)
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS
304 C H A P T E R 11 ■ The School Years: Biosocial Development
Summary 305
5. What are some good uses of intelligence tests?
6. What are some misuses of intelligence tests?
7. Why was the field of developmental psychopathology created?
8. Why might parents decide to ask a doctor to prescribe Ritalin for their child?
9. What are the signs of autistic spectrum disorders?
10. How could it happen that an adult might have a learning dis- ability that was never spotted?
1. How does the growth of the school-age child compare with the growth of the younger child?
2. What are the main reasons for the recent increase in child- hood obesity?
3. What measures to reduce asthma would also benefit all other children?
4. How does reaction time affect a child’s ability to learn and behave?
children with special needs. Pick one childhood disability or dis- ease and find several information sources on the Internet devoted to that condition. How might parents evaluate the information provided?
4. Special education teachers are in great demand. In your local public schools, what is the ratio of regular to special education teachers? How many are in self-contained classrooms, resource rooms, and inclusion classrooms? What does your data reveal about the education of children with special needs in your community?
1. Compare play spaces for children in different neighborhoods— ideally, urban, suburban, and rural areas. Note size, safety, and use. How might children’s weight and motor skills be affected?
2. Developmental psychologists believe that every teacher should be skilled at teaching children with a wide variety of needs. Does the teacher-training curriculum at your college or university reflect this goal? Should all teachers take the same courses, or should some teachers be specialized? Give reasons for your opinions.
3. Internet sources vary in quality, no matter what the topic, but this may be particularly true of Web sites designed for parents of
KEY QUESTIONS
APPLICATIONS
The School Years: Cognitive Development
S chool-age children are learners. As long as it’s not too abstract, they can learn almost anything: how to divide fractions, when to surf the Web, what to feed an orphaned kitten, and much more. Each day advances knowledge a tiny bit.
Time matters, but the depth and content of learning reflect motivation more than maturation—motivation guided by cultural priorities and chan- neled by brain networks. Thus, nurture and nature interact to allow each child’s mind to develop. Every school-age child is primed to learn, and adults everywhere are eager to teach.
In the United States, concerns that children were not learning enough led to a federal law called No Child Left Behind, which was passed in 2001 and is scheduled for revision and renewal in 2007. Meanwhile, the people of Japan worried that their children felt too much academic pressure, so their govern- ment in 2002 began yutori kyoiku, which means “more relaxed education.” Both these policies, and many other ideas about education, are described later in this chapter.
First, however, we describe theories and research on cognitive development during the school years. By the time you finish this chapter, you will under- stand what school-age children might learn and why adults argue about it.
Building on Theory Every theory, as Chapter 2 stressed, is practical. The dominant theories of cognition in school-age children, as expressed by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and information-processing theorists, have been used to structure education.
Piaget and School-Age Children
In Piaget’s view, the most important cognitive structure attained in middle childhood is called concrete operational thought, characterized by a collection of concepts that enable children to reason.
Piaget thought that many logical concepts are almost impossible for younger children to comprehend but that children begin to understand them sometime between ages 5 and 7 (Inhelder & Piaget, 1964). Soon they apply logic in concrete situations—that is, situations that deal with visible, tangible, real things. Children thereby become more systematic, objective, scientific —and educable—thinkers.
12
307
CHAPTER OUTLINE
c Building on Theory
Piaget and School-Age Children
Vygotsky and School-Age Children
Information Processing
c Language
Vocabulary and Pragmatics
Second-Language Learning
ISSUES AND APPLICATIONS: SES and Language Learning
c Teaching and Learning
Curriculum
The Outcome
THINKING LIKE A SCIENTIST: International Achievement Tests
Education Wars and Assumptions
A CASE TO STUDY: Where Did You Learn Tsunami?
Culture and Education
concrete operational thought Piaget’s
term for the ability to reason logically
about direct experiences and perceptions.
An Example: Classification
One crucial logical concept is classification, the organization of things into groups (or categories or classes) according to some property that they have in common. For example, a child’s parents and siblings are classified as belonging to a group called family. Other common classes are people, animals, food, and toys. Each class includes some elements and excludes others, and each is part of a hierarchy. Food, for instance, contains the subclasses of meat, grains, fruits, and so on.
Most subclasses can be further divided: Meat includes poultry, beef, and pork, which again can be further subdivided. It is apparent to adults who have mastered classification, but not always to children, that items at the bottom of the hierarchy belong to every higher category (bacon is always pork, meat, and food) but that the process does not work in reverse (most foods are not bacon).
Piaget developed many experiments to reveal children’s understanding of clas- sification. For example, an examiner shows a child a bunch of nine flowers—seven yellow daisies and two white roses (revised and published in Piaget et al., 2001).
The examiner makes sure the child understands “flowers,” “daisies,” and “roses.” Then comes the crucial question: “Are there more daisies or more flowers?” Until about age 7, most children say, “More daisies.” Pushed to justify their answer, the youngest children usually have no explanation, but some 6- or 7-year-olds say that there are more yellow ones than white ones or that, because the daisies are daisies, they aren’t flowers (Piaget et al., 2001). By age 8, most children have a solid understanding of the classifica- tion of objects they can see (concrete objects, not yet hypo- thetical ones) and they confidently answer, “More flowers than daisies.”
The Significance of Logic
What do Piaget’s classification experiments mean? Despite Piaget’s interpretation, they do not prove a dramatic logical shift between preoperational and concrete operational
thought. Other research finds that classification appears before middle child- hood (Halford & Andrews, 2006). Even infants seem to have brain networks ready to categorize what they see (Quinn, 2004), and 4-year-olds can judge whether a certain food is breakfast food, junk food, both, or neither (S. P. Nguyen & Murphy, 2003).
Nonetheless, Piaget’s experimentation revealed something important. What develops during middle childhood is the ability to use mental categories and sub- categories flexibly, inductively, and simultaneously. This is apparent with flowers and daisies or (a greater challenge) with cars, which can be transportation, toys, lethal weapons, imports, consumer products, Toyotas, SUVs, and so on. Although preschool children can categorize, older children are more precise and flexible in classification, so that they are able to separate the essential from the irrelevant (Hayes & Younger, 2004).
The same flexibility is evident for other logical concepts. Remember from Chapter 9 that younger children do not understand conservation because they are swayed by appearance. School-age children grasp the concept of identity, the principle that objects remain the same even if some characteristics appear to shift. A ball is still a ball when it rolls into a hole; a child is the same person awake and asleep.
They also understand reversibility, the principle that things can return to their original state. By middle childhood, a child might prove conservation by using
classification The logical principle that
things can be organized into groups (or
categories or classes) according to some
characteristic they have in common.
308 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
After “Gee Whiz!” After he sees the magni-
fied image that his classmate expects will
amaze him, will he analyze his observations?
Ideally, concrete operational thought enables
children to use their new logic to interpret
their experiences.
V E E R
identity The logical principle that certain
characteristics of an object remain the
same even if other characteristics change.
reversibility The logical principle that a thing
that has been changed can sometimes be
returned to its original state by reversing
the process by which it was changed.
identity (“It’s still the same milk”) or by reversing the process (pouring the liquid back into the first container).
Piaget realized that school-age children gradually become more logical, less egocentric, and quite concrete in their understanding. This is evident not only in Piaget’s experiments but also in research regarding math, physics, sickness, and so on (Astuti et al., 2004; C. Howe, 1998; Keil & Lockhart, 1999).
This movement away from egocentrism toward a more flexible logic was illus- trated by 5- to 9-year-olds who were asked about two hypothetical boys—David, who thought chocolate ice cream was yucky, and Daniel, who found chocolate ice cream yummy. Most 5-year-olds (63 percent) thought David was wrong, and many felt he was bad or stupid as well. By contrast, virtually all (94 percent) of the 9-year-olds thought both boys could be right, and few were critical of David (Wainryb et al., 2004).
Vygotsky and School-Age Children
Vygotsky (1934/1994) also felt that educators should consider the thought processes of the child. This approach was a marked improvement over the dull “meaningless acquisition” approach of many educators, which rendered the child “helpless in the face of any sensible attempt to apply any of this acquired knowl- edge” (pp. 356–357), which was apparent not only in Vygotsky’s home nation (Russia), but in schools worldwide.
The Role of Instruction
Unlike Piaget, who stressed the child’s own discovery of important concepts, Vygotsky regarded instruction by others as crucial, with peers and teachers pro- viding the bridge between the child’s developmental potential and the necessary skills and knowledge. In each child’s zone of proximal development, or almost- understood ideas, other people are crucial.
Confirmation of the role of social interaction comes from children who, because of their school’s entry-date requirement, are relatively old kindergarteners or young first-graders. Learning among 5-year-old first-graders (those who were born in December, for instance) far exceeds that of 5-year-olds who are only slightly younger but who (because they were born in January) are in kindergarten.
Additional confirmation comes from the effect on children of high-quality teaching. There is a direct correlation between the percentage of qualified teach- ers in a school and learning, even when other factors (SES, prior achievement, neighborhood) are considered (Wayne & Youngs, 2003).
Remember that, for Vygotsky, formal education is only one of many contexts for learning. Children are apprentices as they play with each other, watch television, eat dinner with their families, and engage in other daily interactions.
In short, Vygotsky’s emphasis on the sociocultural context contrasts with Piaget’s more maturational approach. Vygotsky believed that cultures (tools, customs, and people) teach people. The social setting guides children in their zone of proximal development. For example, a child who is surrounded by adults who read for pleasure, by well-stocked bookcases, and by street signs is likely to read sooner than a child with little or no exposure to any of these things—even if both are in the same classroom—because the former is enticed into the zone of reading.
Cultural Variations
Most research on children’s cognition has been done in North America and west- ern Europe, but the same patterns are apparent worldwide. In Zimbabwe, for ex- ample, children’s understanding of classification is influenced not only by their
Building on Theory 309
Especially for Teachers How might
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s ideas help in teaching
geography to a class of third-graders?
310 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
age (Piaget) but also by factors related to social interactions (Vygotsky), such as the particulars of their schooling, and by their family’s SES (Mpofu & van de Vijver, 2000).
