Child and Adolescent Development for Educators

513 Pages·1991·3.75 MB·English

by  Michael Pressley PhD and Christine B. McCormick PhD

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
FOR EDUCATORS

Child
and Adolescent
Development for
Educators
MICHAEL PRESSLEY
CHRISTINE B. M CORMICK
C
THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York London
©2007MichaelPressleyandChristineB.McCormick
PublishedbyTheGuilfordPress
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Lastdigitisprintnumber: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Pressley,Michael.
Childandadolescentdevelopmentforeducators/byMichaelPressleyand
ChristineB.McCormick.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-10:1-59385-352-1 ISBN-13:978-1-59385-352-5(hardcover:alk.paper)
1. Cognitioninchildren. 2. Adolescentpsychology. I. McCormick,
Christine. II. Title.
BF723.C5P742006
370.15′2—dc22
2006012305
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About the Authors
Michael Pressley, PhD, who passed away in May 2006, was University Distinguished
Professor at Michigan State University, as well as Director of the Doctoral Program
in Teacher Education and Director of the Literacy Achievement Research Center,
with both roles part of his professorship in the Department of Teacher Education
and the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education.
An expert on effective elementary literacy instruction, he was author or editor of
morethan300journalarticles,chapters,andbooks.Dr.Pressleyserveda6-yearterm
as editor of Journal of Educational Psychology. He was honored with awards from the
National Reading Conference, the International Reading Association, the American
Educational Research Association, and the American Psychological Association,
among others. Dr. Pressley received the 2004 E. L. Thorndike Award from Division
15 of the American Psychological Association, which is the highest award given for
career research accomplishment in educational psychology.
ChristineB.McCormick,PhD,isDeanoftheSchoolofEducationattheUniversity
ofMassachusetts,Amherst.Previously,shewasafacultymemberattheUniversityof
New Mexico and the University of South Carolina, where she taught undergraduate
and graduate courses in human growth and development, educational psychology,
learningandcognition,andclassroomassessment.Dr.McCormickisauthororcoau-
thor of more than 40 publications on a variety of topics in child development and
education.
v
Preface
T
hisbookrepresentstherealizationofourvisiontocreateachildandadolescent
development text that addresses the topics in developmental psychology of the
highest priority for educators—teachers, school counselors, school psycholo-
gists, and school administrators. We have both taught the development course pro-
spective educators are typically required to take as part of their academic programs
andhavenotbeensatisfiedwiththefocusanddepthoftheavailabletexts.Thisbook
covers the classic developmental canon while being true to its educational orienta-
tion. Our intent was to produce a research-based, intelligent text that is also accessi-
ble for its audience.
Themostcommoncomplaintwehaveheardfromourstudentsovertheyearsaswe
havetaughtthedevelopmentalpsychologycourseforeducatorsatboththegraduate
andadvancedundergraduatelevelshasbeen“I’mgoingintoeducation.WhatdoIdo
withallthisdevelopmentaltheory?Whatgoodisittome?”Mostdevelopmentaltexts
are designed to be all things to all people and therefore cannot address the specific
needs of education students. Moreover, proposals for improving the preparation of
educators have emphasized the need to develop future teachers’ understandings in
context.Thus,atextforoneofthecorecoursesinaneducatorpreparationprogram
should make explicit and repeated connections to educational contexts.
Theemphasisonapplicationstoeducationalcontextsisinformedbyhistorically
importantandcontemporarytheoriesandresearch.Weselectedthemostsignificant
studiestofeature,withthecleargoaloffocusingonthelast35–40yearsofresearch,
referencingtheworkthatendures.Thus,thistexthighlightsthetheoryandresearch
most important for educators, and translates them to educational practices—all in
what we believe is in a readable, comprehensive fashion.
vi
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Preface vii
The organization of this book reflects the research literature in development
and education. The first part of the text, Theoretical Perspectives in Child Development,
isorganizedintermsofthemajortheoriesofdevelopment.Thissectionpresentsthe
knowledge base resultant from research directly derived from these key theoretical
perspectives.Chapter1setsthestagebyfirstintroducingthegreatdebatesofdevel-
opmentfollowedbyareviewofresearchmethodscommonlyusedbydevelopmental
researchers, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches to conducting
research. This is a unique contribution of this book, for most texts in human devel-
opment cover only quantitative methods and ignore methods used by many educa-
tional researchers. Chapter 2 describes the biological foundations of development,
with explicit discussion of the biological foundations of academic competence. The
next two chapters provide different perspectives on cognitive development: Chapter
3 highlights Piaget’s theory and contributions evolving from Piaget’s theory, while
Chapter 4 focuses on insights in cognitive development derived from information-
processing approaches. The final two chapters in this section describe theories
emphasizing the social influences upon development: Chapter 5 describes some of
the more traditional theories emphasizing social influences of individuals in a
child’s environment, while Chapter 6 describes the theories that emphasize the
influence of the surrounding culture on development.
In Part II, Key Topics in Child Development and Education, significant topics in
developmental research of importance to educators are discussed. Typically, these
