Impact Of Education on Childhood Development
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Impact Of Education on Childhood Development
Sayra “Bethney” Hill
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
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Impact of Education on Childhood Development
Introduction to the Concept of Education and Childhood Development
There is an unbreakable bond between education and childhood development. Education
can be seen as a series of structured learning events during childhood and adulthood, designed to
"lift the person" and "fashion the mind." Except for a few utopian and dystopian models, society
has settled on a picture of education that sees it as a tool for two major purposes. First, it is to
help individuals be more "tuneful" or "cogent" in their thinking. This means that education
serves the purpose of helping individuals think and act in more coherent and consistent ways
over time (Bjorklund, 2022). And second, education is to serve as a tool for helping individuals
better know and understand what the right and wrong actions are to take—that is, what is good
and bad, just and unjust, right and wrong, in terms of the outward expression of the individual's
character.
When dealing with children, educators and those in the education sector have only one
desire—what they want most is the best. They want the best environments for children; they
want the best practices that will yield development and learning outcomes. Why? Because the
early educational experiences of children do seem to set in motion the cognitive, social, and
affective pathways that they then follow (Bjorklund, 2022). Early experience, some have said,
never completely seals a person's fate, but it certainly can facilitate or impede the way an
individual builds their basic architecture.
There have been different educational paradigms that have been associated with various
kinds of learner and educator images—paradigms largely didactic and those largely
developmental. The Western educational culture presently appears to be ‘in transition’ between
these two educational paradigms, and this transition plays out in the debates, practices, and
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policies of the mainstream educational literature in different parts of the Western world (Osher et
al.2021). Two long-standing central images in educational practice surface in this debate: the
subject-based curriculum and the performance indicator. They seem to be at opposite ends of an
educational spectrum, the former a largely didactic, teacher-centered practice and the latter a
largely developmental, student-centered practice.
A variety of constructive elements are integrated into educational policies and practices
concerning families with low SES. However, many of these practices can still be seen as
upholding prejudice against poor families. There's a strong narrative that calls poor parents
"uninvolved" and blames them for their children's underachievement (Osher et al.2021). The
reality, of course, is that most poor parents are working ludicrously long hours to keep their
families afloat, and many of these parents did not receive a quality education themselves. This
isn't a case of poverty being a backdrop in which achieving a poor-quality education is the norm.
Developmental Impact of Education on Childhood
The effect of education on the development of children is deep and diverse, and it varies
across different developmental domains. When looking at the probable range of impacts for
various educational approaches, the right hand spans the most general effect—cognitive
development. This isn't too surprising; we tend to think of schools as places where kids go to
learn things like reading, writing, and arithmetic (Su & Yang, 2023). But even within this
domain, not all educational approaches impact cognitive skills in the same way.
The most defensible practices of formal education, those that have the greatest positive
effects on children's developing skills, are likely the result of very specific kinds of interactions
between children and the teachers who work with them. Children in preschool and the K-12
grades interact with other children and with adults in ways that are presumed to be beneficial to
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their social development, especially if those interactions are a part of some intentional program
designed by educators to enhance the social skills and peer interactions of children (Su & Yang,
2023). The next chapter addresses in much greater detail the kinds of interactions that are most
beneficial and the ways in which they are supposed to work. For now, I will concentrate on
talking about some practices that seem to me to be most indefensible.
Emotional Development. A formal education system is responsible for contributing to
levels of emotional self-regulation and motivation to learn, at the most basic level, in children.
This contribution is a developmental advantage that occurs quite early in children's school
experiences. It is most certainly a pronounced developmental advantage that is afforded to
children who go through a Head Start program (Su & Yang, 2023). None of these emotional
advantages is dependent on children entering school with a high or low level of emotional
problems, antisocial behavior, or academic motivation.
Faith and Professional Perspectives on Education and Childhood Development
Parenting challenges adults with one of the most rewarding—yet equally burdensome—
tasks: fostering a child's physical, emotional, social, moral, and intellectual development. This
challenge can be understood in different ways, such as through the lenses of faith or professional
expertise. Every faith tradition has its set of stories and guiding anecdotes that shape its values
and lead its followers to cherish the period of childhood. In many faith traditions, nurturing a
child's growth is a deeply meaningful endeavor—one with weighty, sometimes eternal,
implications (Bornstein et al.2022). Virtually all sorts of faith traditions see the child as a
spiritual being in the making. This is a central theme in the way rabbi and author Danya
Ruttenberg portrays Judaism and secular humanism.
