Child developmenttheory
Objectives 20
The nature-nurture divide 2 1
John Locke (1632-1 704) 2 1
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) 23
Locke and the environmentalists 26
Pavlov and Watson 26
Skinner 26
Bandura 27
Rousseauand the developmentalists 27
Freud (andfollowers) 27
Erikson 27
Piaget and Kohlberg 28
Gesell 29
Maslow 29
Cultural issues in child development 30
Gender in child development 33
Attachmenttheory 37
Social ecologicaltheory (Bronfenbrenner) 45
Some exercises 51
Objectives
It is essential for anyone undertaking work with a child to understand how
children develop. Such laowledge enables the social worker to understand
how the child has reached his or her current stage of development. Just as
importantly, it provides an understanding of which factors, among many in
the child's social environment, are most likely to influence how the child
develops in the future. This then provides a focus for intervention as the
worker will want to target those factors that are most significant. Like most
things in social work, this is easier said than done. Four centuries of thinking
how children develop have not yielded easy answers, but have rather
led the complexityof various influences on children's lives.
this chapter, we will describe the nature-nurture debate - the
mental dualism underlying knowledge of how children develop - and
e will explore a number of theories of child development to see
they fit within that debate. Throughout, there is an emphasis on
tanding cultural variations in how children develop in order to avoid
entrism in practice. Two particular models are discussed in some
attachment theory (Bowlby and successors) and social-ecological
ry (Bronfenbrenner).At the end of the chapter the reader should have
v e ~ e wof a broad typology of child development theories and an
eness of more recent thinhng on the significant influences on chil-
nature-nurture divide
of the earliest fundamental divisions between groups of child-develop-
ent theorists stemmed from the belief among some that children are the
y they are because they are born that way, and the belief among others
at the environment is the mainr(if not the exclusive) influence on how
ildren develop. As Burman (1994, p. 49) asks, 'Do children grow or are
ey made?' This question, now applied to children, is essentially the same
estion that Western philosophers have been asking over 2000 years
t ways of acquiring knowledge. Does true knowledge come from
thin (is it inborn) or can it only be acquired through the scientific
ethod of empirical research? It is thus no coincidence that the first child-
velopmental theorists, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, are con-
sidered to be philosophers in their own right. Let us look more closely at
what they thought, keeping in mind that contemporary thinking on the
nature-nurture division accepts that both genetic and environmental influ-
ences have a part to play.
John Locke (1632-17041
John Locke was the earlier of the two theorists (he died eight years before
Rousseau was born) and he emphasised the importance of environmental
influences. Locke did not believe that children are born sinful (as religious
thinking of the time suggested) but thought rather that the way they
develop is determined by their early experiences. He used the metaphor of
the blank slate [tabula rasn] to describe a child's development. At birth
there is nothing, and life writes the child's story on the slate. He refuted
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22 An introductionto working with children
the concept of innate ideas (as put forward by philosophers such as
Descartes and Plato), in which there are certain fundamentals (for exam-
ple, the existence of God) which the child is born knowing. Experience is
everything. Through his or her interactions with people the child's unique
personality (character and abilities) is formed. Temperament may vary from
child to child, but this is largelyirrelevant to the method through which the
child's mind is developed. It may seem strange to us now that 'develop-
ment' should be considered solely in terms of the intellect, ignoring the
social and emotional self, but we must remember the philosophical roots of
the argument: the debate about how children developed sprang from and
reflected the earlier debate about how knowledge was acquired.
Applying philosophy to practice, Locke acknowledged the importance of
early experiences in ensuring optimum child development. Parents were
advised to encourage their children's curiosity, and answer questions to the
best of their ability. They should strive to make learning an enjoyable expe-
rience for the child by transforming it into recreation and play. They should
also allow the child to be free and unrestrained as far as possible while
still respecting the rights and needs of others. Locke's work, and particu-
larly his book on child guidance, was extremely influential. According to
Cunningham (1995),
Locle became the guide for innumerable middle-class families. There
had been more than a dozen English editions by the mid-eighteenth
century, and several editions in French, German, Italian, Dutch, and
Swedish in the course of the eighteenth century...the premier child-
guidance book of the eighteenth century ... (p. 65)
How does the environment shape the mind of the child? Locke suggested
four specific mechanisms: association (ideas become linked); repetition;
imitation; and reward and punishment. He was opposed to the use of phys-
ical punishment because he believed that it created undesirable associa-
tions, generally it was ineffective, and when it was not ineffective it tended
to 'break the mind'. It is interesting to relate these points to the modern
debate on the physical punishment of children. In terms of rewards he
tended to favour social reinforcement (praise and flattery) rather than
sweets or money.
There were some inconsistencies, though, between Locke's blank-slate
theory and his ideas about how children learn. For example, he contended
that children have innate curiosity (so much for the blank slate!) and will
learn for learning's sake. In some of his later thinlung, he also seemed to be
moving towards an appreciation of the inherent nature underlying at least
some of children's readiness to learn (i.e., benefit from the environment).
For example, he thought that children have difficulty remembering rules in
Child development theory 23
and therefore he favoured a modelling approach to teaching
ildren. The notion that very young children are not capable of abstract
inking was later developed by Piaget.
-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78)
trast to Locke, Rousseau emphasised the importance of nature, or
a1 forces. At birth, children have their own individual natures, and
s are advised not to damage this individuality by trying to impose adult
ns of reason or social order. Children grow in accordance with
re's plan, and it is important to allow Nature to guide the child's
wth and development. Rousseau, although also a political philosopher
dressing the nature of human relations, had little faith in society's ability
guide children's development. Individuals who are well socialised are too
pendent upon how others see them and have forgotten how to see with
ir own eyes and think with their own minds. Rousseau's thinking here
usefully be compared with some of the thinking on conformity, anti-
rmity, and non-conformity in the middle of the twentieth century.
From some points of view, conformity is a social value in itself, and helping
children to take a role in society in which they conform to social expecta-
s is considered to be a good thing. From other points of view, actualisa-
of the self (e.g., Maslow, 1943) is not necessarily, or even probably,
ieved by conforming to the expectations of others.
ousseau believed that we should be helping children to develop their
capacity to think rather than teaching them hrnv to think. Nature is
described as being like a 'hidden tutor' helping children to develop different
capacities at different stages of their lives. Young children are little experi-
menters, and if given a chance (and an environment that encourages it),
they will explore and learn. Knowledge is not something that should be
passed from adult to child like a parcel. Rather, children will arrive at a
point where they can think logically through the progressive unfolding of
inherent abilities. It is only when they are older, in late childhood, that
adults should begin to think about actively trying to teach them; doing it
too early can be unhelpful.
Rousseau was the first of the 'stage' theorists. For him, the gradual
unfolding of the child's inherent capacities came in four main stages of
development.
1. Infancy (birth to about 2 years)
In this stage, children experience the world through the senses and know
nothing of ideas or reason. They experience pleasure and pain. It is the
stage of language acquisition.
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24 An introductionto working with children
2. Childhood (about 2 to 12 years)
In this stage, children acquire a new independence; they learn to walk,
talk and feed themselves. There is also the beginning of a type of reason-
ing (intuitive), but abstract reasoning does not come until later.
3. Late childhood (about 12 to 15 years)
This is a transitional stage during which there are tremendous gains in
physical strength. The child's cognitive functions develop, but are still
very concrete.
4. Adolescence
Children have little interest in others during the first three stages, but in
this final stage their social development advances. It is like a 'second
birth', and the body changes considerably. It is also a time of transition,
when children are neither child nor adult. They are no longer self-suffi-
cient, and are attracted to and need the company of others.
Rousseau's stages give rise to three important considerations: the time
frame of the stages; the invariant sequence of stages; and the international
influence of both Locke and Rousseau.
