The Social and Emotional Development of Children - Case Study Example

Lecturer: Confidentiality and Ethical Issues This survey upholds confidentiality of the responses from parents who participated in the research. The information acquired can only be used for purposes of the research and cannot be used for other purposes or revealed to third parties. The names of respondents have not been indicated in the questionnaire. Respondents are not expected to reveal personal information other than that which is requested for in the questionnaire. All respondents were informed of the intentions of the survey and their rights were explained prior to filling in the questionnaire. Exploring the Local Environment and Communities In the contemporary society, parents are wary of their children’s exposure to increased environmental hazards and therefore tend to be overprotective in regulating how and where they play. The social and emotional development of children is affected when the environment is not reassuring of their needs and if they are restricted in their ability to experience and discover their neighbourhood as well as get involved in cognitive play and outside learning. Environmental learning theory postulates that the child’s environment influences learning and behaviour. The environment includes everything nearby the child that has stimulus or generates an impression on the children (Sageie & Fjortoft, 2000). Children can be significantly motivated or discouraged by their living environment. This includes the physical characteristics of the environment such as where they sit at home or in their school as well as the social interaction with peers. According to the environmental learning theory, behaviour and cognitive development are responses to the environment. It is therefore necessary for guardians and teachers to understand that the new skills acquired by the child are influenced by the objects that he/she is exposed to (Hart, 2003). The social learning theory also proposes that personality development is influenced by the manner in which the child interacts with the environment and the outdoor experience. Behaviour and learning are motivated by the combination of environment, the child and his/her reaction. An environment that is unfavourable to learning lowers a child’s capacity to accomplish his/her full potential. Changing the environment to inspire greater learning increases the opportunities for knowledge development (Jonassen & Land, 2012). The survey indicates that 50% of the parents take their children to the park two days a week, 40% one day a week while 10% do not take their children to the park. The majority of parents who take their children to the park increase learning opportunities by exposing them to new knowledge acquired through social interactions. While 70% of the parents in the survey think that outdoor play is good, 30% think that it is not. 70% of the parents think that outdoor play is important to their children while 30% think it is not necessary. It is important for parents to understand that offering their children time and space to play offers them an opportunity to socialize with peers. It also helps to maintain physical activity that is important to their health. The children are also presented with the independence of choosing what they want to do. Outdoor play increases self-awareness among children, self-esteem and respect. They acquire new skills that enhance confidence, which is necessary for their future social interactions. Children are allowed to be independent thereby allowing them to reason creatively. The independence also allows generation of resilience by taking risks and engaging in challenging activities that enhance development of problem solving skills in new situations. 50% of parents play with their children outside while 50% do not. It is important for parents and children to play together outdoor so as to learn together. Parents can effectively understand the needs, competences and weaknesses of their children while playing together with them while children on the other hand learn new skills from their parents. It helps in emotional bonding between parent and child. It also helps the parent to decrease stress that hinders parenting competence and hence better capacity to promote learning in children. Structure and Design of the Learning Environment Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child preserves children’s rights to play and engage in informal leisure. Children below the age of 18 years are expected to be provided with opportunities to play and engage in recreation activities in a healthy environment. Children usually come from diverse cultural and environmental backgrounds. They enter school ready to learn but their learning is influenced by prior experiences in the environments where they are brought up. The nature of the learning environment in school significantly influences their learning capability. It is the obligation of the education system to ensure that the learning environment supports effective educational development (National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, 2000). The response of children to the structure and design of the learning environment depends on their diverse backgrounds, which educationalists are expected to recognize while planning for the education system. The system needs to promote the easy transition of children from one instruction level to the other, providing an opportunity for social support whenever it is needed. In general, the inclination of the child to learn and the educators to effectively educate relies on the design of the learning environment. There are certain factors that influence the accomplishment of learning among children in school. These include providing equal opportunities in school through dealing with the inequalities that children are exposed to in early life (Jonassen & Land, 2012). Children come from diverse households in terms of economic capability and neighbourhood of early child development among other aspects. It is unethical for educators to engage in recreation activities that are embarrassing and discriminatory to some children such as use of expensive play equipment that is unaffordable to a small number only. It is also