The most detailed international example comes from Brazil, specifi- cally from the street children who sell fruit, candy, and other products to earn their living. Many have never attended school and consequently score poorly on standard math achievement tests. This is no surprise to developmentalists, who have seen many examples of slower academic proficiency in children who are unschooled (Rogoff et al., 2005).
However, most young Brazilian peddlers are adept at pricing their wares, making change, and giving discounts for large quantities—a set of operations that must be recalibrated almost every day because of infla- tion, wholesale prices, and customer demand. These children calculate “complex markup computations and adjust for inflation in these compu- tations by using procedures that were widespread in their practice but not known to children in school” (Saxe, 1999, p. 255).
Thus, the knowledge of advanced math that is reflected in these street children’s cognitive performance comes from three sources:
■ Demands of the situation ■ Learning from other sellers ■ Daily experience
None of this would surprise Vygotsky, who would expect that street culture would teach children what they needed to know. The researchers found that school was not completely irrelevant. The best math skills were demonstrated by children who had some schooling as well as street experience (Saxe, 1991).
Today’s educators and psychologists regard both Piaget and Vygotsky as insight- ful theorists. Developmentalists’ understanding of how children learn depends largely on “a framework that was laid down by Piaget and embellished by Vygotsky” (C. Howe, 1998, p. 207). In other words, Piaget’s appreciation that children are eager learners, trying to understand the world in ways limited by their maturation, has been developed by Vygotsky. Vygotsky realized how much children learn from each other and from their teachers—as long as those mentors know what motiva- tion and understanding the children already possess.
Information Processing
An alternative approach to understanding cognition arises from information- processing theory. As you learned in Chapter 6, this approach takes its name from computer functioning. Computers receive and store vast quantities of infor- mation (numbers, letters, pixels, or other coded symbols) and then use software programs to process that information.
People, too, take in large amounts of information. They use mental processes to perform three functions: search for specific units of information when needed (as a search engine does); analyze (as software programs do); and express the analysis in a format that another person (or a networked computer) can interpret. By tracing the paths and links of each of these functions, scientists can better understand the mechanisms of learning. Information processing focuses on the specifics of a child learning a particular thing, not on theories but on details. It’s thinking that pro- gresses from models and hypotheses to practical demonstrations (Munakata, 2006).
Learning is particularly rapid in childhood, even without explicit adult instruc- tion. As they search, analyze, and express information, many 7- to 11-year-olds not only soak up knowledge in school but also outscore their elders in video games, memorize the lyrics of popular songs, and recognize out-of-towners by the clothes
Street Smarts Javier Garcias sells candy
and cigarettes on the streets of San Salvador,
the capital of El Salvador, from 5:00 A.M. until
1:00 P.M. and from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. In
between, he goes to school. That combina-
tion of work experience and formal education
may add up to excellent math skills—if Javier
is awake enough to learn.
V IC
T O
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U IZ
C A
B A
LL E R
O /
A P /
W ID
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LD P
H O
T O
S
information-processing theory The view of
cognition as comparable to the functioning
of a computer and as best understood by
analyzing each aspect of that functioning—
sensory data input, connections, stored
memories, and output.
they wear. Some children, by age 11, beat their elders at chess, play music so well that adults pay to hear them, or write poems that are published. Other children live by their wits on the street or become soldiers in civil wars, learning lessons that no child should know (Grigorenko & O’Keefe, 2004). All this is evidence of rapid acquisition of knowledge.
As with a computer, greater efficiency in learning requires more than just the storage of information within the brain. Greater efficiency requires retrieval strategies and analysis, which make 11-year-olds better thinkers than 7-year-olds, who are better thinkers than 3-year-olds. Nonetheless, as with computers, memory is crucial.
Memory
Sensory memory (also called the sensory register) is the first component of the human information-processing system. It stores incoming stimuli for a split second after they are received, to allow them to be processed. To use terms first explained in Chapter 5, sensations are retained for a moment so that some of them can become perceptions. This first step of sensory awareness is already quite good in early childhood, improves slightly until about age 10, and remains adequate until late adulthood.
Once some sensations become perceptions, the brain selects meaningful percep- tions to transfer to working memory for further analysis. It is in working memory (previously called short-term memory) that current, conscious mental activity occurs. Working memory improves steadily and significantly every year from age 4 to age 15 (Gathercole et al., 2004). For example, capacity increases, and sounds are remembered. These improvements are possible in part because of changes in the brain: increased myelination and dendrite formation in the prefrontal cortex—the massive interconnection described in Chapter 11.
Finally, some information is transferred to long-term memory, which stores it for minutes, hours, days, months, or years. The capacity of long-term memory— how much information can be crammed into one brain—is virtually limitless by the end of middle childhood. Together with sensory memory and working memory, long-term memory assists in organizing ideas and reactions. Crucial to the process of measuring and using long-term memory is not merely storage (how much mate- rial has been deposited) but also retrieval (how readily the material can be brought into working memory to be used). Retrieval is easier for some memories—especially memories of vivid, highly emotional experiences—than for others.
Speed and Knowledge
Having looked at the components of the information-processing system, let’s look more closely at two keys to cognitive development in school-age children: greater speed and greater knowledge.
Speed of thinking continues to increase throughout the first two decades of life. Neurological maturation, including ongoing myelination, helps to account for these changes (Benes, 2001). So does experience.
Repetition (pronouncing the same word, rehearsing the same dance step, adding the same numbers) makes neurons fire in a coordinated and seemingly instantaneous sequence (Merzenich, 2001). As children repeatedly use their intel- lectual skills, processes that once required hard mental labor become automatic.
sensory memory The component of the
information-processing system in which
incoming stimulus information is stored for
a split second to allow it to be processed.
(Also called the sensory register.)
working memory The component of the
information-processing system in which
current conscious mental activity occurs.
(Also called short-term memory.)
long-term memory The component of the
information-processing system in which
virtually limitless amounts of information
can be stored indefinitely.
Building on Theory 311
Especially for Teachers How might your
understanding of memory help you teach a
2,000-word vocabulary list to a class of
fourth-graders?
Eye on the Ball This boy’s concentration while heading the
ball and simultaneously preparing to fall is a sign that he has
practiced this maneuver enough times that he can perform it
automatically. Not having to think about what to do on the
way down, he can think about what to do when he gets up,
such as pursuing the ball or getting back to cover his position. KA Z M
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T H
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K
➤Response for Teachers (from page 309):
Here are two of the most obvious ways.
(1) Use logic. Once children can grasp classifi-
cation and class inclusion, they can understand
cities within states, states within nations,
and nations within continents. Organize your
instruction to make logical categorization
easier. (2) Make use of children’s need for
concrete and personal involvement. You might
have the children learn first about their own
location, then about the places where relatives
and friends live, and finally about places
beyond their personal experience (via books,
photographs, videos, and guest speakers).
This automatization (described in Chapter 11) increases processing speed, frees up memory capacity, allows more information to be remembered, and advances thinking in every way (Demetriou et al., 2002).
Progress from initial effort to automatization often takes years, making repetition and practice essential. Many children lose cognitive skills over the summer because the lack of daily schooling for a few months erases earlier academic learning (Alexander et al., 2007). Even adults who leave college for a decade feel “rusty” when they first return. The most problematic aspect of children’s television watching may be that it crowds out time for reading and thus reduces achievement (Roberts & Foehr, 2004). Not until something is overlearned does it become automatic.
The more people know, the more they can learn and remember. That is, having an extensive knowledge base, a broad body of knowledge in a particular subject area, makes it easier to master new information in that area. Ongoing develop- ment of knowledge depends on past experience, current opportunity, and personal motivation. This is evident from millions of school-age children: Their knowledge base is far greater in some domains, and far smaller in others, than their parents or teachers would like.
A British study provides an example (Balmford et al., 2002; see Research Design). Schoolchildren were asked to identify 10 out of a random sample of 100 Pokémon creatures and 10 out of 100 types of wildlife common in the United Kingdom. As you can see in Figure 12.1, the 4- to 6-year-olds knew only about a third of the 20 items but could identify more living things than imaginary ones. In contrast, 8- to 11-year-olds recognized more Pokémon creatures than living things. A peak in Pokémon knowledge occurred at about age 9, more for boys than girls (gender breakdowns are not shown in the graph). It is easy to understand why: Third-grade boys were often intensely engaged in collecting Pokémon cards.
control processes Mechanisms (including
selective attention, metacognition, and
emotional regulation) that combine mem-
ory, processing speed, and knowledge to
regulate the analysis and flow of informa-
tion within the information-processing
system.
312 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
Research Design Scientists: Andrew Balmford, Lizzie
Clegg, Tim Coulson, and Jennie Taylor.
Publication: Science (2002) (a weekly
journal published by the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science).
Participants: A total of 109 British
schoolchildren, aged 4 –11.
Design: Each child was asked to name
20 pictures, 10 of British wildlife (plants,
mammals, invertebrates, and birds) and
10 of Pokémon characters, randomly
chosen from two packs of 100. To be
considered correct, the children did not
have to name the genus of insect or
plant (saying “beetle” was enough), but
they had to do so for mammals (e.g.,
“badger”). Pokémon creatures had to
be identified by their correct names.
Major conclusion: Children are great
learners, but they do not learn much
about nature. Identification increased
markedly from age 4 to 8, from 32 per-
cent to 53 percent for natural creatures,
and from 7 to 78 percent for Pokémon
characters.
Comment: This straightforward study is
presented as a wake-up call for conser-
vationists. The authors quote Robert
Pyle: “What is the loss of a condor to a
child who has never seen a wren?”
knowledge base A body of knowledge in a
particular area that makes it easier to mas-
ter new information in that area.
Children’s Ability to Identify Images on Flashcards
Source: Adapted from Balmford et al., 2002, p. 2367.
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 124
Age (in years)
Score
(average
number of
correct
identifica-
tions)
Pokémon
characters
Types of
British wildlife
FIGURE 12.1
Knowledge of the Real and
the Imaginary Every child’s
knowledge base expands with
age, but the areas of special in-
terest tend to shift as the child
grows older. At about 8 years
of age, British schoolchildren’s
ability to identify Pokémon
characters on flashcards began
to surpass their ability to iden-
tify real-life animals and plants.