Tne tinzehanze of the stages. When you look at these four stages, you
will probably say, 'But children do that before that age.' For example, by 718
months most babies can move forward on their stomachs, by 9 months they
can crawl on all fours, and by 12 months many can walk. This is at variance
with Rousseau's suggestion that physical independence does not begin
until the second stage. Likewise, the emphasis on social relations beginning
in adolescence is at variance with the work of Parten (1932) and Dunn
(1988, 1993). Parten looked very closely at young children's social (play)
behaviour and described a number of stages: unoccupied behaviour, soli--
taiy play, onlooking play, parallel play and cooperative play. Dunn, in her
work on understanding sibling relationships as the child's first peer rela-
tionships, concluded that children's understanding of, and participation in,
social relationships begins much earlier than previously thought, when we
use certain methods to appraise this (for example, observation techniques).
As another example, we might consider that starting adolescence at 15 is
very late in light of how most people would experience it today. What might
account for these differences? One possibility is that children do in fact
develop earlier today than they did several hundred years ago. Another is
that research methodologies have improved so that we can now identify
achievements of young children which may have escaped us earlier.
Tne invariant sequence of the stages. The second consideration in
Rousseau's work is the sequence of the stages. It is common parlance to say,
You have to walk before you can run.' In effect, this colloquial expression,
to the physical development of the child, means that there are certain
at cannot be acquired until the child has successfully passed through
ous stage. This seems perfectly self-evident and we have been so
with the idea that we have applied it to concepts other than physical
pment. For example, Maslow's hierarchy of needs begins with the sat-
physical needs and moves on through various stages (safety,
ss, self-esteem) to the achievement of self-actualisation. We have
begun to question Maslow's assertion that higher needs cannot
ntil lower needs have been satisfied. To be fair, Maslow himself
at everyone was capable of self-actualisation provided they did not
closely to a society which stressed the importance of the lower
s. But we have tended to ignore that part and have concentrated instead
nce of the stages, thereby doing grave damage to our under-
ing of the complexities of human motivation.
e internatio~znlinfluence of Loclze and Rousseau. The third considera-
is the international differences which have resulted from the separate
Locke and Rousseau. We have already mentioned that
ke's book on child guidance was translated into many languages.
rk was also extremely influential. Let us compare the influ-
e of Locke and Rousseau with respect to the notion of children's readi-
cated. It is widely4known that children in the UK begin
a1 schooling earlier than children in other European countries. In the
t can be as early as 3 years old. In most European countries, although
re is widespread provision for pre-school children, formal schooling does
begin until they are 6 or 7 years of age. This is consistent with the
uence of Locke in the UI< (children learn from the time of birth), and
f Rousseau in other European countries (before a certain
cation is unhelpful). This highlights perhaps just how
influence of these two pioneers continues into present-day dia-
how to promote the development of children.
There has been no shortage of child-development theories following on
from Locke and Rousseau. Some are quite global; some address very spe-
cific aspects of how children develop. Frequently, consideration of how
children develop is divided into physical, intellectual (or cognitive), emo-
tional and social development. Sometimes a further category is added, spir-
itual or moral development. Most, but not all, are chronological (i.e.,
dealing with how children change over time).
There is insufficient space here to allow for a detailed consideration of
the models put forward by subsequent theorists - and anyway, you are
probably familiar with them through courses in psychology. We will just
look very briefly at how some of their theories are linked with the work of
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26 An introduction to working with children
Loclte and Rousseau. The important word here is 'linked'. We are not say-
ing that subsequent theorists were followers or members of a 'school of
thought' as put forward by Locke or Rousseau, just that it is interesting to
consider the links.
Locke and the environmentalists Rousseau and the developmentalists
Pavlov (1849-1936) Freud (1856-1 939) (and followers)
Watson (1878-1958) Erikson (1902-94)
Slunner (1905-1990) Piaget (1896-1 980) and Kohlberg
Bandura (1925- ) (1927-87)
Gesell(1880-1961)
Maslow (1908-70)
Locke and the environmentalists
Pavlov and Watson
As previously mentioned, Loclte suggested that children learn from the
environment through an association of ideas. Pavlov used the association
ideas with dogs, conditioning them to salivate to the sound of a bell by
associating the bell with food. Watson adapted Pavlov's conditioning exper-
iments to a young child, 'little Albert'. Watson induced a fear of white furry
objects in little Albert by making a very loud, startling noise whenever a
rabbit was produced. In time Albert came to fear the presentation of the
rabbit. Hopefully, you are horrified that a researcher was allowed to do
such a thing to a child and you are relieved that our ethical standards in
research are now very much more stringent. Nevertheless, the experiment
did provide evidence that children learn by associating ideas.
Skinner
It was Skinner who took the rather restricted concept of learning by
association, and extended it to learning by reinforcement. In extensive
experiments with rats, pigeons and other animals, he monitored the impact
of reinforcing a particular behaviour. He discovered that a behaviour
could be increased by positive reinforcement (reward) and decreased by. -
negative reinforcement (punishment)or lack of reinforcement (ignoringthe
behaviour). This behavioural model has gained a very strong position in
the repertory of methods of helping troubled children. The methods can
be linked to Locke's understanding of learning through rewards and
punishments.
gh his experiments on aggressive behaviour towards a toy doll
01),Bandura showed that children can learn not just by association
by the direct consequences of their behaviour (being rewarded, or
ed, or punished), but also by indirect consequences. If a child sees
individual being rewarded (e.g.,praised) or punished (e.g., scolded)
rticular behaviour, then it has an impact on the extent to which the
d will behave in that way Bandura concluded that children learn behav-
om having it modelled and by imitating behaviour. His maxim was:
en are more likely to do what we do than what we tell them to do.'
with Locke, who talked of imitation as being a way that children
m the environment.
usseau and the developmentalists
ud (and followers)
e Freudian theory of psychoanalysis rests on several basic principles
ich are closely related to Rousseau's concepts. First, Freud placed a
eat emphasis on the biological. $His early notions of drives (Das Trieb)
ere refined to notions of basic'life forces (Eros and Thanatos) driving
uman behaviour towards life and death. This biological basis o f the per-
onality is rooted in the 'nature' side of the naturelnurture dichotomy.
tionally, Freud believed that the human expression of drives (des-
d as 'sexuality') developed through psychosexual stages:
Oral (birth to the 2nd year)
Anal (coincides with period of toilet training)
Phallic (around the 4th year)
Latency (5th to 12th year)
Genital (onset of puberty)
These stages are seen as invariant in sequence. Problems experienced at
one stage can lead to specific types of psychological difficulties which are
distinct from the difficulties resulting from problems at a different stage.
Erikson
Eriltson was one of many followers of Freud who broke with the psychoana-
lytic tradition to develop thinking in a different direction. Erikson took the
emphasis away from the biological and psychosexual and looked at the
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28 An introductionto workinn with children
development of the individual of psychosocial development over the entire
lifespan. The stages he proposed are as follows:
1. Basic trust vs. Basic mistrust (birth to 1 year)
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (1-3 years)
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years)
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (7-1 1 ears)
5. Identity vs. Role confusion (adolescence)
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (early adulthood)
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood)
8. Ego integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood)
His debt to Rousseau is seen in terms of the unfolding of an inherent plan
of development.
Piaget and Kohlberg
If one is familiar with the work of Piaget when reading Rousseau, the
extent of the harmony between the two becomes apparent. Piaget's focus
was primarily on the cognitive development of children, although he did
theorise as well about their emotional development (but not so much about
their social development). He put forward a model of cognitive develop-
ment in which the mental apparatus of the individual becomes increasingly
complex and capable of dealing with the comprehension of complex con-
cepts through two processes called assi~~zilationand acco~~znzodation.Both
of these processes deal with how the young child integrates experiences
which do not fit into his or her view of the world. In the first (assimilation),
the child modifies the experience so that it fits. In accommodation, a more
radical transformation occurs: the child adapts his or her way of under-
standing the world in order to be able to integrate the new experience.