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How is the child spirit nurtured in a global context? All over the world, different cultures
and religious traditions emphasize the importance of not only intellectual development but also
moral and ethical development. A Jewish educator, for example, writes, "The Jewish child is
seen as a moral being, and moral development is the goal of Jewish education. The moral and
ethical imperatives of Judaism establish the values that guide daily life and one’s social
relationships." Similarly, a Baha'i educator states (Bornstein et al.2022), "The spiritual education
of children through the development of spiritual qualities is our most important work." In Roman
Catholic elementary schools, teachers guide their professional practice according to the
following quote: "Raising children means speaking in ways consistent with the dual fact that we
are spiritual beings and that the material world has ultimate value."
He asks, "How, then, will parents form the little ones? What material will we give for the
construction of their bodies, this point of resilience and strength that is their fence of flesh and
bone? What material do we choose? We choose bread. We choose wine. We choose an unerring
fire that smolders. We choose faith. I would posit that when faith-positioned individuals in
education work with children and youth, especially in public education, they are doing so in a
faith continuum—faith in the child. This is a good alignment, and I think it has some cultural
heft.
High-quality educational programming takes into account and integrates the cultural
(including, but not limited to, the family religious) values of those served by the program. This
insistence on valuing families and the realities they experience in a faith school setting reflects
an understanding of a family’s right to choose the path that values them most (Bornstein et
al.2022). When your child is served by a program, that program should honor and respect the
family values (including religious values) that shape the life of the child within that child's
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community. When a faith school honors that family’s educational choices, that school also serves
by enhancing the bridge that connects school and home, which should be seamless in the life of
the child.
Considerations for Human Services Providers Working with Individuals and Families
Those who provide services to humans, specifically in the education and childhood
development sectors, would benefit from knowing as much as they can about the families they
serve and the contexts and dynamics within which those families operate. It's beneficial to
understand how and to what extent culture, race, and ethnicity; sexual orientation; social class;
gender; and ability shape the individual and family lives of the families with whom you're trying
to build a relationship (Darling et al., 2022). As I was told by an experienced hand, "Know thy
family and what makes it tick." That advice holds for organizations too—know the organization,
its mission, and its reason for being in partnership with you.
Maintain constant communication and report frequently on children who need extra help.
If both professionals can continually contribute to the effort, then plan to use shared access to
databases and up-to-date records that are all about the same child. While it's a less-than-ideal
world where some schools might not actually have good documentation of written unit plans or
curriculum outlines, there are conversations to be had with the teachers about the learning
requirements for a certain grade (Darling et al., 2022). Finally, as if it needed to be said, involve
the families. The children are best served when their families are also part of the problem-solving
process.
Another worthwhile professional pursuit is looking into effective, research-based
practices from the education field that lead to positive behavior from students and better
educational results. It’s also vital for social workers to understand and recognize the signs of
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learning disabilities, to know how to intervene when problems arise, and to be conversant with
the kinds of support necessary for students to really access the curriculum (Darling et al., 2022).
And here’s something important: When educators in special education talk with parents about
their students, they seldom refer to the student by the category education uses. Instead, they use
the language of the individual. And if you ask them, they’ll say that is the real advantage of
special education: differentiating teaching and understanding for a wide range of diverse
individuals.
Learning special education best practices begins with fundamental questions (Darling et
al., 2022). Who are the children we serve? The ones with language disabilities, for example. Our
answers can't be wrong. They can't make attention problems, for instance, all right or all wrong.
And can we say that every child with a language disability must have the right to a different
curriculum?
Resources
It is imperative to put literature in the clients' hands that is both enlightening and
approachable, for our clients to be truly empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary to
navigate their situations. With that in mind, and in light of my research and experiences, I would
recommend the following two readings.
"The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing
Mind" by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson Link: https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-
Child-Revolutionary-Strategies-Developing/dp/0553386697
An in-depth investigation into a child's brain development and the effect that has on
behavior and learning, this book provides an understanding of what is going on in the brains of
young humans and where those brains are headed. The authors—both of whom have a solid
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grasp of neuroscience—take a dozen or so cameos from various places in a child's maturing time
frame and elaborate on what life events mean for the wiring/rewiring of a young person's brain
(Siegel & Bryson). While doing this, they also keep a tight hold on the reins of storytelling: this
is as much about a child's journey from morning to night as it is about a form of "neuroscience
for practitioners."
"Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs" by Ellen Galinsky
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Making-Essential-Skills-Every/dp/0061732328
The work of Galinsky centers on the vital skills that children should have if they are to
flourish and which, in the judgment of Galinsky, and many others, are not being taught with
enough emphasis or in the right way (Galinsky). These are not skills that can only be learned in a
narrow set of circumstances; they are learnable anywhere and anytime. The skills, in many cases,
are even more vital and useful because they are broadly applicable to many, if not all, of life’s
varied and unpredictable paths. And they are learnable, according to Galinsky, if parents and
educators pay enough attention to the right kinds of thinking and to the kinds of doings that are
right for children at the different ages and stages at which they are developing.
I find that both readings I selected for this project offer more than just a few good tips for
working with parents. They provide a mix of research and practice that gives the caregiver a
strong background for understanding the way children develop. They both come from a place
that resonates with me—the place of wanting to empower the people we work with to really
know and understand the way children develop, the way they're all unique, and the way some
things never change.
After looking for referral sources that can speak about the effects of education on
childhood development, I have found the following. This request underscores the pivotal link
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between the opportunities for education that children receive and their subsequent developmental
outcomes. Following some investigation into the matter, I would like to recommend the two
organizations mentioned below as potential referral sources.
Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) - [Tennessee Department of Education] Link:
https://www.tn.gov/education
Tennessee's Department of Education offers an array of services to sharpen childhood
education. They concentrate on the foundation years, the period leading up to age six, and the
first grades after that (TN Department of Education 2024). The TDOE ensures that children have
not only access to but are also engaged in programs of a high enough caliber that the changed
landscape of early education and its now too frequent path of minimum standards (as seen in far
too many kindergartens and first grades) can no longer be the substance of complaint that it once
was.
The Education Alliance Link: https://www.theeducationalliance.org/
The Education Alliance will improve educational outcomes for all children, especially
those from underserved communities, in their vision of "Becoming a Tennessee Where All
Children Achieve (The Education Alliance 2024)." They serve in three key capacities: (1) as
strategic think partners to the Department of Education, offering advice on policy and practice;
(2) as direct service providers in their key partner districts to deepen the impact of state policies
through comprehensive change at the local level; and (3) as advocates working with many
stakeholders to ensure that all children receive the educational opportunities and resources they
need to thrive.
In conclusion, I recommend these two organizations because they are dedicated to
helping children gain access to better educational opportunities. Tennessee has a widespread
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problem with poor educational experiences, which has a direct impact on child development in
our state. Both organizations work in very specific and different ways to improve that sad fact.
By directing clients to them, we are helping our clients' children achieve much better likely life
outcomes.
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References
Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., Lansford, J. E., Al-Hassan, S. M., Bacchini, D., Bombi, A. S.,
& Alampay, L. P. (2022). ‘Mixed blessings’: parental religiousness, parenting, and child
adjustment in global perspective. In Parenting: Selected Writings of Marc H. Bornstein
(pp. 392-415). Routledge. nih.gov
Bjorklund, D. F. (2022). Children′ s thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences.
The Education Alliance. (2024). https://www.theeducationalliance.org/
Family Life Education: Working with Families across the Lifespan, Fourth
Edition.R(2022).R(n.p.):RWaveland Press.
Galinsky, E. (n.d.). Mind in the making: The seven essential life skills every child needs:
Galinsky, Ellen: 9780061732324: Amazon.com: Books. www.amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Making-Seven-Essential-Skills/dp/006173232X
Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2021). Drivers of human development:
How relationships and context shape learning and development 1. In The science of
learning and development (pp. 55-104). Routledge. tandfonline.com
Siegel, D. J., & Bryson, T. P. (n.d.). The whole-brain child: 12 revolutionary strategies to nurture
your child’s developing mind: Siegel M.D., Daniel J., bryson, Tina Payne:
9780553386691: Amazon.com: Books. https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-Child-
Revolutionary-Strategies-Developing/dp/0553386697
TN Department of Education. Tennessee State Government - TN.gov. (2024).
http://www.tn.gov/education