Observation Quiz (see
answer, page 314): What does
this graph suggest about the
state of wildlife conservation
in the United Kingdom in the
year 2020?
Control Processes
The mechanisms that put memory, processing speed, and the knowledge base together are called control processes; they regulate the analysis and flow of in- formation within the system. Control processes include selective attention, metacognition, and emotional regulation. They assume an executive role in the information-processing system. When someone concentrates on only the crucial
➤Response for Teachers (from page 311):
Children this age can be taught strategies
for remembering by making links between
working memory and long-term memory.
You might break down the vocabulary list into
word clusters, grouped according to root
words, connections to the children’s existing
knowledge, applications, or (as a last resort)
first letters or rhymes. Active, social learning
is useful; perhaps in groups the students
could write a story each day that incorporates
15 new words. Each group could read its
story aloud to the class.
part of the material bombarding the sensory memory, or summons a rule of thumb from long-term memory to working memory, or uses the knowledge base to connect new information, control processes are active. They organize, decide, and direct, as the chief executive officer of a large corporation is supposed to do.
Control processes develop spontaneously with age, but they are also taught. Sometimes this teaching is explicit. For instance, class- room instruction often includes spelling rules such as “i before e except after c” and helpful sentences for remembering things such as the order of the planets from the sun (“My Very Eager Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas”—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto). Once children know these, they can use the same techniques to make up their own mnemonic devices (memory aids). In fact, now that Pluto is no longer considered a planet, they have an opportunity to do so.
Sometimes it is more implicit. Cultures teach children general strategies, such as whether they should learn by attending to one thing at a time, as is the expectation in North American schools, or should learn while doing other things, as some cultures (for example, in Latin America) encourage. This latter approach is not necessarily inefficient because “simultaneous attention may be important when learning relies on observation of ongoing events” (Correa-Chavez et al., 2005, p. 665).
During the school years, children develop a more comprehensive form of think- ing called metacognition, sometimes called thinking about thinking. Metacogni- tion is the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it and then to monitor and adjust one’s performance on that task.
Marked advances in metacognition occur when children become better aware of what they know and what they need to learn. School-age children with such an awareness might, for example, test themselves to judge whether they have learned their spelling words, rather than insisting (as younger children might) that they know it all (Harter, 1999).
With the advances in metacognition come strikingly evident improvements in children’s ability to store information so that retrieval is possible. The relationship is clear, for example, from an experiment in which 7- and 9-year-olds memorized two lists of 10 items each (M. L. Howe, 2004). Some children had separate lists of toys and vehicles; others had two mixed lists, with toys and vehicles combined in both. A day later, they were asked to remember one of the lists. Having had sepa- rate lists of toys and vehicles helped the 7-year-olds somewhat, compared to the 7-year-olds with mixed lists, but having organized lists was particularly beneficial for the 9-year-olds. They remembered notably more items than did other 9-year- olds whose lists had mixed toys and vehicles.
Some of these children had been explicitly told about the categories of the lists and some had not. That did not make much difference, because the 9-year-olds spontaneously noted the categories, and that helped them remember (M. L. Howe, 2004). In other words, the 9-year-olds used metacognitive skills without prompting.
The relative benefits of spontaneous use of metacognition versus instruction in memory techniques have been the focus of decades of research (Pressley & Hilden, 2006). Such research has thus looked at both discovery (inspired by Piaget) and explicit scaffolding (inspired by Vygotsky) from an information-processing perspective.
It is apparent that during the school years, children benefit from learning spe- cific cognitive strategies in every academic subject (math, reading, writing, science),
Building on Theory 313
They’ve Read the Book Acting in a play
based on The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe suggests that these children have
metacognitive abilities beyond those of al-
most any preschooler. Indeed, the book itself
requires a grasp of the boundary between
reality (the wardrobe) and fantasy (the witch).
“Thinking about thinking” is needed in order
to appreciate the allegory.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 314):
Beyond understanding the book, what are
three examples of metacognition implied
here? Specifically, how does the ability to
memorize lines, play a part, and focus on the
play illustrate metacognition?
B A
C H
M A
N N
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H O
T O
R E S
E A
R C
H E R
S , IN
C .
metacognition “Thinking about thinking,” or
the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to
determine how best to accomplish it, and
then to monitor and adjust one’s perform-
ance on that task.
especially if they are given practice over weeks and months. To use the language of computers, once a program is installed, if the operator uses it frequently and understands its application, output is faster and more accurate. That works for children, too.
S U M M I N G U P
Piaget and Vygotsky both recognized that school-age children are avid learners who ac-
tively build on the knowledge they already have. Piaget emphasized the child’s own logical
thinking, as the principles of classification, identity, and reversibility are understood during
concrete operational thought. Research inspired by Vygotsky and the sociocultural per-
spective fills in Piaget’s outline with details of the actual learning situation. Cultural differ-
ences can be powerful; specific instruction and practical experience make a difference.
An information-processing analysis highlights many components of thinking that ad-
vance during middle childhood. Although sensory memory and long-term memory do not
change much during these years, the speed and efficiency of working memory improve
dramatically, which makes school-age children better thinkers than they previously were.
Another advantage of older children is that past learning results in a greater knowledge
base.
In addition, control processes, such as selective attention and metacognition, enable
children to become more strategic thinkers, able to direct their minds toward whatever
they are motivated to learn and adults are motivated to teach. ■
Language As you remember, many aspects of language advance rapidly before middle child- hood. By age 6, children have mastered most of the basic vocabulary and grammar of their first language, and many even speak a second language. However, as we will now see, because school-age children have the abilities described in the chap- ter to this point (noted by Piaget, Vygotsky, and information-processing theorists), they advance in language.
Some school-age children learn as many as 20 new words a day and apply gram- mar rules they did not use before. These new words and applications are unlike the language explosion. Increases in logic, flexibility, memory, speed of thinking, metacognition, and connections between facts enhance the learning of a first and second language (Kagan & Herschkowitz, 2005).
Vocabulary and Pragmatics
Young children know the names of thousands of objects, and they understand many other parts of speech as well. But school-age children are more flexible and logical in their knowledge and use of vocabulary, understanding metaphors, pre- fixes and suffixes, and compound words.
For example, 2-year-olds know egg, but 10-year-olds also know egg salad, egg- drop soup, eggless, eggplant, egghead, and walking on eggshells, egg on my face, and last one in is a rotten egg. They understand that each of these expressions is logi- cally connected to egg (benefits of the knowledge base) but is also distinct from the dozen uncooked eggs in the refrigerator. They use each expression in the appropriate contexts.
One aspect of language that advances markedly in middle childhood is prag- matics, the practical use of language, including communication with varied audi- ences in different contexts. This ability is obvious to linguists when they listen to children talk informally with their friends and formally with their teachers or
Especially for Parents You’ve had an
exhausting day but are setting out to buy
groceries. Your 7-year-old son wants to go
with you. Should you explain that you are so
tired that you want to make a quick solo trip
to the supermarket this time?
314 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from page
312): As the authors of this study observe,
“People care about what they know.” As their
knowledge about their country’s animal and
plant life declines with age, these British
children’s concern for wildlife conservation is
likely to decline, too.
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from
page 313): (1) Memorizing extensive passages
requires an understanding of advanced
memory strategies that combine meaning
with form. (2) Understanding how to play a
part so that other actors and the audience
respond well requires a sophisticated theory
of mind. (3) Staying focused on the moment
in the play despite distractions from the
audience requires selective attention.
parents, never calling the latter a rotten egg—regardless of whether they are the last one to sit down to dinner or not.
Children are thus able to switch back and forth, depending on the audience, between different manners of speaking, or “codes.” Each code includes many aspects of language—tone, pronunciation, gestures, sentence length, idioms, vocabulary, and grammar. Sometimes the switch is between formal code (used in academic contexts) and informal code (used with friends); sometimes it is between dialect or vernacular (used on the street) and standard or proper speech. Many children use a new code in text messaging, with numbers (411), abbre- viations (LOL), and emoticons (☺).
During middle childhood, many children excel at pragmat- ics, using the appropriate code in each context. They not only adjust to their audience but can use logic to do so, applying grammatical rules when they need to. Children need help from teachers to become fluent in the formal code so that they will be able to communicate with educated adults from many places. The peer group teaches the informal code, and each local community teaches dialect and pronunciation.
Second-Language Learning
The most obvious need for school-age children to use various codes pragmatically occurs when children speak one language at home and another at school. Almost every nation’s population includes many children who speak a minority language, and most of the world’s 6,000 languages are never used in school. Consequently, about a billion children are educated in a language other than their mother tongue (John-Steiner et al., 1994). Many will lose fluency in their first language. It is estimated that at least 5,000 languages will die by 2050 (May, 2005).
In the United States, 4 million students (10 percent of the school population) are English-language learners (ELLs) (formerly called LEP, limited English proficiency) and thus do not yet speak English well. Many live with their co- linguists in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, while others are surrounded by people who cannot converse with them. Many public school classes (43 percent) have at least one ELL student (Zehler et al., 2003).
Middle childhood is a good time for learning a second language. As explained earlier, children aged 7 to 11 are eager to communicate, are logical, and have an ear (and brain) for nuances of code and pronunciation. Experience in Canada, in Israel, and in many other nations proves that most children can become fluent in two languages before puberty (DeKeyser & Larson-Hall, 2005).
In the United States, as in many other countries, some students learning the majority language in school have a first language that is relatively close to it, while others have a quite different first language. Those who already read and write Span- ish, French, or another Romance language have a foundation for learning English, since the letters, many sounds, and some words are similar. If their teachers show them how to sound out letters and recognize words that are cognates, they grasp English more quickly (Carlo et al., 2004). Children whose first language uses differ- ent symbols and has a markedly different sound system, as is the case, for example, with Arabic and Asian languages, have a harder time (Snow & Kang, 2006).
Many American children, most notably from Asian American backgrounds, make a language shift, replacing their original language with English rather than becoming fluent in both languages (Tse, 2001). Partly to avoid this, many Asian communities provide “heritage” language classes after school or on Saturdays. In the 1990s in the Los Angeles area, there were 80 Chinese heritage schools with
Language 315
Connections Basic vocabulary is learned by
age 4 or so, but the school years are best for
acquiring expanded, derivative, and specialized
vocabulary, especially if the child is actively
connecting one word with another. With his
father’s encouragement, this boy in San Jose,
California, will remember Jupiter, Mars, and
the names of the other planets and maybe
even orbit, light-years, and solar system.