Piaget developed a four-stage theoiy of child development:
e Period of se~zsorinzotori~ztellige~zce(from birth to the appearance of
language, i.e., around 18 months)
e Pre-operatiolzal period (18 months-7 years)
pre-conceptual stage (18 months-4 years)
intuitive stage (4 years-7 years)
e Period of concrete operations (7 years to adolescence)
e Period of for~iznl operations (around 12 years and pealing about three
years later)
Again, the stages are invariant sequentially: one must come after the
other and the individual cannot operate at a later stage until the earlier
tered. However, individuals progress through the stages at
rent rates, and some may not get to the most advanced stage (formal
eveloped a two-stage theory of moral development. At
d 'moral realism', children judge the morality of an act
erms of its consequences and are incapable of weighing intentions. For
e who breaks twelve plates by accident is much guiltier
n someone who breaks two plates on purpose by throwing them at her
nd stage, called 'moral realism', children realise that there
solute right and wrong, and that morality depends not on conse-
but on intentions (those things that the road to hell is paved with).
(1981) extended Piaget's two stages of moral devel-
s, each level containing two stages so that there are six
ese stages represent the growth of moral concepts or
ot moral behaviour. Kohlberg's three levels are: (1) pre-
d on punishments and rewards); (2) conventional (based
n social conformity); and (3) postconventional (based on moral princi-
les).Again, the levels and stages are sequential and one cannot progress to
higher stage until one has passed through the stage before.
Gesell g
ell's approach is considered to be maturationist; that is, human traits are
rmined primarily by genetics. Children simply mature with age, and envi-
ronment plays a minor role. This can be seen most clearly through the meta-
hor of the growing plant. As long as the plant is given an environment that
s not hold back its development (water, sun, soil, protection from severe
ents) it will develop in a way that is pre-programmed. A poor environ-
ment may produce a poor rose and a rich environment a richer, more beauti-
ful rose, but a rose it will be and not a carnation. It is clear that this model is
allied to Rousseau's concept of the innate unfolding of the child's character.
Abraham Maslow represents an interesting example because he began by
believing in nurture and changed to the nature perspective. He writes:
Our first baby changed me as a psychologist. It made the behaviourism I
had been so enthusiastic about look so foolish that I could not stomach
it any more. It was impossible. Having a second baby, and learning how
profoundly different people are even before birth, made it impossible for
me to think in terms of the lind of learning psychology in which one can
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30 An introductionto working with children
As we have already mentioned, Maslow developed a model of a hierarchy
of human needs, with physical needs at the base of the pyramid of needs
and self-actualisation at the top. The drive for self-actualisation is seen as
inherent: one needs to fulfil one's intrinsic nature and become all that one
can be in the same way as an acorn needs to grow into an oak. However,
this drive is usually suppressed in early childhood by the needs of adults to
have children conform to expectations. In adulthood, the drive is sup-
pressed by the willingness of adults to conform to society's expectations.
Crain (1992, p. 322), in his consideration of Maslow, notes:
If Maslow's ideas sound familiar, they are. Maslow and the modern
humanist psychologists have.. .drawn heavily upon the developmental
tradition. Since Rousseau, developmentalists have been preoccupied
with the same basic problem as Maslow: Children, as they become
socialized, quit relyng on their own experience and judgements; they
become too dependent on conventions and the opinions of others.
Now that we have looked at some of the ideas of theorists in child devel-
opment, let us turn our attention to cultural issues.
Cultural issues in child development
Conceptions of how children do develop, how they should develop, and
how parents should act in relation to them are not power-neutral concepts
based on dispassionate findings from science. Rather, such notions, reflect
a balance between those with power and those without. It would be reason-
able to suggest, therefore, that theories of child development, like concepts
of 'childhood' and 'child abuse', can be viewed as being socially constructed
(Stainton Rogers, 1989; Parton, 1985; Burman, 1994). Social construction
means that a socio-political phenomenon (for example, child abuse, child-
hood, elder abuse, mental disorder, 'whiteness', etc.) is not an objective
entity but something which arises out of the process of people defining
issues (i.e., 'discourse'). Thus, the process of defining the phenomenon
becomes part of what is being defined. Since power differentials are part of
any discourse, power differentials influence (and indeed become an inher-
ent part of) how a concept comes to be defined. Consider the following
metaphor from Pence (1992, pp. 2, 4) in relation to quality in the provision
of services for children:
I am interested in not only the small 'r' ruler we use in attempting to
measure quality, but also the capital 'R' Ruler who defines what it is that
will be measured. ...'Who is the Ruler?' appears to be the question one
must address before the questions of 'What is the ruler and what is to be
measured?' can be considered.
way of understanding this is by noting that conceptions of how chil-
do, and should develop vary over time within a culture and at the
time between different cultures.
artin Woodhead (1998, p. 8) observes, 'With few exceptions, "text-
k" child development originates mainly in Europe and North America,
mainly within a fairly narrow socio-economic band within these conti-
ts.' Likewise, Burman (1994, p. 6) notes, 'developmental psychology.. . is
ually conducted and written by researchers from Western societies'. Let
look at some examples of researchers and the countries they come from:
bert Bandura (Canada, then USA) Maria Montessori (Italy)
Erik Erikson (Germany, then USA) Ivan Pavlov (Russia)
Sigmund Freud (Austria, then UIC) Jean Piaget (Switzerland)
nold Gesell (USA) Jean Jacques Rousseau (France)
awrence Kohlberg (USA) B. F. Skinner (USA)
John Locke (England) Lev Vygotsky (Russia)
Abraham Maslow (USA) John B. Watson (USA)
4
i
countries from which these theorists originate, and in which they
ed, represent a relatively small population of children compared with
total population of children in the entire world. Moreover, it is a popu-
ion that contains for the most part only Western children. Yet theories
wn from work with this population (or samples of it) have been gener-
ed to explain how all children develop the world over. To make matters
orse, child-development theorists develop their models with a view to
derstanding not only how children do develop, but also how they should
velop, and what actions adults should take in relation to those children.
us, there is a real potential that Western theorists will dictate to the non-
estern world how children should develop and how they should be
Sanders (1999) looks at this issue in his consideration of the role of eth-
entrism and cultural relativism in child abuse internationally. He con-
ers the extent to which children's needs are the same all over the world,
d in particular the need for autonomy andlor responsibility as described
a number of Western child-development theorists (Maslow, 1943;
mer Pringle, 1975; Erikson, 1963). He concludes that we can get into
us difficulties if we assume that Western notions of child development
ve a normative application outside Western cultures.
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32 An introductionto working with children
The very concept of 'needs' presents difficulties if we try to answer the
question: 'To what extent do children all over the world have the same
needs?' or (the opposite side of the same coin) 'To what extent do children
of different cultures have different needs?' These questions are particularly
important in relation to international attempts to meet the common needs
of all children: for example, the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.
On the surface, it would appear that biological and physiological needs are
more likely to be common to all children than psychological, emotional and
social needs. Woodhead (1990) considers that an understanding of chil-
dren's needs is so culture specific that it should be banned from discourses
about children. He says:
My conclusion, provocatively, is that our understanding and respect for
childhood might be better served if 'children's needs' were outlawed
from future professional discourse, policy recommendations, and popu-
lar psychology. (Woodhead, 1990, p. 60)
While this may be a rather extreme position, it certainly reminds practition-
ers and students to be very cautious about generalising notions of children's
needs outside the cultural context. The following is also from Woodhead
(1998, p. 14):
While a mother from Boston might view the Gusii [Kenya] practice of
demand feeding as 'spoiling1the child, the demand for obedience as
'repressive' and the use of young children as caregivers as 'abusive', the
traditional Gusii mother might view the Western practice of leaving
infants to cry as 'abusive', tolerating a toddler's challenging behaviour as
'spoiling1 and encouraging playful fun as 'over indulgent'.
