Discussion

THIS IS A TWO PART DISCUSSION. PLEASE SEPARATE THEM

Everything bold and underlined is important 

                                                                     PART 1

Gender Development

Gender roles are the combination of attitudes, behaviors, and personality characteristics that a culture considers appropriate for an individual’s anatomical sex.  Psychologists have proposed a number of theories to explain gender typing (LeFrancois, 2012).   

For this discussion, you will choose and analyze two of the four scenarios in the videos below, and explain how each scenario relates to the theories that explain gender typing.

a. Boy Meets Girl (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

b. Free to Be, You and Me – Ladies First (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

c. Free to Be You and Me – Princess Atalantis (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

d. Free to Be You and Me – William Wants a Doll (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

What do you think influenced the children in each video?  Next, explain how your own gender identity may have been influenced by gender stereotypes.  Finally, what are some strategies you can use in an early childhood educational setting to avoid gender stereotyping? 

PART 2

Brain Development

Brain-based education suggests that physical exercise is important for brain development.  Research has shown that in addition to physical exercise, other activities focus on stimulating the social development and intellectual development of young children.

 Gerry, who is still incapable of jumping with both feet, may not be invited to join in a game of jump rope.  This is an example of how a child’s individual characteristics (motor skills in this case) can affect context (social environment) and influence development (LeFrancois, 2012).  
 

Reflect back on your own development as a child, or on the development of a child you know, and provide an example of how individual characteristics affected development.  Using scholarly resources, provide some suggested activities or strategies that would provide the necessary support to enhance the affected development.  For example, Gerry’s teacher notices she is being excluded from the game of jump rope and intervenes by showing Gerry how to twirl the rope.  Gerry is now included socially, despite her delayed motor development.