R A
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T E IN
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H E I M
A G
E W
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K S
English-language learner (ELL) A child who
is learning English as a second language.
bilingual education A strategy in which
school subjects are taught in both the
learner’s original language and the second
(majority) language.
ESL (English as a second language) An
approach to teaching English in which all
children who do not speak English are
placed together and given an intensive
course in basic English so that they can be
educated in the same classroom as native
English speakers.
15,000 pupils. Despite such classes, many Asian American children lose their original language (Liu, 2006). This is unfortunate, not only because fluently bilin- gual adults are needed but also because language is intimately connected to values and emotions, and parents and others fear language loss may represent a loss of culture. Immigrant parents want their children to maintain their culture even as they want their children to succeed.
Bilingual speakers are aware of the connection between language and emotion, and they choose how to say what to whom (Myers-Scotton & Bolonyai, 2001). Things learned in English are more readily remembered in English, and things learned in the original language are remembered better in that language (Marian & Fausey, 2006).
Many educators fear that immigrant children may suffer if they are expected to relinquish their first language.
Challenges of adaptation to a new language and culture for child migrants are reflected in data about their academic achievement. Language minority children are at demonstrably greater risk than native speakers of experiencing academic difficulty . . . in the United States, . . . in the Netherlands, . . . in Great Britain, . . . and in Japan.
[Snow & Kang, 2006, p. 76]
Experts agree that all children should learn to speak and write in the majority language while not losing their native tongue, and that those children who already speak the majority language should learn a second language, ideally before puberty. Experts do not agree on the best way to reach these goals. Political controversies have made objective research difficult; no single approach has been proven to be best for all children in all contexts (Bialystok, 2001; Hinkel, 2005; Snow & Kang, 2006).
Approaches range from total immersion, in which instruction in all school subjects occurs entirely in the second (majority) language, to the opposite ap- proach, in which children learn in their first language until the second language can be taught as a “foreign” tongue. Variations between these extremes include bilingual education, with instruction in two languages, and, in North America, ESL (English as a second language), programs in which ELL children are taught intensively and exclusively in English to prepare them for regular classes.
The success of any of these methods seems to depend on the literacy of the home (the specific language used at home matters less than the frequency of reading, writing, and listening), the warmth and skill of the teacher, and the over- all cultural context. Any method tends to fail if children feel shy, stupid, or lonely because of their language.
Second-language learning remains controversial in the United States, even among immigrants who do not speak English. Cognitive research leaves no doubt that school-age children can learn a second language if it is taught logically, step by step, and they can maintain their original language. The best strategies included a language-rich environment (at home and school), with ample reading, writing, and speaking instruction.
The likelihood of parents, school, and culture encouraging bilingualism in chil- dren is affected by the socioeconomic status of the family and of the minority group. This is one explanation for the experience of Korean immigrant children, who usually have more success at learning English in the United States than the typical immigrant child but do much worse in Japan (where they often are at the bottom of the economic ladder). An overview finds that “language teaching has always been susceptible to political and social influences” (Byram & Feng, 2005, p. 926). Let’s take a closer look at the role of SES in language learning.
total immersion A strategy in which instruc-
tion in all school subjects occurs in the
second (majority) language that a child is
learning.
316 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
➤Response for Parents (from page 314):
Your son would understand your explanation,
but you should take him along if you can do
so without losing patience with him. Any
excursion can be a learning opportunity. You
wouldn’t ignore his need for food or medicine;
don’t ignore his need for learning. While
shopping, you can teach vocabulary (does he
know pimientos, pepperoni, polenta? ),
categories (“root vegetables,” “freshwater
fish”), and math (which size box of cereal is
cheaper?). Explain in advance that you need
him to help you find items and carry them
and that he can choose only one item that
you wouldn’t normally buy. Seven-year-olds
can understand rules, and they enjoy being
helpful.
S U M M I N G U P
Children continue to learn language rapidly during the school years. They become more
flexible, logical, and knowledgeable, figuring out the meaning of new words. Many
converse with friends using informal speech and master a more formal code in school.
Millions become proficient in a second language, a process facilitated by teachers
who help them see connections between the new language and their original one, and
by peers who do not make them feel ashamed. Speaking and listening to each child, in
school and at home, continues to help with language learning. ■
Teaching and Learning School-age children are great learners. They develop strategies, accumulate knowledge, apply logic, and think quickly. Magical and egocentric thinking no longer dominate, yet 7- to 11-year-olds are not yet as resistant to authority as ado- lescents sometimes are.
Children universally are given responsibility and instruction at about age 7, because that is when their bodies and brains are ready. Traditionally, this occurred within the family, but now 95 percent of the world’s 7-year-olds are in school. Communities and cultures choose what happens at school, including what chil- dren learn.
Teaching and Learning 317
SES and Language Learning
Decades of research throughout the world have found a power-
ful connection between language development and socioeco-
nomic status (Plank & MacIver, 2003). Compared with their
peers, children from low-SES families tend to fall behind in
talking, then in reading, and then in other subjects. Not only do
children from low-income families have smaller vocabularies,
but their grammar is simpler (fewer compound sentences, de-
pendent clauses, and conditional verbs) and their sentences are
shorter (Hart & Risley, 1995; Hoff, 2003).
The information-processing perspective forces us to look at
specifics of daily input that might affect the child’s brain and
thus the child’s ability to learn language. Possibilities abound—
lead in house paint, inadequate prenatal care, lack of a nourish-
ing breakfast, overcrowded household, too few books at home,
teenage parenthood, authoritarian child rearing . . . the list
could go on and on. All of these correlate with low SES, but no
one of them has been proven to be in itself a major cause of poor
language learning.
There are two factors, however, that do appear to play an
important role in the connection between low SES and poor
language learning. One is extent of early exposure to language.
Unlike parents with higher education, many less educated par-
ents tend not to speak extensively or elaborately with their chil-
dren. The reasons correlate with low income (financial stress,
not enough time for each child, neighborhood noise) but are not
caused by it. In one study, researchers observed young children
at home for three years, recording an average of 30 hours of talk
per family. Children in high-SES families heard about 2,000
words an hour, while children in low-SES families heard only
about 600 words per hour (Hart & Risley, 1995). Many studies
have found a “powerful linkage” between adult linguistic input
and later child output (Weizman & Snow, 2001, p. 276). Remem-
ber that dendrites in the brain grow to accommodate the child’s
experiences, including experience with language.
A second factor is expectation. Many people believe that
teachers’ and parents’ expectations are the reason some children
master language quickly while others do not, and SES may
affect expectations. Expectations can, of course, make a positive
difference. For example, E. P. Jones, who won the 2004 Pulitzer
Prize for his novel The Known World (E. P. Jones, 2003), grew
up in a very poor family, headed by a single mother who was illit-
erate. Jones writes:
For as many Sundays as I can remember, perhaps even Sundays
when I was in the womb, my mother has pointed across “I” street
to Seaton [school] as we come and go to Mt. Carmel [church].
“You gonna go there and learn about the whole world.”
[E. P. Jones, 1992/2003, p. 29]
He did.
issues and applications
Schools are pivotal. In the United States, this is particularly true for young children whose families are immigrants, have low SES, and/or do not speak the majority language. Two such children, both educated in southern California, describe their experiences.
Yolanda: When I got here [from Mexico at age 7], I didn’t want to stay here, ’cause I didn’t like the school. And after a little while, in third grade, I started getting the hint of it and everything and I tried real hard in it. I really got along with the teachers. . . . They would start talking to me, or they kinda like pulled me up some grades, or moved me to other classes, or took me somewhere. And they were always con- gratulating me.
Paul: I grew up . . . ditching school, just getting in trouble, trying to make a dollar, that’s it, you know? Just go to school, steal from the store, and go sell candies at school. And that’s what I was doing in the third or fourth grade. . . . I was always getting in the principal’s office, suspended, kicked out, everything, starting from the third grade.
My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Nelson . . . she put me in a play and that like tripped me out. Like, why do you want me in a play? Me, I’m just a mess-up. Still, you know, she put me in a play. And in the fifth grade, I think that was the best year out of the whole six years. I learned a lot about the Revolutionary War. . . . Had good friends. . . . We had a project we were involved in. Ms. Nelson . . . just involved everyone. We made books, this and that. And I used to write, and wrote two, three books. Was in a book fair. . . . She got real deep into you. Just, you know, “Come on now, you can do it.” That was a good year for me, fifth grade.
[quoted in Nieto, 2000, pp. 220, 249]
Note that initially Yolanda didn’t like the United States because of school, but her teachers “kind of pulled me up.” By third grade she was beginning to get “the hint of it.” For Paul, school was where he sold stolen candy and where his teachers
sent him to the principal, who suspended him. Ms. Nelson’s fifth grade, though it was “a good year” for him, was too late; Paul was sent to a special school and probably (suggested, not confirmed in the text) had been in jail by age 18.
Curriculum
Everywhere children are taught to read, write, and do arithmetic, although beyond basic skills, nations vary in how and what they teach their children and how much they spend to do it (see Figure 12.2). For exam- ple, reasoned speaking and logical argument are taught in Russia and France but not in India or the United States (Alexander, 2000); memorization is important in India but is less so in England. In some places, physical education and the arts are essential; in France, for example, every week physical education takes three hours and arts education more than two hours (Marlow-Ferguson, 2002). Even nations that are geographically and culturally close to each other differ in specifics. For example, every elementary school student in Australia spends at least two hours per week studying science, but this is true for only 23 percent in nearby New Zealand (Snyder et al., 2004).
318 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
Public Spending per Child in Elementary School, Selected Countries
Annual expenditure per child
(in U.S. dollars)
$1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000
Australia
Denmark
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Mexico
New Zealand
Poland
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
Source: Snyder et al., 2006.
FIGURE 12.2
What Money Can’t Buy The United States
spends more on elementary school education,
but U.S. students do not learn more than stu-
dents in other developed nations. Depending
on your personal and political perspective,
you can blame the children, the teachers, the
curriculum, or government policies.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 320):
Four other nations have relatively high per
capita spending on education. Do you know
anything else noteworthy about them?