Trawick-Smith (1997) considers five major theories of child develop-
ment: the maturationists (Gesell); the behaviourists (Slunner, Watson,
Bandura); the school (Freud, Erikson); the cognitive/
developmental school (Piaget, Vygotslry); and ecological systems theory
(Bronfenbrenner). For each of these, in relation to a particular case study
(Adam), he describes the general principles of the theory, how it would
apply to Adam's story, general criticisms of the theory, and the multicul-
tural criticisms of the theory. For brevity, we will only consider his inulti-
cultural criticisms. We will also only consider the first four major theories,
leaving ecological systems theory to be described afterwards.
The work of the wzaturationists (Gesell) is seen as leading to, or at least
supporting, cultural bias. The work of Jensen is cited as an example;Jensen
suggested that African American children have lower IQs than white chil-
dren because of genetically derived intellectual deficiencies. The danger is
that the argument of genetic determinism can be used, as it has been for
ries, to advance a belief that some races are inferior. It is important to
rnber that genetic differences are just that, differences, not deficits.
relation to behaviournl theory, one might ask how it is that in some
ies or cultural groups in which positive reinforcement is virtually
sed, children still manage to grow and learn. An equally important
n, arising in part from the effectiveness of behavioural approaches, is
ssue of which behaviours are to be reinforced? Who should make the
as to which behaviours are undesirable and which are to be encour-
ere is a danger of behaviourism being used to promote Anglo-Saxon
, i.e. behaviour designed to conform to standards of white, middle-
culture. Trawick-Smith notes, for example, that in some cultures eye
t is an indicator of disrespect, and quietness of children is a quality
is highly valued. In others, eye contact is seen as something to be pro-
d, and children's verbal participation is viewed as a good thing. These
of conflicts can lead to 'mixed socialisation messages'.
wise with pqlchon~znlj~tictheoiy, some of the stages (for example,
on's 'autonomy') reflect Anglo-Saxon ideals which are not universally
d in all cultures. In some ethnic groups, collective thought and action
valued over autonomy. In some Japanese American families, a sense of
onging and collectivism - not individual autonomy - are goals in child
ing. It could be argued that tke individualistically oriented notion of
onomy in Western views of child development represents a powerful,
minority, view of how children do and should develop.
og~zitive developnzentnl theory is less criticised by Trawick-Smith
997), who considers it to be generally successful in explaining universal
velopmental processes across many different cultures. However, again he
notes that autonomy is not valued in some cultures, and he also notes the
ecific cultural biases behind the theories.
Gender in child development
We have already referred to the power dimension with respect to imposing
Western cultural norms on images of childhood and child development
which are supposed to be universal. The same thing applies to gender. In
Western societies, ideas about how children develop, how they should
develop, and how they should be reared are very closely linked to gender
power relations. We might ask, for example, how theories of child develop-
ment have been influenced by the fact that child-developmental theorists
are predominantly male. (In the lists previously provided, the only woman
was Maria Montessori.) Burman (1994) answers that question by suggest-
ing that the focus of developmental psychology has shifted from the child
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34 An introductionto working with children
to the mother, and to the regulation of the adequacy of mothering. In other
words, the history of child development can be seen as centuries of men
telling women how they should bring up children.
Burman (1994), drawing on the work of Newson and Newson (1974)
and Hardyment (1983), describes five historical stages in the kinds of
advice given to mothers over the centuries. These are:
1. The stage of religious morality.
2. The stage of physical health and survival.
3. The stage of mental hygiene.
4. The stage of understanding and meeting children's needs.
5. The individualism and fun morality stage.
In the stage of religious morality, when infant mortality was so high, the
emphasis was on saving the soul of the child: that is, on preparing for the
next world as the child might not survive in this one. Children were viewed-
as being born sinful, and harsh methods were needed to ensure that the-
child moved from a state of sin to a state worthy of salvation. Consider for
example the two following quotes:
'Break his will now and his soul will live.' (Susan Wesley to her son
John (1703-91), founder of Methodism in the eighteenth century, cited
by Newson and Newson, 1974,p. 56)
'[Children are] beings who bring into the world a corrupt nature and
evil dispositions, which it should be the great end of education to
rectify.' (More, a popular nineteenth-century writer, cited in Hendrick,
1994,p. 39)
Rousseau was also aware of the high infant mortality rate, but viewed the
implications of this differently. He 'points out that many children will die
young, having spent their lives preparing for an adulthood which they never
achieved; and he asserts the right of a child to be a child, and to be happy
in it' (Cunningham, 1995,p. 66).
The second stage of advice to mothers, emphasising physical health and
survival, is often said to have started after the First World War, but it could
be argued to have begun at least 20 years before that, with the introduction
of health visiting. As described by Sanders (1999), the origin of health visi-
tors (called 'health missioners' or 'sanitary visitors') can be traced back to
the series of cholera epidemics in the latter half of the nineteenth century
and to the subsequent legislation (the Public Health Act 1872). The con-
tinuing high rates of infant mortality gave rise to the infant welfare move-
ment, in which mother and baby clinics were set up so that mothers could
learn how to care for their babies properly. By the middle of the twentieth
Child development theory 35
ury, infant mortality in developed countries had dropped to such an
t that losing a child was considered to be unlucky rather than an
cted part of everyday reality.
h survival generally ensured, the third stage of advice to women came
ay: advising mothers on the mental hygiene of their offspring. Again,
seau is of interest here. Rousseau married an illiterate serving girl
e) with whom he spent the rest of his life. She gave birth to five chil-
ut Rousseau had them all placed in a state foundling home. He later
ered this action wrong, but said he had insufficient money to bring
up. As noted by Crain (1992,p. 9),'Many people have found Rousseau
ficient as a man that they have refused to take his ideas seriously, espe-
y on education. How can a man who abandoned his own children to an
anage have the audacity to prescribe the right upbringing for others?'
n the other hand, Rousseau was very pro-woman in his ideas about the
g of children. Consistent with the rest of his thinking about the
oriance of allowing the child to develop naturally, he considered that
dren needed the nurturance provided by a mother rather than the train-
and discipline that a father might attempt to provide. He was at odds
th the Renaissance notion that the father should take responsibility for
how the children are reared because of concerns that their mother would
1' them.
u say mothers spoil their children and no doubt that is wrong, but it is
worse to deprave them as you do. The mother wants her child to be
happy now. She is right, and if her method is wrong, she must be taught
better. Ambition, avarice, tyranny, the mistaken foresight of fathers,
ir neglect, their harshness, are a hundredfold more harmful to the
d than the blind affection of the mother.
(Rousseau, 1993 (orig. 1762),p. 5)
ever, whilst he was clear that the nurturing environment should come
the mother, he was equally clear that the necessary direction should
e from the father, acting in the role of 'governor'.
onsider how Rousseau's rather indulgent tone differs from the work of
son and Truby IGng in the early half of the twentieth century. We have
ady looked at the work of John Watson in relation to the induced phobia
ittle Albert'. On the basis of his very strong belief about environmental
uences, Watson prescribed how children should be treated by their
mothers. He too was concerned that mothers might 'spoil' their children.
Loves are home made, built in. The child sees the mother's face when
she pets it. Soon, the mere sight of the mother's face calls out the love
response. ...So with her footsteps, the sight of the mother's clothes, of
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36 An introductionto working with children
her photograph. All too soon the child gets shot through with too many
of these love reactions. (Watson, 1928,p. 75)
He continues:
...remember when you are tempted to pet your child that mother love
is a dangerous instrument. An instrument which may inflict a never
healing wound, a wound which may male infancy unhappy, adoles-
cence a nightmare, an instrument which may wreck your adult son or
daughter's vocational future and their chances for marital happiness.
