5 pages Human development paper

Early Childhood

Developmental Task of Early Childhood • Initiative vs. guilt

• Children use their (boundless) energy and developing motor skills and interests to take the initiative in trying new things

• Develop sense of purpose • Key

• Self-regulation. Must learn self-control

Self-Regulation in Early Childhood

What is Self-Regulation?

• Processes where we manage or modify our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors

What is Self-Regulation?

• Processes where we manage or modify our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors

• Many different types of self-regulation • Emotional, attentional, behavioral, cognitive (thinking,

concentrating, working memory)

‘To Do, or Not to Do’

• Sometimes self-regulation is framed in terms of • Don’t regulation

• Stop ourselves from doing something that we want to do • Do regulation

• Do something that we don’t really want to do

Examples of Practicing Self- Regulation • Don’t regulation

• Not hitting, not taking someone’s toy, not yelling or running inside

• Not running away in store • Do regulation:

• Cleaning up, eating vegetables, going to sleep

Why is Self-Regulation Important?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ

Why is Self-Regulation Important?

• What did you observe the children do to not eat the marshmallow?

• Why might this ability to ‘delay gratification’ be important?

Why is Self-Regulation Important?

• Good self-regulationà Self-control or disciplined behavior; lower impulsivity

• Aids social development • Need for healthy social relationships, prosocial behavior

• Need for learning in school

Why is Self-Regulation Hard?

• Motivational system develops first • Impulses are powerful and present at birth • Energizes us to ‘approach’ (yum; curiosity) or ‘avoid’ (yuck) • Includes emotions, fight/flight response

• Self-regulation system takes more time to develop • Region of brain (prefrontal cortex; PFC) associated with self-

regulation develops more slowly

• The immature PFC is no match for impulses

Where Does Good Self-Regulation ‘Come From’? • Self-regulation is a “muscle” that we can

exercise • Practice – repeatedly over time – builds self-

regulation • Eventually it is internalized and happens without

effort

What Influences the Development of Self-Regulation? • Biology (e.g., temperament) • Parents

• Love: Child wants to comply • Structure: Rules, limits are clear, consistent • Autonomy support: Appropriate choices given

• Cognitive factors (e.g., memory) • Nutrition

• Self-regulation takes energy (you need glucose)

External and Internal Regulation

As we develop, External regulation à internal regulation

• External regulation = Structure! • External: Coming from outside the child • Adults assist in regulating behavior

• Internal regulation • Child internalizes rules and can do it

themselves • Still need structure, reminders

Studying Self-Regulation in Early Childhood • Observe compliance, delay-of-gratification

behaviors (emerge ~12-18 months) • Compliance. Going along (or not) with ‘Do’ and ‘Don’t’

commands

High Level of Support Less Support Low Level of Support Hands-on assistance Environmental cues

Verbal reminders Direct supervision Environmental cues

No prompting, no assistance Environmental cues

TIME à

6 Internalization

Emotion Regulation: What are Emotions? • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNY0AAUtH3g

Emotion Regulation: What are Emotions? • Rapid appraisals of situations • Functions:

• Give us important information about a situation • Energize behaviors • Communicate to others

What is Emotion Regulation?

• A type of self-regulation where we (consciously or unconsciously) modify our emotions and/or their expression

Development of Emotion Regulation

• Emotion regulation develops over 1st year with caregiver guidance

• Infants are able to express but not control emotions • By early childhood, we’ve begun learning how to

• Down regulate (calm down extreme emotions) • Up regulate (cheer up or comfort self)

Why is Emotion Regulation Important? • Social consequences

• We can act out emotions in socially appropriate ways (e.g., meltdown vs. proper expression)

• Allows us to succeed in social environments • We can get along with friends, peers

Why is Emotion Regulation Important? • Cognitive consequences

• Without regulation, emotions can impair learning and academic achievement

Teaching Children Emotion Regulation • Very young children don’t know what emotions are

or what they mean – can be scary and confusing • Adults can ‘emotionally coach’ children to

recognize emotions, what they mean, and how to act

Teaching Children Emotion Regulation • Help children learn to recognize emotions by

pointing them out • Help them to see cause of emotion • “Your sister took your toy, did that make you feel sad or

mad?”

• Accept children’s negative emotions • Tendency is to avoid/fix/get rid of negative emotions • Better to help children identify and manage them in

healthy ways

Learning to Regulate Emotions: The RULER Intervention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkZd2VKpFrU

Early Childhood Education

Background

What is school readiness? • Children having skills they

need to be successful in first school year

Background

• One-third of children are assessed as not ready to successfully complete kindergarten-level work

Why Does ‘School Readiness’ Matter?

The achievement gap • Differences between less

and more advantaged students persist, widen

• Children from less advantaged backgrounds start kindergarten approximately 2 years behind their peers

Example: The 30 Million Word Gap

Why Does ‘School Readiness’ Matter?

• An unsuccessful kindergarten transition and first year is a strong predictor of

• Academic disengagement, disruption, withdrawal • Drop-out, irresponsible and deviant behavior • Long-term adverse outcomes (e.g., unemployment)

A Solution: Early Childhood Education

• Research shows that this gap can be closed by providing early educational opportunities to children

• Early childhood education (ECE) is any formal educational program that children participate in before entering kindergarten

• The goal of ECE is to prepare child for a successful transition into kindergarten

Early Childhood Education

• A high-quality ECE classroom is ‘child-centered’ • Attuned to child's developmental needs

• ‘Child-centered’ classrooms are evidence-based • Scaffolds learning… • Develop secure stable relationships… • Offers appropriate…

• Structure • Autonomy support • Responsiveness

Early Childhood Education

• A high-quality ECE classroom is ‘child-centered’ • Attuned to child's developmental needs

• ‘Child-centered’ classrooms are evidence-based • Scaffolds learning… Vygotsky and ZPD • Develop secure stable relationships… attachment theory • Offers appropriate… parenting dimensions

• Structure • Autonomy support • Responsiveness

Immediate Benefits of ECE

• Skills for learning • Skills for socializing (experiences with teachers,

peers) • Time to adjust to new context

• Become familiar with structures (routines, rules, expectations) of school setting

Long-Term Benefits of ECE

• Reduces (or closes) achievement gap for disadvantaged children

• Reduces many of the adverse consequences of poverty on child developmental outcomes

Long-Term Benefits of ECE

Economic benefits • Early intervention programs represent

$2-$16 ‘return on investment’ • Ex: Special and remedial education,

grade retention, high school graduation rate, crime and incarceration, employment, earned income (Mervis, 2011)

Ramey & Ramey, 2004; Mashburn, 2014

Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNgp1_B-6c8