When, how, to whom, and whether second-language instruction should occur also varies markedly from nation to nation. Within some nations, including the United States, second-language instruction varies from district to district, as already explained. Even in the same district and under the same policy, teacher quality is crucial, as the quotations from Yolanda and Paul illustrate and as re- search has confirmed (Hinkel, 2005). In other nations, including most European countries, every elementary school child learns at least one language in addition to his or her native tongue.
Religious instruction is another major variable. In some nations, every public school teaches religion. For instance, Finnish schools require religious education —but provide parents only three choices: Lutheran, Christian Orthodox, or non- sectarian (Marlow-Ferguson, 2002). In other nations, religious instruction is forbidden in state-sponsored schools. This is true in the United States, where 88 percent of children attend public schools; the other 12 percent are home-schooled (2 percent) or attend a private school (10 percent), often with a religious bent (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Almost every nation has some private schools that are sponsored by religious groups. Again, international variation is large. Sixteen percent of French children attend church-related schools; only 1 percent of Japanese children do (Marlow-Ferguson, 2002).
Another major difference is whether the parents, the local community, the state, or the nation decides curriculum. The following is from a minister of educa- tion in Australia:
Education is a national priority and it is too important to be left at the mercy of state parochialism . . . with an increasingly mobile workforce, why should students and teachers be disadvantaged when they move interstate from one educational system to another?
[Bishop, quoted in Manzo, 2007, p. 40]
In Australia local control of curriculum clashes with a push for national stan- dards. The same clash is at the heart of the controversy in the United States over the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a federal law that mandates annual standardized achievement tests for public school children beginning in the third grade. If schools do not meet the achievement standards (which keep rising) for several years, parents can transfer their children out, and low-scoring schools will lose funding and may have to close.
Some states (e.g., Utah) have opted out of No Child Left Behind. Other states have achievement tests that allow most schools to progress (and thus get funding). The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a federal Depart- ment of Education project that measures achievement in reading, mathematics, and other subjects over time, finds fewer children proficient in various skills than state tests show (see Figures 12.3 and 12.4). Yet
local control of public schools is a hallowed tradition in American education and there has long been antipathy to the idea of a national test. . . . Some state edu- cators say comparisons are unfair because NAEP is too rigorous and was designed to chart long-term trends, not to measure what states feel students should know.
[Vu, 2007]
One problem with national standards, as is evident with NAEP, is that states disagree about what children should know and how they should learn it. Many schools (71 percent in one study) cut back on parts of the curriculum (especially art or music) in order to offer more instruction in reading and math (Rentner et al., 2006). One reason for this shift in emphasis is that No Child Left Behind implemented Reading First, reflecting the notion that the primary item of curriculum (and the primary goal of national standards and topic of achievement tests) should be reading. In addition, nationally approved materials for teaching
No Child Left Behind Act A U.S. law passed
by Congress in 2001 that was intended to
increase accountability in education by
requiring standardized tests to measure
school achievement. Many critics, espe-
cially teachers, say the law undercuts
learning and fails to take local needs into
consideration.
Especially for Parents Suppose you and
your school-age children move to a new
community that is 50 miles from the nearest
location that offers instruction in your faith or
value system. Your neighbor says, “Don’t
worry, they don’t have to make any moral
decisions until they are teenagers.” Is your
neighbor correct?
Teaching and Learning 319
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP) An ongoing and nation-
ally representative measure of children’s
achievement in reading, mathematics, and
other subjects over time; nicknamed “the
Nation’s Report Card.”
Reading First A federal program that was
established by the No Child Left Behind Act
and that provides states with funding for
early reading instruction in public schools,
aimed at ensuring that all children learn to
read well by the end of the third grade.
reading favor the phonics side of the reading wars (discussed below) (Manzo, 2006). For all these reasons, reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, scheduled for 2007, required major revision.
In addition to formal mandates, there is a hidden curriculum, which consists of the unrecognized lessons that children absorb in school. The hidden curricu- lum typically involves such matters as tracking, teacher characteristics, discipline, teaching methods, sports competition, student government, and extracurricular activities. For example, if most of the teachers are different from most of the chil- dren in terms of gender, ethnicity, or economic background, the hidden message may be that some children are not expected to succeed in school.
One obvious manifestation of the hidden curriculum is the physical setting. Some schools have spacious classrooms; wide hallways; personal computers; and large, grassy playgrounds. Others have small, poorly equipped rooms and cement play yards or “play streets,” closed to traffic for a few hours a day. A former New York State Commissioner of Education explained:
320 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
Percentage of 12th-Graders Within and At or Above the Mathematics
Achievement Levels, 1990–2000
1990 1995 2000
Source: Perie et al., 2005.
Proficient
Advanced
Basic
At or above
Proficient
At or above
Basic
Below Basic
10% 14% 14%
1%
12% 16% 17%
69% 65%
58%
2% 2%
42% 31% 35%
46% 53% 48%
2005
23% 25%
61%
2%
39%
36%FIGURE 12.3
Better or Worse? Should a country’s educa-
tion policy emphasize helping more students
become “Proficient” or better in mathematics
or trying to make sure that fewer students
score “Below Basic”? The United States
seems to be choosing the former, with more
resources allocated to the schools where
students score high in math achievement.
FIGURE 12.4
Local Standards Each state sets its own
level of proficiency, which helps low-scoring
states obtain more federal money for educa-
tion, but it may undercut high standards for
student learning.
Percentage-Point
Difference in
State vs. Federal
Proficiency Ratings
0 –20
21– 40
41– 60
61+
NY
VT ME
NH
MA RI
CT NJ DE
MD
PA
VAWV
OH IN
MI WI
IL
MO
AR
IA
MN
ND
Rating Fourth-Graders’ Reading Proficiency: The Gap Between NAEP and the States
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX LA
NM
CO
MT
ID WY
UT
AZ
NV
CA
OR
WA
AK
HI
KY
NC TN
MS
SC
GAAL
FL
Source: EPE Research Center, in Hoff, 2007, p. 23.
hidden curriculum The unofficial, unstated,
or implicit rules and priorities that influence
the academic curriculum and every other
aspect of learning in school.
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from page
318): Denmark, Italy, Japan, and Sweden have
very low birth rates and thus have relatively
few schoolchildren.
If you ask the children to attend school in conditions where plaster is crumbling, the roof is leaking and classes are being held in unlikely places because of over- crowded conditions, that says something to the child. . . . If, on the other hand, you send a child to a school in well-appointed or [adequate facilities], that sends the opposite message. That says this counts. You count. Do well.
[Sobol, quoted in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, 2001]
In some countries, school is held outdoors. Students sit quietly on the ground. The school day must end whenever it rains. What messages does this kind of school setting convey?
In all these variations in curriculum, those who advocate one “best” practice risk becoming tangled in ideology, politics, and culture, disconnected from the findings of educational research (Rayner et al., 2001). On their part, children do not necessarily learn what policy makers intend, or even what their own teachers teach. Intended, implemented, and attained curricula are three different things (Robitaille & Beaton, 2002).
The Outcome
Most parents, teachers, and political leaders believe that their children are learn- ing what they need. Parents give higher ratings to their children’s schools than nonparents in their community do, although nonparents do rate their own com- munity’s schools higher than schools nationwide (Snyder et al., 2004). Similarly, many parents of home-schooled and private school children believe that public schools are worse than research finds them to be (Green & Hoover-Dempsey, 2007; Lubienski & Lubienski, 2005).
This does not necessarily mean that parents are fooling themselves, only that people disagree about what children should learn and how to best measure that learning (Elmore et al., 2004; R. S. Johnson, 2002). Objective, international tests do not put an end to these disagreements, as the following explains.
Teaching and Learning 321
thinking like a scientist International Achievement Tests
Objective assessment of educational achievement might be done
by comparing results from international, culture-neutral tests.
Ideally, each nation would give the same tests, under the same
conditions, to a representative group of children of a particular
age and year of schooling. Such even-handed comparisons are
impossible, however, because educational practices vary too
widely in different countries. For example, Scottish children, who
begin school at age 4, have a three-year advantage over Russian
children, who usually begin school at age 7 (Mullis et al., 2004).
Despite such problems, international tests are useful. One
such assessment, administered periodically to fourth- and
eighth-graders worldwide, is called the TIMSS (Trends in
Math and Science Study). The average 10-year-old in Singa-
pore is ahead of the top 5 percent of U.S. students in math, ac-
cording to the TIMSS. Fourth-graders in Hong Kong, Japan, and
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) also did better than their counterparts “Big deal, an A in math. That would be a
D in any other country.”
© T
H E N
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9 9 8 M
IK E T
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R E S
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V E D
.
TIMSS (Trends in Math and Science Study)
An international assessment of the math
and science skills of fourth- and eighth-
graders. Although the TIMSS is very useful,
scores are not always comparable, because
sample selection, test administration, and
content validity are hard to keep uniform.
➤Response for Parents (from page 319):
No. In fact, these are prime years for moral
education. You might travel those 50 miles
once or twice a week or recruit other parents
to organize a local program. Whatever you do,
don’t skip moral instruction. Discuss and
demonstrate your moral and religious values,
and help your children meet other children
who share those values.
Western nations score better on international reading assessments, such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In the first round of testing, in 2001, only 3 of the 35 participating nations (Sweden, England, and Bulgaria) surpassed the United States in the percentage of fourth-graders who read in the top 10 percent.
For all international tests, data can be interpreted in various ways. For instance, critics of U.S. education focus more on math and science (assessed by the TIMSS) than on reading (assessed by the PIRLS). Those who are concerned about educa- tional disparities notice the spread between the children in the top fourth (above the 75th percentile) and the bottom fourth (below the 26th percentile). On the PIRLS, 24 nations had a wider spread than the United States, and ten had less disparity (Sweden, England, Bulgaria, Canada, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, France, Hong Kong) (Mullis et al., 2003).