(Watson, 1928,p. 87)
He believed that parents should behave towards their children like strict
executives, and like a good employee, the child was to learn to obey rules
and fulfil performance expectations. He believed in very rigid schedules
concerning both feeding and toilet training, advocating methods (e.g., ene-
mas for toilet training) that by today's standards might be considered to be
abusive.
This lund of rigid thinking about the discipline that children 'need' to
acquire, was continued in the work of Truby King, a New Zealand stock-
breeder who 'applied principles he developed rearing cattle to the upbring-
ing of children' (Burman, 1994, p. 52). Developing the concept of 'the
Truby King Baby', he advocated 'the establishment of perfect regularity of
habits, initiated by feeding and cleaning by the clock' (Newson and
Newson, 1974, p. 61). He advocated the beginning of bowel training at
three days of age.
The fourth stage of advice to parents is the stage of understanding and
meeting children's needs, which Burman (1994) describes as being influ-
enced by psychoanalytic theory, placing an emphasis on 'lay...emotional as
well as physical needs, and ... continuity of care' (p. 52). In keeping with
our emphasis here on gender issues, however, it should be noted that psy-
choanalysis was very biased in its consideration of boys and girls. As noted
by Trawick-Smith (1997),psychoanalytic theories tend to view the develop-
ment of male children as normal or ideal and to portray unique features of
female development as deficits. For example, the process of separating
from parents and becoming an autonomous person is important for boys,
while attachment and intimacy are the norm for girls. Yet psychoanalytic
theorists view separation as healthy and interpret intimacy as over-depen-
Child developmenttheory 37
rescription, and a mother who does not feel the kind of enjoyment she is
she ought to feel may well believe that this is due to a deficiency in
self. Of interest in this context is the fact that most of our post-natal
ces are aimed at 'high-risk' mothers, whereas it is the 'low-risk' mothers
are apt to expect that having a baby will be 'fun' and who may run into
ble when the reality does not meet their expectations.
have briefly described a number of theories of child development,
g them back to their origins in the work of either Locke or Rousseau,
commenting on their cultural and gender implications. There are two
her theories of child development that we will now consider: attach-
nt theory and social ecological theory. These are both considered funda-
tal for people engaged in work with children. Neither is really
uenced by Locke or Rousseau - attachment theory because it is more of
micro theory, dealing with a very specific and focused aspect of child
evelopment, and social ecological theory because it really is sui generis,
.,in a class of its own.
chrnent theory
is section loolts at the concept,of attachment, its definition, background,
application. To begin with, let us consider what attachment is.
chment can be defined as:
y behaviour designed to get children into a close, protective relation-
ip with their attachment figures whenever they experience anxiety.
owe et al., 1999, p. 14)
is definition has several components which should be highlighted before
look at the origins of attachment theory more closely. First, the actual
is one of proximity seelung. Whilst this may be closely related to
cts of the child's development (emotional security, relationship
lity, identity, etc.) the actual behaviour is one that can be observed. It
ntrasts, for example, with the following definition of attachment by
anyard and Grayson (1996, p. 217):
ttachment refers to a strong emotional tie between two people. In
developmental psychology, the term attachment is often taken to mean
the emotional tie between the infant and the adult care-giver.
dence or failure to separate. Secondly, Howe et al. (1999) are careful to avoid identification of the
The fifth and final stage is described as the individualism and fun moral- attachment figure as the mother, the father, or even the 'primary caregiver'.
ity stage, identified as beginning after the Second World War. The rise of There is an element of tautology in defining attachment in terms of attach-
affluence and the availabilityof choice are seen as related to notions of par- inent figures, but it does avoid the difficulty of being overly prescriptive.
ents enjoying their baby/child. However, even this can tale on the form of Finally, the behaviour can be elicited by any experience which causes
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38 An introductionto working with children
anxiety, not just separation. The presence of a stranger, or a novel but men-
acing experience, may trigger the attachment response.
John Bowlby (1907-90) is generally credited as being the founder of
attachment theory, but its roots can be traced further back to the etholo-
gists of the early twentieth century, and from there even to Darwin in the
nineteenth century.
Darwin was one of the first to study infant behaviour by direct observa-
tion. He kept a baby journal in which he recorded the visible changes in his
eldest child, Doddy, from the time he was born. Thus Darwin introduced a
useful technique for gathering data as well as a scientific approach to
studying children's behaviour. Within the context of his wider theorising
about the development of species, Darwin created the opportunity for
studying human behaviour by learning from animal behaviour - species
develop, societies develop, man develops. As noted by Kessen (1993), it is
from Darwin that we derive the notion that by careful observation of the
infant and child, we can see the descent of man. The debt to Darwin is
apparent in Bowlby's statement,
the only relevant criterion by which to consider the natural adaptedness
of any particular part of present-day man's behavioural equipment is the
degree to which and the way in which it might contribute to population
survival. (Bowlby, 1969, p. 87)
Bowlby was also influenced by ethologists such as Konrad Lorenz (1903-
89) and Niko Tinbergen (1907-88) who described imprinting, an instinc-
tive pattern of behaviour in animals which must occur at a certain period of
life (if it does not occur then, it will not occur at all), which is irreversible,
and which produces a proximity-seeking behaviour. As evidence of the
process, Lorenz had baby duclis and goslings imprint on him, so that
instead of forming a line behind the mother duck (or goose), they lined up
behind him, and followed him around. Bowlby's debt to the ethologists is
clear in the following:
We may conclude, therefore, that, so far as is at present known, the way
in which attachment behaviour develops in the human infant and
becomes focused on a discriminated figure is sufficiently like the way in
which it develops in other mammals and in birds, for it to be included,
legitimately, under the heading of imprinting. (Bowlby, 1969,p. 273)
Work by Harry Harlow (1905-81) on rhesus monkeys in 1958, further
contributed to Bowlby's thinking on attachment. In Harlow's experiments,
baby rhesus monkeys were reared on dummy monkeys, and the lack of the
social contact that a real monliey would have provided was found to have
Child developmenttheory 39
tic social consequences for the babies later in life. In a variation on
riment, two dummies were provided, one soft and cuddly, and the
ard but able to provide food. The monkeys were found to spend
f their time clinging to the soft and cuddly dummy, only leaving for
eriods to feed off the other. However, these monkeys too grew up to
ally inept, and later studies, which incorporated sowe amount of
ontact, suggested that it is the social contact that is more important
ither the 'soft and cuddly' feeling or (within reason) the food.