important to identify and support individual differences among children to ensure motivation to learn. Children may be discouraged by failure to recognize their weaknesses yet they may not be in a capacity to explain their plight unless the educator carefully observes individual behaviours. It is also unethical to establish unreasonable and inappropriate expectations with regards to the children’s abilities at the elementary school level. These may discourage them from understanding school as a good place for them to acquire life skills (Jonassen & Land, 2012). The learning environment needs to be safe physically, socially and emotionally to ensure that the children engage in suitable risks in learning and searching for answers to problems. It is important for facilities to help children to perfect their physical skills through activities such as climbing be monitored by an adult to ensure that the children take harmless risks as they make efforts to realize a new experience. It is unethical to compel children to engage in leisure activities that they do not like no matter how suitable they seem in the eyes of the adult. It does not help to develop the skills of the child when he/she detests such activity or play structures that are difficult to use (Smith & Ragan, 2004). Childrens Understanding of the Social World In the education practice, young children’s understanding of the social world is considered to be critical in knowledge acquisition. They are able to envisage social relationships at the age of 3 years whereby they understand guidelines and expectations of them by the society. It is important o consider that the occurrence these social understandings is supported by the interactions with family and peers. It is on the basis of these interactions that children’s behaviour varies subject to who they are with. However, they also behave differently while with the same people but in different environments. Young children derive most of their experience from the social environment of the family. Children who are exposed to in constant disputes with their close relatives influence their understanding of the social world. This is evident in some instances when such children engage in actions that imitate a certain understanding that will emotionally affect a close relative (Fleer & Hardy, 2001). Social understanding in children is also influenced by their family lifestyle and the common discussions that close relatives engage in. For example, family occasions, rules and collective activities present important avenues for children to develop social understanding. Consideration of these understandings of children in the social world is useful in identifying the best approach to guide children with regards to antisocial behaviours and to enhance assimilation of positive behaviour acquired from these understandings. Consideration of children’s attitude towards work is important to enhance positive understanding of determination. Children who are regularly commended for hardworking develop a tendency to choose challenging tasks and a perception that brainwork and character are the bases for success. Praising the process is necessary since it generates an understanding that with greater efforts, better results can be achieved and may influence the child’s future tendencies towards finding solutions in more challenging tasks. This understanding is necessary in the education practice to ensure that children are motivated to learn through overcoming challenges. Promoting positive attitudes towards citizenship in the education practice encourages children to engage in responsible roles in the society. In the education practice, it is necessary to generate awareness among children regarding individual safety and the procedures by which they can seek their rights as citizens. They also need to know how the society expects them to behave. Understanding their attitudes is important to determine their perception regarding their position as members of a complex society comprising people with different cultural backgrounds. Conclusion The environmental learning theory postulates that learning is significantly influenced by the environment. It needs to be re-assuring of children’s needs for proper social and emotional development. They acquire most of their experience from their family’s social environment. The living environment can motivate or discourage children in acquiring new knowledge. The social learning theory also emphasizes the link between personality development and the child’s environmental interactions. Outdoor play offers children an opportunity to interact with peers and to try solving new challenges. It allows parents to understand their children’s strengths and weaknesses. The structure of the learning environment needs to be safe for the children. Their response to the structure and design of the learning environment is influenced by their cultural backgrounds. It is unethical for educators to engage children in activities that they dislike. The understanding of children’s social world is significant in the education practice. Positive understanding of determination is influenced through consideration of children’s attitude towards work. Children take up responsible roles in the society through promoting positive attitudes towards citizenship. Reference List Fleer, M. and T. Hardy (2001). Science for Children: Developing a Personal Approach to Teaching, 2nd Ed. New South Wales: Prentice-Hall. Hart, R. A. (2003). Childrens Participation: The Theory and Practice of Involving Young Citizens in Community Development and Environmental Care, New Yolk, NY: Routledge Jonassen, D. & Land, S. 2012. Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. New Yolk, NY: Routledge National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (2000). Environment-Based Education: Creating High Performance Schools and Students. Washington, D.C.: The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation. Sageie, I. & Fjortoft J. (2000). “The Natural Environment as a Playground for Children: Landscape Description and Analyses of a Natural Landscape.” Landscape and Urban Planning 48(1/2): 83-97. Smith, P. L. & Ragan, T. J. 2004. Instructional Design, New Yolk, NY: Wiley/Jossey-Bass Education Read More