Gender differences in performance are both confirmed and refuted by the data. Internationally, girls are ahead in verbal skills (by 4 percentage points, on average) and boys in math, but nations differ from one another much more than boys do from girls, and the gender spread varies. To pick two extremes, Scottish fourth- grade boys averaged 11 points higher in math than girls, but Filipino girls averaged 9 points above the boys. National scores ranged from 339 (Tunisia) to 594 (Singa- pore), a much greater difference than the gender differences. Such results led one team to propose a gender similarities hypothesis that males and females are similar on most measures, with very few exceptions (Hyde & Linn, 2006).
International testing is too costly to be done every year. Current TIMSS analy- sis is of tests conducted in 2003. Students worldwide are taking a TIMSS test in 2007, and the results will be reported and analyzed by 2009. Beyond the slow
Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS) Inaugurated in 2001, a
planned five-year cycle of international
trend studies in the reading ability of
fourth-graders.
322 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
in western nations. This trend of East Asian superiority continues
through high school (see Table 12.1).
Canada, England, and the United States are above average
on the TIMSS, but not by much. The lowest-ranking nations—
Tunisia, Morocco, and the Philippines (not shown in the table)
—do not have a long history of universal fourth-grade education.
No very poor nations participated in the testing, finding it too
expensive, too discouraging, or too difficult.
Is the TIMSS fair? Here is a sample math question for
fourth-graders:
Jasmine made a stack of cubes the same size. The stack had 5 layers, and each layer had 10 cubes. What is the volume of the stack? a. 10 cubes b. 15 cubes c. 30 cubes d. 50 cubes
Is this item equally difficult for children in every nation, or
are East Asians favored?
TABLE 12.1
TIMSS Rankings of Average Math Achievement
Scores of Eighth-Graders, Selected Countries*
Year
Country 2003 1999 1995
Singapore 1 1 1
Korea 2 2 2
Hong Kong 3 3 4
Japan 4 4 3
Netherlands 5 6 6
Canada** 6 5 7
Hungary 7 8 8
Czech Republic 8 7 5
Russian Federation 9 9 9
Australia 10 10 10
United States 11 11 12
New Zealand 12 12 11
Cyprus 13 13 13
Iran 14 14 14
*Not all of the countries that participated in TIMSS (25 in 2003) are reported
because most of them did not give this test in all three years. Eighth-grade
rankings are given here; the fourth-grade rankings are similar, but not as much
comparative data are available.
**Results for Canada are for the provinces of Ontario and Quebec only and thus
are not strictly comparable with other countries’ average scores.
Source: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement,
2003; http://timss.bc.edu, accessed April 25, 2007.
Teaching and Learning 323
Catching Up with the West These Iranian
girls are acting out a poem that they have
memorized from their third-grade textbook.
They attend school in a UNICEF-supported
Global Education pilot project. Their child-
centered classes encourage maximum
participation.SH E H
Z A
D N
O O
R A
N I /
P E T E R
A R
N O
LD , IN
C .
Especially for Future Research
Scientists What should you watch for in
news reports about the TIMSS data?
reporting of results, another problem is that both participation and emphasis vary from nation to nation. For cultural and cost reasons, some nations participate in TIMSS but not PIRLS (e.g., Japan and South Korea), or in PIRLS but not TIMSS (e.g., Iran and Greece), or in neither (most developing nations). The United States has participated in both, as well as in PISA (Programme for Inter- national Assessment), a third international test designed to assess 15-year-olds’ ability to apply knowledge (reviewed in Chapter 15). The United States scores well in reading and poorly in applications, but its middling TIMSS scores are most widely publicized.
Education Wars and Assumptions
Adults differ in their beliefs about what children should learn—and how. Virtually every aspect of education is not merely debatable; it has caused bitter dispute. Almost everyone has opinions about Japanese education, about teaching reading, about learning math, and many other issues, and those opinions often do not square with the research findings, as you will now see.
Japanese Education
How good is Japanese education? Your answer is probably affected by whether you were educated in Japan or elsewhere. The Japanese are much more critical of their schools than people in the United States are of them.
Ever since Harold Stevenson first compared schoolchildren in North America and Japan (H.W. Stevenson, Lee, et al., 1990; H.W. Stevenson, Chen, et al., 1993), many Americans have envied Japanese education. Japanese children spend more time in school, with longer days, weeks (including Saturday mornings), and years (only one month of summer vacation). Children study at school (and so have less free time) and at home (and so have fewer household chores). Three-fourths of them attend juko, private classes that supplement public school.
Japanese teachers are respected by students and parents, and they learn from one another; time is specifically scheduled for collaboration (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Further, the Japanese government funds and guides education. That involve- ment by national government fosters equity and allows children who move mid- year from one region to another to lose no time in catching up with their new classmates. Absenteeism is low, and less than 2 percent of high school students leave school before graduation.
All these factors and others are cited to explain why Japanese children score far above their U.S. peers in math and science. The contrast was among the reasons almost all U.S. Congress members voted for No Child Left Behind in 2001: The program anticipated that every child in the United States would eventu- ally learn as well and as much as Japanese children do.
Meanwhile, in Japan, many parents and government officials express disappointment with the outcomes of public education (Hosaka, 2005; Sugie et al., 2006). Some Japanese children need help developing metacognitive skills that are not taught in school, partly because large class sizes and detailed curriculum requirements make individualized attention difficult (Ichikawa, 2005). In addition, the system may sacrifice creativity and inde- pendent thought, at least according to Western critics (Kohn, 2006).
In 2002 the Japanese eased educational and testing require- ments by instituting yutori kyoiku, which means “more relaxed
education.” The required curriculum was reduced by 30 percent to allow more emphasis on learning to think rather than memorizing facts to get high test scores (Magara, 2005). The long-term results, like the results of No Child Left Behind, are not yet known.
The Reading Wars
Reading is complex. The ability to read with speedy, automatic comprehension is the cumulative result of many earlier steps—from looking closely at pictures (at age 2 or earlier) to learning to figure out unknown technical words (at age 10 and beyond). There are two distinct methods of teaching children to read: phonics and whole language (Rayner et al., 2001). Clashes over the two approaches have led to “serious, sometimes acrimonious debate, fueling the well-named ‘reading wars’” (Keogh, 2004, p. 93).
Historically, schools used the phonics approach (from the root word for “sound”), in which children learn to read by learning letter–sound correspon-
324 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
Collaborative Learning Japanese children
are learning mathematics in a more struc-
tured and socially interactive way than are
their North American counterparts.
R U
S S
E LL
D . C
U R
T IS
/ P
H O
T O
R E S
E A
R C
H E R
S , IN
C .
Reading with Comprehension (left) Reading and math scores in third-grader Monica’s Illinois elementary school showed
improvement under the standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act. The principal noted a cost for this success in less time
spent on social studies and other subjects. (right) Some experts believe that children should have their own books and be able
to read them wherever and however they want. This strategy seems to be working with Josue and Cristo, two 8-year-olds
who were given books through their after-school program in Rochester, Washington.
T E D
S . W
A R
R E N
/ A
P P
H O
T O
N A
M Y
. H
U H
/ A
P P
H O
T O
phonics approach Teaching reading by first
teaching the sounds of each letter and of
various letter combinations.
Especially for Teachers You are teaching in
a school that you find too lax or too strict, or
with parents who are too demanding or too
uncaring. Should you look for a different line
of work?
dences in order to decipher simple words. This approach seemed to be supported by behaviorism (see Chapter 2) and, more recently, by information-processing theory in that step-by-step instructions, with frequent repetition, was favored.
Piaget’s theory—that children learn on their own as soon as their minds are ready—provided the rationale for another method, called the whole-language approach. For concrete operational thinkers, Piaget’s followers explained, abstract, decontextualized memorization (as in traditional phonics) is difficult. Literacy is the outcome of natural motivation in talking and listening, reading and writing. When teachers instruct using the whole-language approach, young children (in addition to reading) draw, talk, and write. They also invent their own spelling, because many languages, including English, are too variable to be spelled phonet- ically (see Figure 12.5).
However, unlike talking, which is experience-expectant, reading and writing are experience-dependent. Children need instruction, as Vygotsky might argue. Be- ginning readers may need to be taught to translate spoken words into printed ones, and vice versa. Some children may never “discover” how to read on their own.
Research arising from every contemporary developmental theory has noted the uniqueness of each child as a beginning reader, including individual patterns of language proficiency, learning style, and maturation. In practical terms, this means that phonics may be essential for those children who need help learning how to sound out new words. Targeted early instruction in letter–sound combina- tions may be crucial (Torgesen, 2004). Score one for phonics.
Yet for comprehension and memory, children need to make connections be- tween concepts, not just between letters. Thus, children need to read books that are challenging and interesting and must write about their own experiences and interests. Score one for whole language.
The answer to this tie is also a truce in the reading wars. A focus on phonics need not undercut instruction that motivates children to read, write, and discuss with their classmates and their parents. For reading comprehension and fluency, phonemic awareness is a beginning, but other aspects of literacy are important as well (Muter et al., 2004). As the editors of a leading publication for teachers explain:
In any debate on reading instruction that counterposes a focus on skills with a focus on enjoyment—or that pits phonological skills against the knowledge necessary to comprehend grade-level material—there is only one good answer: Kids need both.
[The Editors, American Educator, 2004, p. 5]
Fortunately, experts on the two sides in the reading wars have stopped their bitter feud. Most developmentalists and many reading specialists now believe that teachers should use a variety of methods and strategies, for there are “alternate pathways in learning to read” (Berninger et al., 2002, p. 295). Research leaves little doubt that in the early grades systematic phonics instruction “is important” (Camilli et al., 2003, p. 34) but that it should not come at the expense of meaning and pleasure.
Researchers are less sure of “the best approaches and methods of reading and writing instruction for students older than age 9 and interventions for those who are struggling readers in grades 4 –12” (McCardle & Chhabra, 2004, pp. 472– 473). It is, however, known that, for older children, reading instruction can and should be connected to literature, history, science, and other areas of study. An expanding knowledge base aids comprehension and helps avoid the “fourth-grade slump.” One teacher who knew that and taught accordingly may have saved some people’s lives.
Teaching and Learning 325
whole-language approach Teaching reading
by encouraging early use of all language
skills—talking and listening, reading and
writing.