topics are not studied in the context of a particular theoretical perspective but are
approachedbyresearchersfromvaryingtheoreticalorientations.Chapter7isacom-
prehensive discussion of language development and linguistic development, includ-
ing information on bilingualism, language disorders, and deafness. The chapter on
intelligence, Chapter 8, includes information on the construct and measurement of
intelligencetypicallyprovidedinachilddevelopmenttextbutthenaddsatreatment
oflearnerdiversitydesignedtobemorerelevantforfutureeducators.Chapter9pro-
videsacomprehensiveviewofthedevelopmentofacademicmotivation,atopicthat
is vital for future educators but not adequately addressed by traditional child devel-
opmenttextbooks.Chapter10describestheimpactoffamilyandpeerrelationships
ondevelopment,whileChapter11explorestheroleofgenderindevelopmentalpro-
cesses (including a discussion of factors influencing academic performance in math
and science). Chapter 12, written by David G. Scherer, provides an overview of how
educators can recognize and understand student mental health problems. Finally,
thebookconcludeswithanintegrativereviewchapterwherethemajorconceptspre-
sented in the text are combined in a longitudinal view of development. Throughout
all of the chapters, explicit connections are made to the overall theme of highlight-
ing work that is most relevant to future educators.
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FEATURES OF THIS BOOK
Chapters 2–12 conclude with a Chapter Summary and Evaluation in which the major
pointsofthechapterarebrieflyreviewed,organizedaroundthethemesofthegreat
debates in development introduced in Chapter 1. Key terms are bolded and defined
inthetextwheretheyappear,andarepresentedagainattheendofChapters1–12in
a Review of Key Terms.
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viii Preface
Atleastone ApplyingDevelopmentalTheorytoEducationalContexts specialfeature
appears in Chapters 1–12. In this feature, specific recommendations for applying
theorytopracticeorexamplesofapplicationstopracticearegiven.Theseexamples
andrecommendationshelpstudentsmakeconnectionsbetweentheoryandpractice
astheybegintodeveloptheknowledgebaserequiredtogenerateadditionalapplica-
tions.Inaddition,Chapters1–12containatleastoneConsideringInterestingQuestions
specialfeaturefocusingonaninterestingquestionorissuethatwasnotaddressedin
the text or not completely developed in the text discussion. This feature is designed
to spark interest in students new to developmental topics.
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We have many people to thank. First, we thank Chris Jennison and his colleagues at
The Guilford Press. It was a pleasure to work with you and we appreciate your
patience as this project unfolded. We also thank the reviewers who gave many won-
derfulsuggestionsforthereformulationofthemanuscript,aswellasKarenHarring-
ton’s professional and thorough work on the test bank. Christine McCormick would
liketothankherhusband,DavidScherer,forhissupportandpatienceandforbeing
the applied psychologist in the family, and her daughter, Evelynn, for being the best
daughter there ever was. In another book we wrote, Michael Pressley thanked his
wife,Donna,forbeing“agoodsportaboutallthosenightsofwordprocessing,”and
his son, Tim, for being “a constant reminder of how important it is to educate the
next generation of educators.” In the time that elapsed between the first contract
andthefinalcompletionofthisproject,lifeeventsunfoldedinmanydifferentways.
Christine and David adopted a baby (Evelynn) and were privileged to witness her
wonderful development. Mike’s son, Tim, graduated from high school and began
college—and to Mike and Donna’s joy is planning to become an educator. Very early
inthisproject,Mikewasdiagnosedwithcancer.Afteramazingusallwithhisincredi-
ble powers of recovery for years, Mike died in May 2006. On our last visit, Mike
repeated one of his favorite quotes by Joseph Campbell: “The privilege of a lifetime
is being yourself.” Thank you, Mike, for allowing us the privilege to experience your
wisdom, wit, and indomitable spirit.
Instructorsconsideringthisbookforcourseadoptionwillreceive
a ready-to-use test bank that includes multiple-choice and essay
questions, including questions based on classroom scenarios.
Contents
PART I. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER1. Introduction to Child Development and Education 3
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The Great Debates about Human Development 3
NatureversusNurture 4
StagesofDevelopmentversusContinuousDevelopment 4
UniversalsinDevelopmentversusCulture-SpecificDevelopments 5
Trait-LikeConsistencyinBehaviorsversusSituationalDeterminationofBehavior 6
ActiveversusPassiveChild 6
LastingEarlyEffectsofExperienceversusTransientEarlyEffectsofExperience 7
EnvironmentalInfluences:ACloserLook 8
SummaryoftheGreatDebates 15
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
Research Methods in Child Development and Education 15
QuantitativeMethods 16
QualitativeMethods 22
SpecificApproachestoDevelopmentalResearch 26
SummaryofResearchMethodsinDevelopmentandEducation 30
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
Review of Key Terms 31
CHAPTER2. Biological Development 33
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Foundations of Neurological Development 33
NeurologicalDevelopmentFollowingBirth 34
MaturationoftheNervousSystem 36
EarlyIntervention 40
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
Patterns of Physical Development 40
TimingofMaturation 42
LandmarksinMotorDevelopment 42
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
Biological Determination of Individual Differences:
The Example of Intelligence 43
IndividualDifferencesinIntelligence:HeredityandtheEnvironment 44
ReactionRange:GenotypesandPhenotypes 46
TheEffectsofHigh-QualityEnvironmentsonIntelligence 47
ix