ng to Bowlby (1969) human infants aged 6 months to 5 years
o caregivers and the caregivers bond to the babies. He described
in this attachmentlbonding process as 'maternal deprivationJ,
ded that maternal deprivation could lead to psychopathic and
tionless ~ersonalitytypes. He suggests,
y forms of psychiatric disturbance can be attributed either to devia-
s in the development of attachment behaviour or more rarely, to fail-
of its development. (Bowlby, 1977,p. 202)
Iby collaborated with James and Joyce Robertson who produced a
of films of children in separation situations, highlighting the impact
tors such as gender, the age of the child at separation, familiarity with
setting in which the child wa$ cared for, the type of care setting, con-
t with the attachment figures, and so forth. The situations in the films
two-year-old goes to hospital
ohn, aged seventeen months, in a residential nurseiy for nine days
te, aged two years, five months, in foster care for twenty-seven days
omas, aged two years, four months, in foster care for ten days
cy, aged twenty-one months, in foster care for nineteen days
ne, aged seventeen months, in foster care for ten days
mparison of two children (John and Jane) of the same age highlights
t how different the impact can be. John spends nine days in a residential
rsery where he arrives in the middle of the night without preparation,
ilst his mother is in hospital. Jane, on the other hand, is fostered by Joyce
bertson. In anticipation of the planned stay, she has visited the Robertson
me and become familiar with Mr and Mrs Robertson. She is in receipt
of one-to-one care, with the same caregiver, all the time she is there. The
outcomes are very different. For John the experience is traumatic, and in the
mentaries to the films the Robertsons indicate that there are long-term
tive consequences. For Jane, there are occasions of distress, but they
ot overwhelming, and overall the experience seems to be positive, with-
out long-term ill effects. The work of the Robertsons has been extremely
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40 An introductionto working with children
influential. Two examples of this are the closing of residential nurseries dur- Another influence on Bowlby's thinking was the psychoanalytic school of
ing the 1960s and 1970s, and the extension of hospital visiting schemes to ought. Bowlby had considered a number of alternative foundations
include open access for parents of young children. We will revisit the issue r the development of attachment behaviours, and concluded that they
of separation when we discuss 'looked-after children' in Chapter 6. not incompatible, and could operate together. For example, he can-
The work of Bowlby has not been without its critics. Most significant has red that attachment as a means of protecting vulnerable youngsters
been the reassessment of the concept of maternal deprivation by Rutter predators did not contradict the need for the infant 'to learn from the
(1972), who was particularly critical of focusing separation and attachment er various activities necessary for survival' (p. 274).
issues solely on the mother. He comments, Vera Fahlberg (1988) developed the attachment model further, using a
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that the sole principal attachment eds arousal and fulfilment model, with two cycles, to understand the
was to the mother in only half of the eighteen-month-old children they elopment of attachment and bonding between infant and caregiver. In
studied and in nearly a third of cases the main attachment was to the arousal and relaxation cycle, the child experiences a need leading to
father. (Rutter, 1972,p. 17) leasure (arousal) which is followed by satisfaction of the need by the
iver and quiescence on the part of the child (relaxation) until a further
Rutter notes that the separation experiences of children are treated as if arises. The need could be anything requiring action on the part of the
they were a separation from the mother only, whereas, 'in fact they consist aregiver (hunger - the child needs to be fed; too much sun - the child
of separation from mother and father and siblings and the home environ- eeds to be moved into the shade; messy nappy - the child needs to be
ment' (p. 48). He goes on to identify those factors that mediate the short- anged; boredom - the child needs stimulation). This cycle is initiated by
term effects of maternal deprivation, such as the age, sex and temperament e child and its continuous operation leads to the development of trust,
of the child, the previous mother-child relationship, the child's previous curity and attachment on the part of the child. However, the actions of
experiences of separation, the duration of the separation or deprivation expe- e caregiver bring about an obvious satisfaction of the need (for example,
rience, the presence of other familiar people, and the nature of the circum- the child stops crying) and this sbccess is satisfying to the caregiver. The
stances during the separationldeprivation. If one were to take all of these caregiver may then initiate a '~isitiveInteraction Cycle'. Here, the care-
factors and put them into a worst scenariohest scenario framework, it could giver initiates positive interactions with the child, which ~roducespositive
be seen that the impact of separation from the mother for a child may be responses on the part of the child. The child's positive responses in turn
extremely damaging, or have minimal consequences, or be somewhere in lead the caregiver to initiate more positive interactions with the child. The
between depending on the circumstances of the separation. continuous operation of this cycle leads to the development of self-worth
Rutter also looked at those factors that modify the long-term conse- and self-esteem (presumably on the part of both caregiver and child). In
quences of separation. In considering the impact of the separation from the other work, Fahlberg has clarified the distinction between the attachment
parents he noted the various impacts of multiple mothering, transient sepa- and bonding processes. Attachment is seen as the child's responding pat-
rations, and prolonged or permanent separations. He considered the type of tern in the cycle; bonding is seen as the development of positive (and
child care, the presence of good relationships between child and caregiver, rewarding) responses on the part of the caregiver. Attachment is what the
and the opportunity to develop attachments to other adults. As with short- child does; bonding is what the caregiver does.
term separations, he also considered the impact of the age, sex and tem- These cycles set the patterns for later life. Children base their views and
perament of the child. He concluded that children who had mentally ill expectations of the world on how they are responded to and how their
parents or histories of family discord, whose behaviour was difficult to needs are met. Parents, too, may base their future behaviour on how the
change, who did not mind messiness and disorder and who were markedly child responds. If they feel that they are unable to satisfy the child (for
irregular in their eating and sleeping patterns were significantly more likely example, the child continues to cry despite all their efforts), they may get
than other children to develop deviant behaviours. frustrated and disheartened and make no further effort.
In summary, in view of Rutter's work, separation in childhood is not nec- As part of her work, Fahlberg has produced very clear observation check-
essarily damaging, and will not necessarily lead to damaged adults. That is lists for practitioners assessing attachment. These are differentiated accord-
not, of course, to say that it should be treated lightly, and one should ing to age: birth to one year, one to five years, primary school children, and
always be mindful of the potentially damaging impact. adolescents. For each age group, the checklists take into account both what
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42 An introduction to working with children
the child does and what the parent(s) do. Another aspect of Fahlberg's
work incorporates the needs of children at various ages into a life task
model. She describes the various 'tasks' that children must accomplish in
order to fulfil their needs as they go from stage to stage in their develop-
ment. These are briefly outlined here.
1. Basic t a s b in thefirst year of l.ilfe
1.1 The meeting of dependency needs;
1.2 The building up of trust and feelings of security, i.e., attachment;
1.3 The beginning of sorting out perceptions of the world.
2. Basic taslzs of the toddler years
2.1 The need to develop a sense of autonomy and identity;
2.2 Continued sorting out of perceptions of the world and the need to
relate to an increasing number of people, to learn their reactions
and to respond;
2.3 Period of rapid language acquisition needs lots of stimulation -
particularly with spoken language.
3. Bclsic taslzs ofpre-school children (3-6 years)
3.1 Continuing individuation and self-proficiency in the family setting,
learning to care for self; bathing, dressing and toileting, but may still
need help. Needs opportunities to play with children of own age as
well as family members;
3.2 Dramatic change in conceptual functioning.
4. Basic tasb ofpriwzary school age children (6-12 years)
4.1 To master problems experienced outside the family;
4.2 Increased academic learning;
4.3 Acquisition of gross motor skills.
5. Basic taslzs of adolescents
5.1 Psychological separation from the family;
5.2 Identity issues.
Another theorist concerned with attachment was Mary hnsworth. With
her colleagues (Ainsworth et al., 1978), she developed a procedure for
empirically measuring a child's attachment. The procedure is called the
'Strange Situation', and consists of eight 3-minute episodes during which
the child is brought into a strange room with his or her mother, is joined by
a stranger, and is separated from the mother, who later returns. Raters
measure the child's reactions to both separations and reunions. The actual
procedure is described below.
e Stage 1 The infant and her mother are brought into a comfortably fur-
nished laboratory playroom and the child has an opportunity to
explore this new environment.
