Understanding the Pre-School Child : a Multi-Method Approach
UNDERSTANDING THE PRESCHOOL CHILD:
A MULTIMETHOD APPROACH
What is the pre-school child really like? It is not possible to find an adequate answer to this question by relying on any one theory of child development. The main reason for this is that most theorists usually concentrate on only that facet of child development which they consider important. Gesell therefore, concentrates on physical and physiological development since he feels that it is the main pre-requisite for all other forms of development. Freud tells us about the kinds of things that go on in the child's mind; especially at the sub-conscious level; and how they affect the personality, and emotional development of the child. Piaget, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the emerging intelligence structures in the child's mind, and studies various aspects of cognitive and perceptual development to gather clues about the mind's underlying structures of intelligence. The behaviorists provide us with explanations about the observable of the child in terms of stimulus and response.
To comprehensively understand the pre-school child therefore, it becomes necessary to look at child development across its various aspects, along with the contribution of the various theorists to each particular aspect.
Child development takes place across four basic areas:
i) Physical Development, which includes the development of the child's body as well as nervous system, and their combined effect on the child's motor skills, day to day activities etc.
ii) Perceptual Development, dealing with the child's ability to gather information and its mechanisms
iii) Cognitive Development, giving an insight into how the child understands and analyses information gathered by his perceptual skills, or, in other words, `how the child thinks' ; his reasoning, language and thought etc.
iv) Emotional Development, wherein various aspects of the child's personality, like `self-concept', morality, and the
A MULTIMETHOD APPROACH
What is the pre-school child really like? It is not possible to find an adequate answer to this question by relying on any one theory of child development. The main reason for this is that most theorists usually concentrate on only that facet of child development which they consider important. Gesell therefore, concentrates on physical and physiological development since he feels that it is the main pre-requisite for all other forms of development. Freud tells us about the kinds of things that go on in the child's mind; especially at the sub-conscious level; and how they affect the personality, and emotional development of the child. Piaget, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with the emerging intelligence structures in the child's mind, and studies various aspects of cognitive and perceptual development to gather clues about the mind's underlying structures of intelligence. The behaviorists provide us with explanations about the observable of the child in terms of stimulus and response.
To comprehensively understand the pre-school child therefore, it becomes necessary to look at child development across its various aspects, along with the contribution of the various theorists to each particular aspect.
Child development takes place across four basic areas:
i) Physical Development, which includes the development of the child's body as well as nervous system, and their combined effect on the child's motor skills, day to day activities etc.
ii) Perceptual Development, dealing with the child's ability to gather information and its mechanisms
iii) Cognitive Development, giving an insight into how the child understands and analyses information gathered by his perceptual skills, or, in other words, `how the child thinks' ; his reasoning, language and thought etc.
iv) Emotional Development, wherein various aspects of the child's personality, like `self-concept', morality, and the