FIGURE 12.5
“You Wud Be Sad Like Me” Although Karla
uses invented spelling, her arguments show
that she is reasoning quite logically; her
school-age mind is working quite well. (If you
have trouble deciphering Karla’s note, turn
the book upside down for a translation.)
“From Karla to my mom. It’s no fair that you
made me let my lady bug go. What if I was
your mom and I made you take your lady bug.
I am sure you would be sad like me. That lady
bug might have been an orphan. So you
should have let me have it anyway.”
➤Response for Future Research
Scientists (from page 323): The next set of
published results of the TIMSS is expected in
2009. As someone who knows how to think
like a scientist, see if the headlines accurately
reflect the data.
The Math Wars
Mathematics instruction in the United States has become even more problematic than instruction in reading, for a number of reasons. First, economic development depends on science and technology, and math is vital in both those fields. Second, many children hate math, as suggested by a 2007 Google search that found 36,100 sites for “math phobia” and just 171 for “reading phobia,” a 210-to-1 ratio. Third, U.S. students are weaker in math than students from other nations, espe- cially East Asian nations, at least as measured by TIMSS. This last reason makes math education vulnerable to quick solutions suggested by angry adults—not the best way to develop curriculum.
One reason the United States does not rank higher may be just that: The battle over how to teach math is not always to the benefit of children (Boaler, 2002). According to one report, “U.S. mathematics instruction has been scorched in the pedagogical blaze known as the ‘math wars’—a divide between those who see a need for a greater emphasis on basic skills in math and others who say students lack a broader, conceptual understanding of the subject” (Cavenaugh, 2005, p. 1).
Historically, math was taught by rote; children memorized number facts, such as the multiplication tables, and filled page after page of workbooks. In reaction against this approach, many educators, inspired especially by Piaget and Vygotsky, sought to make math instruction more active and engaging, less a matter of mem- orization than of discovery (Ginsburg et al., 1998).
This newer approach is controversial. Many parents and educators believe that children need to memorize number facts. Educators as well as mathematicians stress that math involves a particular set of rules, symbols, and processes that must be taught, with limits to the role discovery can play (Mervis, 2006).
As with reading, researchers have attempted to understand what teachers can do to help children learn, and enjoy, math. TIMSS experts videotaped 231 math classes in three nations—Japan, Germany, and the United States—to analyze national differences (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). The U.S. teachers presented math
326 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
a case to study Where Did You Learn Tsunami ?
Before December 26, 2004, perhaps 1 percent of the world’s
population knew the word tsunami. I was in the other 99. Over
Christmas that year, when my nephew Bill said we should
pray for the victims of the tsunami, I marveled that he could
pronounce a word that I had not known until I read that day’s
headlines.
Even among the 1 percent who knew the word, few under-
stood it. Some British 10-year-olds were the exceptions. In early
December 2004 their teacher, Andrew Kearny, had shown them
a video clip of survivors of a tsunami that struck Hawaii in the
1950s and had drawn a diagram on the board that his students
copied into their exercise books. Tilly Smith was his student.
Two weeks later, Tilly was on Maikhao Beach in Phuket,
Thailand, with her parents and her 7-year-old sister. Suddenly,
the tide went out, leaving a wide stretch of sand where the
ocean had been. Most tourists stood gawking at the disappear-
ing ocean, but Tilly grabbed her mother’s hand: “Mummy, we
must get off the beach now. I think there’s going to be a
tsunami.”
Tilly’s parents alerted other holiday makers nearby, then raced
to tell their hotel staff in Phuket. The hotel swiftly evacuated
Maikhao Beach, and minutes later a huge wave crashed onto the
sand, sweeping all before it. Incredibly, the beach was one of the
few in Phuket where no one was killed.
[Larcombe, 2005]
Tilly and her family survived for many reasons: Tilly remem-
bered what she had learned; her parents heeded her warning;
higher ground was nearby. But some credit goes to her teacher,
who did more than list tsunami as a vocabulary word. He used
examples and activities to give the concept meaning. Ten-year-
olds are ready to learn and remember as long as knowledge is
concrete (Piaget) and instruction includes examples and active
participation (Vygotsky). This is not just good fortune, but also
good education.
➤Response for Teachers (from page 324):
Nobody works well in an institution they hate,
but, before quitting the profession, remember
that schools vary. There is probably another
school nearby that is much more to your liking
and that would welcome an experienced
teacher. Before you make a move, however,
assess the likelihood that you could adjust to
your current position in ways that would make
you happier. No school is perfect; nor is any
teacher.
at a lower level than did their German and Japanese counterparts, with more defi- nitions but less coherence and connection to what the students had learned in other math classes. The “teachers seem to believe that learning terms and practic- ing skills is not very exciting” (p. 89).
In contrast, the Japanese teachers were excited about math instruction, working collaboratively and structuring lessons so that the children developed proofs and alternative solutions, alone and in groups. Teachers used social interaction (among groups of children and groups of teachers) and sequential curricula (lessons for each day, week, and year built on previous math knowledge), often presenting the students with problems to solve in groups.
Some have suggested that teachers should dispel math anxiety by convincing students that they are good at math. This seems unlikely to be helpful. In the United States, 51 percent of eighth-graders are highly confident of their math ability, even though their scores on international math achievement tests are unimpressive. Among 46 nations, only Israel has a higher level of math confidence (59 percent) (Snyder et al., 2006). Unfortunately, achievement seems to fall as confidence rises. The highest math achievement scores are from China (Taipei), which has the lowest proportion of students who are highly confident of their math ability (26 percent).
One idea that follows from information-processing theory is to make each grade of elementary school math build on the previous year’s instruction. This idea is now endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), an influential group in the United States. For example, second-graders will learn addition, subtraction, and place value; multiplication, fractions, and decimals will be saved for the fourth grade (Mervis, 2006). Whether this plan will be implemented and attained remains to be seen; children and parents like to believe that they are advanced in math, and learning multiplication and fractions in second grade confirms their belief, even though it will eventually slow down their basic understanding.
Other Assumptions
The educational landscape is filled with other controversies and assumptions that are commonly held but debatable. For example, in the past 20 years adults have become convinced that children learn from homework, and even kindergarten children often bring work home. Yet one researcher finds that homework under- mines learning instead of advancing it (Kohn, 2006).
Similarly, although many parents choose to send their children to schools with smaller class sizes, the evidence about their effect is mixed (Blatchford, 2003; Hanushek, 1999). Wide international variation is apparent, from a teacher–pupil ratio of 10 to 1 in Denmark to 30 to 1 in Turkey. Smaller is not necessarily better, as evidenced by Asian nations with high ratios that tended to have high math and science scores (Snyder et al., 2006).
Data on class size thus “do not lend themselves to straightforward implications for policy” (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2004, p. 66; see Research Design). Even a famous study in Tennessee, which found that smaller classes in kindergarten benefited children for several years, is open to various interpretations (Finn & Achilles, 1999).
Other reforms, in addition to reducing class size, that have been strongly advo- cated—and strongly opposed—include raising teacher salaries; improving profes- sional education; extending school hours; expanding the school year; creating charter schools; allowing school vouchers; and increasing sports, music, or silent reading. These might, or might not, help children learn. Valid, replicated, unbiased research is thus far lacking. One review of the impact of class size concludes:
Teaching and Learning 327
Research Design Scientists: NICHD Early Child Care
Research Network, consisting of 29
leading child-care researchers.
Publication: Developmental Psychology,
(2004).
Participants: A total of 890 children in
their second year of school in 651 ele-
mentary school classrooms. These
children were part of a cohort of 1,634
children followed since birth, from 10
research sites, in various locations in
the United States.
Design: Children’s achievement and
social outcomes were measured, as
were teacher behaviors, via a structured
three-hour observation in each class-
room. Measures were first adjusted to
reflect the children’s academic and
social backgrounds (e.g., SES, gender)
and the teachers’ backgrounds (e.g.,
education, ethnicity). Many factors were
controlled to learn the effects of class
size (which ranged from 10 to 39 stu-
dents per teacher).
Major conclusions: Class size was irrele-
vant for many measures. Smaller classes
(less than 20) were better in some ways
but not all. For example, first-graders in
smaller classes tended to develop better
word attack skills but were more disrup-
tive. Their teachers were less structured
but showed more warmth.
Comment: This study (cited in earlier
chapters) features a large, geographically
varied, longitudinal sample that allows
controls for preexisting factors. How-
ever, the sample had few high-risk
children (a newborn was excluded if
the mother was under 19, did not speak
English, or lived in an unsafe neighbor-
hood).
Reductions in class size are but one of the policy options that can be pursued to improve student learning. Careful evaluations of the impacts of other options, preferably through the use of more true experiments, along with an analysis of the costs of each option, need to be undertaken. However, to date there are rela- tively few studies that even compute the true costs of large class-size reduction programs, let alone ask whether the benefits . . . merit incurring the costs.
[Ehrenberg et al., 2001]
Similar conclusions apply for most other education reforms. Another review, this one about home schooling, charter schools, and vouchers, complains of “the difficulty of interpreting the research literature on this topic, most of which is biased and far from approaching balanced social science” (Boyd, 2007, p. 7). The call for “evidence-based” reforms is appreciated by developmentalists, as by all other scientists. Unfortunately, as experience with Reading First has illustrated, bias can creep in when it is left to political leaders to decide which evidence is valid (Manzo, 2006).
Culture and Education
As you can see, many controversies regarding cognitive development as it relates to education are political more than developmental. Piaget, Vygotsky, information- processing theory, and, in earlier decades, progressive education and behavior modification have all been used to support particular practices, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not. To conclude this chapter, we highlight again the sometimes hidden role of culture.
Here are excerpts from two letters to a local newspaper in British Columbia, Canada (quoted in K. Mitchell, 2001, pp. 64 –65). One mother wrote:
Our children’s performances are much lower both in academic and moral areas. I noticed the children have learned very little academically. They learned to have self-confidence instead of being self-disciplined; learned to speak up instead of being humbled; learned to be creative instead of self-motivated; and learned to simplify things instead of organizing. All of these characteristics were not bal- anced, and will be the source of disadvantage and difficulties in children in this competitive society.