2 Another female adult, whom the child does not know, enters
the room and sits tallng in a friendly way, first to the mother
and then to the child.
e 3 While the stranger is talking to the child, the mother leaves the
room unobtrusively, at a prearranged signal.
e 4 The stranger tries to interact with the child.
e 5 Mother returns and the stranger leaves her together with the
child.
e 6 Mother then goes out of the room leaving the child there
alone.
e 7 Stranger returns and remains in the room with the child.
tnge 8 Mother returns once more.
video record is scored in terms of the child's behaviour towards the
n in the room: seeking contact, maintaining contact, avoidance of
act and resistance to contact. On the basis of this measure, hnsworth
colleagues described four basic types of attachment (exclusive of a very
11category of children subsequently described as non-attached).
he main type is Type B, a secure attachment pattern. These children
during separation, but are easily soothed upon reunion when the
er returns. They seek and maintain contact during the reunion.
es A and C both describe 'types of insecure patterns of attachment:
slavoidant and anxiouslambivalent respectively. In Type A, the
ous/avoidant type of insecure attachment, the child shuns contact with
mother after she returns. Either the mother is ignored or the child's
ome is mixed with other responses, such as turning away or averting
e gaze. The stranger and the mother are treated similarly. In Type C, the
ous/ambivalent type of insecure attachment, the child is very upset
mg the absence, but is not easily consoled upon the mother's return.
child resists contact, but there is some proximity-seeking during the
nion. The child is ambivalent about reunions after separations. He or
resists comforting from the stranger.
ter these three categories had been described, another category, Type
disorganised), was added because not all of the children observed fit
y into the previous three categories. Type D (disorganised) is charac-
tic of families where there has been parental pathology, child abuse, or
er indicators of very high social risk. The child appears dazed or con-
ed or is made apprehensive by the separation, and shows no coherent
stem for dealing with either the separations or the reunions. The child's
ehaviour may suggest fear and confusion about the relationship and what
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44 An introduction to working with children
That being said, it is interesting to note that Lamb et al. (1985),in their
observation of 32 children who had been maltreated or abused either by
the mother or by someone else, found that maltreatment by mothers was
associated with a marked increase in the number of insecure (especially
anxiouslavoidant) patterns of attachment. However, where the maltreat-
ment was by someone other than mother, the pattern of attachment to the
mother seemed to be unaffected.
Finally, it is useful to consider attachment in a cross-cultural context.
Woodhead (1998) conducted a study of early child-care and education pro-
grammes in India, Mexico, France, Venezuela and Kenya. He found that
patterns of attachment in all of the countries followed a similar course,
peaking between 10 and 15 months. He also found differences in a number
of aspects related to attachment: for example, the numbers and patterns of
attachments, the ways in which caregivers respond to infant distress, and
the regulation o f close relationships within families. He reminds us that the
findings of Bowlby in relation to attachment were in the context of com-
missioned work reflecting postwar concerns about the impact or otherwise
of separation on children who had been in day care whilst mothers con-
tributed to the war effort. In that sense he observes,
evaluations of day care that rely on the standard classifications of secure
and insecure attachment prescribed by the 'Strange Situation' (hnsworth
et al., 1978) may misinterpret the emotional adjustment of children for
whom separation and reunion has been a daily recurrence. (p. 9)
In this context, we should be aware that separation and reunion is a daily
occurrence for many of the children social workers work with today. Many
of them are cared for outside the home while their parents work.
Coming back to cross-cultural comparisons, Barnes (1995) summarises
the work of Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988), who prepared a
meta-analysis of attachment studies across different cultures, loolung at
West Germany, the UK, Holland, Sweden, Israel, Japan, China and the
USA. They used the Strange Situation categories. Whilst attachment pat-
terns appeared in all of the countries, there were variations between the
countries. Sanders (1999,p. 30) notes that the findings highlight.
some very strong differences in the proportion of these three types of
attachment patterns in children in different cultures, making a tendency
to generalise about attachment across cultures something to be under-
taken with extreme caution.
Like other issues previously discussed (e.g., autonomy vs. collective respon-
sibility), the different patterns of attachments in different countries may be
cological theory (Bronfenbrenner)
Id be fair to describe the ecology of human development theory
a way of understanding how children (and adults) grow and
opment in that their exclusive focus was
of the individual, and they ignored wider
n develop. This is certainly true of all of
we have so far considered. Likewise,
those disciplines which are more social
t
their methodological limitations. In this
there are close parallels with Durkin's (1996) notion of the need for
For Durkin, the fundamental difficulty
gy was not social and social psychology
ppears to be on the verge of gripping the imagina-
nvolved with children either as practitioners or as
lists. Some would argue it is not before time, con-
that it has been around for nearly a quarter of a century. As sug-
age models have become less useful, models which allow more pre-
e classificat~onand measurement of the environment have grown more
cessary. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) Ecology of Huwzan De~elo~nze~zthas
erged as by far the most cited and influential reference in develop-
1st the extent of its influence is perhaps more debatable than suggested
arrett, there can be no doubt that interest in Bronfenbrenner's model is
reasing. One of the real benefits for students and practitioners alike is
t such a model enables them to see their clients in the widest possible
cia1 contexts. In the hurly-burly of everyday casework, it is easy to lose
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46 An introductionto working with children
sight of the wider picture, and indeed, keeping in mind the wider picture is
an ongoing struggle with which every practitioner should be engaged. But
the wider picture is often devalued, first because of its seeming lack of rele-
vance to everyday work, and secondly because of the inability of practition-
ers to actually do anything about the wider context within which their
clients find themselves. For example, Blackburn (1991, 1993) looks at the
issue of poverty and the strategies that practitioners can adopt to address i
She notes (1991, p. 8) that 'the fact that poverty is an everyday reality for
growing number of families means that work with families needs to be
based on a clear understanding of the meaning, causes and dimensions of
poverty in Britain today'. She also notes powerful barriers to addressing
poverty: practitioners not believing they have a mandate to address it, and
practitioners feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem.
Perhaps one of the reasons why ecological theory is not applied as exten-
sively as it might be is because the concepts are rather difficult to under-
stand. Readers of Bronfenbrenner struggle with his material. They struggle
for two main reasons. First, Bronfenbrenner is not easy to read. Like the
work of many other child-development theorists (Freud, Piaget), there is an
abstruse quality to the text that makes it difficult to get through. And like
earlier theorists, he has created new words (neologisms)in order to express
the ideas contained within the theory. As we continue in this chapter, we
will encounter 'chronosystems', 'ecological transitions', 'microsystemsJ,
'mesosystems', 'exosystems', and 'macrosystemsJ. To male matters worse,
he has located these new words in a series of definitions (1-14), proposi-
tions (A-H) and hypotheses (1-50).
The main thrust of the ecological model is the adaptation between the
individual and his or her environment. Bronfenbrenner defines the ecology
of human development as follows:
the scientific study of the progressive, mutual accommodation, through-
out the lifespan, between a growing human organism and the changing
immediate environments in which it lives, as this process is affected by
relations obtaining within and between these immediate settings, as well
as the larger social contexts, both formal and informal, in which the set-
tings are embedded. (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 21)
You see why a whole text written like this would be difficult to follow.
The mutual accoinmodation mentioned in the definition is the result of
the individual and the environment interacting with each other. The indi-
vidual plays an active role in influencing the environment, which in turn
exerts an influence on the individual, which takes into account that previ-
ous influence, and so on. It is a synergistic (combined) cycle of influence
between the changing individual and the changing environment.
e 2.1 Bronfenbrenner's ecology of human development
7zicros)atenz (small system) is defined as:
pattern of activities, roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by
he developing person in a given setting with particular physical and
aterial characteristics. (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 22)
mples of the microsystem would be the home, the school, and the work-
e. It is this level to which most traditional theories of child development
rict themselves. Wherever there is a setting in which the child is physi-
ally present, there is a microsystem for his or her development. Considera-
ns of the quality of care in the family environment come under this
system. Family therapy is based largely in this system. Notions about the
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quality of out-of-home care (for example, in nurseries and playgroups, an another example, consider two of the microsystems of an adolescent,
other preschool care) are based in this level of system. For any one child amily and the peer group. The nature of the relationship between the
there is not one microsystem, but many. This is true at any one period o scent's parents and the adolescent's peer group is likely to exert an
time, but becomes more true as the child grows older. In fact, one way nce on the young person that is distinct from the two separate influ-
understanding child-development microsystems as the child grows is spectively. Perhaps the adolescent will identify more completely
considering their proliferation in number and complexity.To begin with, t peer group, in defiance of his parents, or less completely, in com-
child is largely rooted in the family system. As he or she grows, the chl with his parentsJwishes.
moves into the school system, and learns to move back and forth between course it is important to remember that the influence is reciprocal.
these two microsystems. As the child gets older still (and becomes mor t only does the nature of the relationship between ~arent(s)and school
independent), the child moves more and more between many differen nce the child, but the child influences the nature of that relationship.
microsystems. By the time children become adolescents, they may have no same is true in the case of the adolescent and his or her peer group.
one, but several different peer groups to which they relate in different ways.
osystenz (outside system) is defined as:
The ITzesosystenz (middle system) is defined as comprising:
one or more settings that do not involve the developing person as an
the interrelations among two or more settings in which the developing
active participant, but in which events occur that affect, or are affected
person actively participates (such as, for a child, the relations among
by, what happens in the setting containing the developing person.
home, school, and neighbourhood; for an adult, among family, work, and
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 25)
social life). (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 25)
Examples of the mesosystem would be interactions between family, school, pies of the exosystem include the world of work, the neighbourhood
peer group and church. Bronfenbrenner describes the mesosystem as a 'sys- cal community, the mass media, agencies of government (local, state
tem of microsystems' (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 25). It is a system compris- national), communication and transportation facilities, and informal
ing the network of the different microsystems of the child. In the last 25 1 networks. The exosystem is the most challenging to understand, but
years we have seen considerable thinking about the concept of 'partnership ain features are that it does not contain the individual and that it is
with parents', and it is here that the concept is most easily illustrated. (although it may reflect locally the operation of national factors).
Consider, for example, the influence of the relationship between parents and standing the impact of the exosystem on the individual is a two-
teachers in handling a nine-year-old boy's behavioural difficulty. In the first ge process. The first stage is to demonstrate the impact of the exosystem
case, the parents and the teachers are able to discuss the problem so that a the individual's microsystem. The second stage is to demonstrate the
concerted and consistent approach can be adopted in both home and school ulting impact of the microsystem on the individual. If either is absent,
(let's say, for example, a behavioural programme). The parents do not feel n the system is not an exosystem for the individual. This also works in
threatened by the teacher, who treats them with respect and values their erse; that is, the individual may exert an impact on his or her microsys-
contribution. They do not feel defensive, as if they are being accused of caus- in a way which has wider repercussions beyond the microsystem. For
ing the difficulty that the school then has to deal with. In the second sce- ample, a child might interact with his peer group in a way that causes
nario, however, the parents do feel threatened, as if someone is pointing the ruption in a youth centre and affects the local community.
finger of blame at them. They therefore work less effectivelywith the school
in developing a home/school strategy. There may be a number of resulting
difficulties. The problem may not be able to be resolved at all. The solution e nzncrosysteqqz (large system) is defined as:
of the problem may be situation specific (it continues at home but not at consistencies, in the form and content of lower-order systems (micro-,
school, or vice versa). The problem may take longer to resolve than necessary. meso-, and exo-) that exist, or could exist, at the level of the subculture
The point for our purposes here is that the nature of the relationship between or the culture as a whole, along with any belief systems or ideology
the school and home, in itself, is an influence on how the child will develop. underlying such consistencies. (p. 26)
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50 An introductionto working with children
Examples of the macrosystem can be both explicit (for example, laws, regu-
lations and rules) and implicit (for example, belief systems as they
are reflected in custom and practice). It is here that we see another influ-
ence on Bronfenbrenner's thinking about child development. Nearly ten
years earlier he wrote a book (Bronfenbrenner, 1970) in which he raised a
question about how the cultural differences between the USSR and the
USA in bringing up children affected the children's lives. The main dimen-
sion he looked at was 'concern of one generation for the next', concluding
that the greater investment of adults in the lives of their children in the
USSR contrasted with the trend to age-segregated peer-group influences in
the USA. He wrote that:
children in the USA are more likely to be cruel, inconsiderate or dishon-
Child development theory 51
ractitioner to look widely at the influences on a particular child in a
lar place, and in doing so challenges the practitioner to become
of how structural inequalities within society are played out in the
immediate situations that the practitioner encounters. However, a
inual difficulty for the practitioner is how to put theory into practice.
cent Fra~~zavorkfor the Assessnzent of Children .in Need (Department
1th et al., 2000) encourages practitioners to think widely in their
e care and upbringing of children does not take place in a vacuum. All
mily members are influenced both positively and negatively by the wider
mily, the neighbourhood and social networks in which they live (p. 35)
est, that fewer of them are polite, orderly, lund or helpful, that many are
se ideas, however, stop at the exosystem level of analysis. Whilst the
selfish and few have any real sense of responsibility. In contrast, Soviet
ance does not go so far as to prescribe that macrosystem factors should
children develop a concern for others and feeling of community at an
art of the assessment, it is argued here that they are very significant,
early age. (Bronfenbrenner, 1970, sleeve notes)
are integrally related to an understanding of the child in his or her situ-
It is at the level of the macrosystem that we can consider the ways in which n. A consideration of the macrosystem for an individual child is impor-
children internalise values in relation to gender, disability, race, sexual ori- r. because it calls upon the practitioner to locate his or her practice in
entation, and so forth. An important part of the macrosystem is the way in e widest possible ~oliticaland social contexts, and can serve as a secure
which ideologies at the national level (based on power definitions of what is sis for developing anti-discriminatory practice.
P
'normal') operate at the local level, through books that the child reads, tele-
vision, the behaviour of adults, and a host of other influences. We can chapter, we have looked at the different sides of the nurture-nature
understand macrosystem influences best when we are able to compare e as illustrated by the work of Locke and Rousseau and the develop-
them with the macrosystem influences of other cultures: for example, tal theorists who followed them. We have discussed cultural and gen-
Bronfenbrenner's contrast between the results of child-rearing practices in der issues in child development, and have touched on attachment theory
the USA and the USSR. and social ecological theory. In the next chapter, we will focus on the skills
needed to work with children and families.
Now we come to the concept of ecological transition, which takes account
of changes over time. Such a transition is defined as: Some exercises
whenever a person's position in the ecological environment is altered
as the result of a change in role, setting, or both. Exercise 2.1 Nature/nurture
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 26) Consider various aspects of how children develop, and share views on the
Examples of ecological transitions are the birth of a new baby, the arrival of extent to which they are determined by heredity or by environment. Some
a sibling, the child's first day at school, beginning work, or the loss of a sig- examples (but please use more) are:
- -
nificant person from the microsystem. Indeed any loss from the microsys- intelligence
tem, any addition to it, or any change in the way the components of the
temperament
microsystem relate to each other could entail an ecological transition. physical attributes (consider different kinds, stature, body shape)
One of the main advantages of an ecological orientation towards child personal likes and dislikes
development is its congruence with anti-discriminatory practice. It exhorts abilitiesltalents (e.g., music or art)
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52 An introduction to working with children
Exercise 2.2 Spare the rod
Consider from the perspective of learning theory the effectiveness of physi-
cal punishment on a child in relation to:
(a) the impact on the non-desired behaviour;
(b) the learning of the legitimacy of aggression by children.
Exercise 2.3 Spoiledgoods?
Consider the meaning of the word 'spoil' in everyday usage. What does it
mean? How is that concept applied to 'spoiling' a child? How does it reflect
societal expectations about the role of children?
Exercise 2.4 Separationexperiences
Consider any separation experience you may have had in your life (or that
of someone very close to you). What factors made the separation worse?
What factors made it better?
Exercise 2.5 Applying the ecologicalmodel
Tale any well-known individual (it could be real or fictional) about whom
there is a sufficient quantity of biographical information. Describe all the
factors you can in relation to the four systems (microsystem, mesosystem,
exosystem, macrosystem) that impinge on that individual.
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