Another parent responded:
She wants her children to be self-disciplined, humble, self-motivated and organ- ized, instead of being self-confident, assertive, creative and analytic. . . . These repressive, authoritarian, “traditional” parents who hanker for the days of yore, when fresh-faced school kids arrived all neatly decked out in drab-grey uniforms and shiny lace-up leather shoes, are a menace to society.
In this district, many families were immigrants from Asia (including the author of the first letter), while others and almost all the school administrators and teach- ers were from families that had been in Canada for generations. Similar conflicts erupt in every community that has diverse groups of families or a difference in background between the teachers and the children.
Recognizing this problem is only a beginning. For example, in another Cana- dian community, Inuit children were taught in Inuit by Inuits for their first two years of school and were then taught in French or English, the majority languages, by non-Inuits. The Inuit teachers prepared the children for the transition by teaching French and English as a second language, and later teachers worked to increase their students’ language proficiency. Both groups of teachers realized that they were failing. Relatively few Inuit children became fluent in a second lan- guage, and most dropped out before high school graduation. Other research has
328 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
Especially for School Administrators
Children who wear uniforms in school tend to
score higher on reading tests. Why?
found that many aboriginal adolescents (as members of Canada’s First Nations are called) become alienated from their native culture and then become depressed or even suicidal as adolescents (Chandler et al., 2003). The problem may seem to be a failure of bilingual education—perhaps total immersion coming too soon or too late. But culture, not language, may be the pivotal factor.
A scientist using naturalistic observation found much more than a lan- guage shift between grades 2 and 3 (Eriks-Brophy & Crago, 2003). The Inuit teachers encouraged group learning and cooperation, almost never explicitly judging an individual student’s response. By contrast, the non- Inuit teachers often criticized behaviors that the earlier teachers encour- aged, such as group cooperation (which the non-Inuit teachers called “talking out of turn”), helping each other (“cheating”), and attempts to an- swer (“stupid mistakes”).
A specific example illustrates this pattern. A common routine in North American schools is called initiation/response/evaluation: The teacher asks a question, a child responds, and the teacher states whether the response is correct or not. An analysis of 14 teachers in this Inuit school found that the initiation/response/evaluation routine dominated the instruction of the non-Inuit teachers (60 percent) but not that of the Inuit teachers (18 percent) (Eriks-Brophy & Crago, 2003). For example, an Inuit teacher showed a picture and asked:
Teacher: This one. What is it? Student: Tutuva (an insect). Teacher: What is it? Student: Tutuva. Teacher: All of us, look carefully. Student: Kituquianluti (another insect, this time correct.
The teacher nodded and breathed in.)
In contrast, a non-Inuit third-grade teacher asked:
Teacher: Richard, what is this? Richard: It is an ear. Teacher: Good. Teacher: Rhoda, what is this?
Rhoda: Hair. Teacher: No. What is this?
Rhoda: Face. Teacher: It is a face.
Rhoda: It is a face. Teacher: Very good, Rhoda.
[quoted in Eriks-Brophy & Crago, 2003]
Note that the first teacher never verbally evaluated the child (merely nodding and breathing to signal correctness), but the second teacher did so at least three times (“good,” “no,” “very good”). No wonder the children were confused and discouraged. They were unprepared to make a cultural shift as well as a language one.
Such problems can emerge anywhere. Teaching methods are the outcome of cultural beliefs, a “social system that evolves over time” (Eriks-Brophy & Crago, 2003, p. 397), often hidden from the teachers themselves. Underlying the issues that parents seize on—discipline, phonics, and math scores—are deeper issues involving culture and values.
Every child wants to learn, every teacher wants to teach, and every family wants the best for its children. This makes differences in curricula and methods much
Teaching and Learning 329
Hidden Curriculum This informal, bilingual
first-grade class in Acoma Pueblo, New
Mexico, is a contrast to the U.S. government’s
nineteenth-century policy of sending all Native
American children to English-only boarding
schools.
Observation Quiz (see answer, page 330):
What three social constructions about proper
education for Pueblo children do you see?
B O
B D
A E M
M R
IC H
/ T
H E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
Building on Theory 1. According to Piaget, children begin concrete operational thought at about age 6 or 7. Egocentrism diminishes and logic be- gins. School-age children can understand classification, conserva- tion, identity, and reversibility.
2. Vygotsky stressed the social context of learning, including the specific lessons of school and the overall influence of culture. International research finds that maturation is one factor in the cognitive development of school-age children (as Piaget predicted) and that cultural and economic forces are also influential (as Vygotsky predicted).
3. An information-processing approach examines each step of the thinking process, from input to output, using the computer as a model. Humans are more creative than computers, but this approach is useful for understanding memory, perception, and expression.
4. Memory begins with information that reaches the brain from the sense organs. Then selection processes allow some information to reach working memory. Finally, long-term memory stores some images and ideas indefinitely, retrieving some parts when needed.
5. Selective attention, a broader knowledge base, logical strategies for retrieval, and faster processing advance every aspect of cog- nition. Repeated practice makes thought patterns and skill sets almost automatic, requiring little time or conscious effort.
6. Children become better at controlling and directing their think- ing as the prefrontal cortex matures. Consequently, metacognition advances.
Language 7. Language learning improves in many practical ways, including expanded vocabulary, as words are logically linked together. Many children learn a second language, succeeding if they are well
SUMMARY
330 C H A P T E R 12 ■ The School Years: Cognitive Development
harder to reconcile than more obvious cultural manifestations. No one cares if a particular child eats goat, chitlings, or whale for dinner, but people everywhere care about what their own—and their neighbors’—children learn.
S U M M I N G U P
Societies throughout the world recognize that school-age children are avid learners and
that educated citizens are essential to economic development. However, schools differ
in what and how children are taught. The nature and content of education raise ideologi-
cal and political concerns. Examples are found in the reading wars, the math wars, class
size, and bilingual education. Research finds that direct instruction (in phonics; in mathe-
matical symbols and procedures; in the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of second
languages) is useful, even essential, if children are to master all the skills that adults
want them to learn. Also crucial are motivation, pride, and social interaction. School-age
children are great learners, but they cannot learn everything. Adults decide the specifics,
and cultural values are apparent in every classroom. ■
O B
D A
E M
M R
IC H
/ T
H E I M
A G
E W
O R
K S
Maintaining Tradition Some would say that
these Vietnamese children in Texas are fortu-
nate. They are instructed in two languages by
a teacher who knows their culture, including
the use of red pens for self-correction as well
as teacher correction. Others would say that
these children would be better off in an
English-only classroom.
➤Response for School Administrators
(from page 328): The relationship reflects
correlation, not causation. Wearing uniforms
is more common when the culture of the
school emphasizes achievement and study,
with strict discipline in class and a policy of
expelling disruptive students.
➤Answer to Observation Quiz (see
answer, page 330): The ideas that (1) learning
colors is important, (2) children should raise
their hands to be called on individually, and
(3) words should be written. (Note that the
Pueblo words for colors are much longer than
the English equivalents—harder for first-
grade readers.) Indeed, the very idea of
bilingual education is a social construction,
approved by most Americans but not
necessarily by research.
concrete operational thought (p. 307)
classification (p. 308) identity (p. 308) reversibility (p. 308) information-processing theory
(p. 310) sensory memory (p. 311)
working memory (p. 311) long-term memory (p. 311) knowledge base (p. 312) control processes (p. 312) metacognition (p. 313) English-language learner (ELL)
(p. 315) total immersion (p. 316)
bilingual education (p. 316) ESL (English as a second
language) (p. 316) No Child Left Behind Act
(p. 319) National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) (p. 319)
Reading First (p. 319)
hidden curriculum (p. 320) TIMSS (Trends in Math and
Science Study) (p. 321) Progress in International
Reading Literacy Skills (PIRLS) (p. 322)
phonics approach (p. 324) whole-language approach
(p. 325)
KEY TERMS
Summary 331
7. What are some of the differences in education in various parts of the world?
8. Why are international tests of learning given, and what are some of the problems with such tests?
9. How might a hidden curriculum affect what a child might learn?
10. Why are disagreements about curriculum and method some- times called “wars,” not merely differences of opinion?
1. How do logical ideas help children understand classification?
2. According to Vygotsky, if children never went to school, how would cognitive development occur?
3. What are differences among the three kinds of memory?
4. What are the differences between language learning in early and middle childhood?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages in teaching children who do not speak English in English-only classes?
6. How does metacognition affect the ability to learn something new?
3. What do you remember about how you learned to read? Com- pare your memories with those of two other people, one at least 10 years older and the other at least 5 years younger than you. Can you draw any conclusions about effective reading instruc- tion? If so, what are they? If not, why not?
4. Talk to two parents of primary school children. What do they think are the best and worst parts of their children’s education? Ask specific questions and analyze the results.
1. Visit a local elementary school and look for the hidden curricu- lum. For example, do the children line up? Why or why not, when and how? Does gender, age, ability, or talent affect the grouping of children or the selection of staff? What is on the walls? Are par- ents involved? If so, how? For everything you observe, speculate about the underlying assumptions.
2. Interview a 7- to 11-year-old child to find out what he or she knows and understands about mathematics. Relate both correct and incorrect responses to the logic of concrete operational thought.
KEY QUESTIONS
APPLICATIONS
taught. Children of low SES are usually lower in linguistic skills, primarily because they hear less language and adult expectations for their learning are low.
Teaching and Learning 8. Nations and experts agree that education is critical during middle childhood, and 95 percent of the world’s children now at- tend primary school. Schools differ in what and how they teach, especially in the hidden curriculum.
9. International assessments are useful as comparisons, partly because few objective measures of learning are available. In the United States, the No Child Left Behind law and the National Assessment of Educational Progress attempt to raise the standard of education, with mixed success.
10. The “reading wars” pit advocates of phonics against advocates of the whole-language approach. These wars have quieted some- what, as research finds that phonological understanding is essen- tial for every child who is just learning to read but that motivation and vocabulary are important as well.
11. Math learned by rote and math learned via social interaction are the two sides of the “math wars.” Math and science achieve- ment are higher in East Asian nations than elsewhere, perhaps because in those countries math lessons are sequential and inter- active.
12. Cultural differences in assumptions about education are fre- quent, but scientific research on the best way for children to learn is scarce. For example, many people believe that children learn better in small classes, but the research is inconclusive.