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1
Janet Belsky’s
Experiencing the Lifespan, 2e
Chapter 7
Settings for Development:
Home and School
Meredyth Fellows, West Chester University of PA
Settings for Development: Home
�Two-parent Families
�Traditional
�Blended
�Adoptive, Gay,
Foster, and
Grandparent-headed
families
�One-parent Families
�Typically mother-
headed
Keys to Thriving: Home
Setting
�Secure Attachment
�Goodness-of-fit
�Parenting Styles: Diana Baumrind
�Classified by two dimensions:
�Parental Responsiveness
�Structure, or “rules”
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
�Authoritative
�Authoritarian
�Permissive
�Rejecting-
Neglecting
2
Critiquing Baumrind’s
Parenting Styles
�Each parent may adopt a different
discipline style
�Key is to “agree to disagree”
�Do not argue in the presence of the child
�Parenting involves more than providing
love and discipline
�Teach values, help with homework,
arrange after-school activities
Critiquing Baumrind’s
Parenting Styles
�Child-rearing approaches
vary by culture and
ethnicity
�Life conditions matter!
�The best parents adapt
their discipline style to the
environment.
Resilient Children
�Qualities
�Superior emotional regulation skills
�Outgoing personality
�Special talent
�High self-efficacy and optimistic world view
�Strong faith or sense of meaning in life
�At least one warm loving relationship
�Good “genes”: easy temperament, superior
intellectual and social skills
Do Parents Matter?
�Questioning Baumrind’s correlations:
behavior geneticists argue—
�“Easy” child may evoke authoritative
parents (temperament drives parenting
style)
�Warm, loving parents may pass on the
“warm, loving” genetic predispositions
3
Do Parents Matter?
�Judith Harris: our
peers socialize us to
become adults
�Learning is
context-specific
�Acculturation
�Immigrants
assimilate to any
new culture
Conclusion: Variety of Influences
Shape Development
�Developmental Systems approach
�Developmentalists agree:
�Provide best possible environment
�Provide sensitive caregiving
�Proper discipline (avoid power assertion)
Corporal Punishment Debate
�Against the law in most
E.U. countries
�U.S., most believe
spanking acceptable
�Spanking peaks in
preschool
�Some parents use more
severe practices
�Psychologists split about
this issue
Child Abuse/Maltreatment
�Categories
�Physical
�Neglect
�Emotional
�Sexual
�Risk Factors
�Parent personality issues
�Life stress
�Child Characteristics
4
Interventions: Child Abuse
�Report suspected abuse to child
protection services
�Options
�Remove child from home; place in foster
care; limit or terminate parental rights
�Leave child in home while providing
intensive support and counseling to
caregivers
Divorce
�Global studies: children of
divorce are more at risk for
academic, social, physical
and mental difficulties
�Contributing Factors
�Economic stresses of single-
parent household
�Difficulties and transitions
experienced both prior to and
during divorce
Divorce: Interventions
School: Socioeconomic Status
and School Readiness
�At right, kindergartners’
scores on tests of
readiness for reading and
math
�Economic status has
strong influence on
children’s readiness and
chances for academic
success at start of school
careers.
5
Intelligence and IQ Tests
�IntelligenceTests
�Given individually
�Designed to predict general academic potential
�Measures only cognitive abilities
�AchievementTests
�Given to groups of children
�Measure knowledge in various subjects
�WISC
�Standard intelligence test used in childhood; given to
groups of children
�Verbal (answer questions)
�Performance (manipulate materials)
Bell-Shaped Curve: WISC
�68% (68thpercentile)
scores between 85 & 115
�95.44% scores between
70 & 130
�Gifted= 130, 98th
percentile, top 2% for
age
�Mentally Retarded=
70 (if other behaviors
warrant this
designation)
Specific Learning Disability
�Label given when IQ is far higher than
achievement test scores
�Dyslexia (underlying neurological impairment)
�Other than ADHD, most frequently diagnosed
�Reading, spelling difficulties
�Diagnosed more in boys than girls
�Higher risk for developing other mental difficulties
(anxiety, depression)
�May be diagnosed with ADHD (15%-50%)
6
Criteria for Test Accuracy
�Reliability
�Scores must be fairly similar when taken
more than once
�IQ tests reliable after age 6
�Validity
�Does the test measure what it is supposed
to measure?
�IQ tests are valid: good predictor of
academic performance
Do IQ Scores Predict Real-
World Performance?
�The Debate:
�“G-factor” Psychologists: IQ scores tap into
the g-factor—genetic capacities for success
in every domain
�Anti g-factor: IQ is onlyvalid as test of
academicperformance
�We have different talents
�Do not label as “smart” or “not smart”
Robert Sternberg: Successful
Intelligence
�The optimal form of
cognition, involving
a balance of the
following
intelligences:
�Analytical (academic)
�Creative
�Practical
Howard Gardner: Multiple
Intelligences
�Verbal and Mathematical
�Spatial skills
�Kinesthetic abilities
�Interpersonal talents
�Intrapersonal skills
�Musical skills
�Naturalist talent
7
Interventions: Lessons for
Schools
�Gardner
�Multiple-intelligences theory helps non-
traditional learners succeed in traditional
schools
�Sternberg
�Experimental results: teaching with every
type of intelligence produces better
classroom performance
Successful Schools
�Teachers serving disadvantaged
children are beating the odds:
�Set high standards for everyone
�Believe students can succeed
�Offer excess of nurture to both students
and teachers
�Have defined, structured priorities
�Authoritative in approach
Producing Eager Learners
�The Problem:
�School erodes intrinsic motivation by
providing external reinforcers
�Grading system contributes to feelings of
inadequacy
�School lessons do not tap into a child’s
creativity (lessons often rote and boring)
Producing Eager Learners
�The Solution: encourage extrinsic learning to
be more intrinsic
�Foster relevance and application; make extrinsic
learning relate to internal goals and desires
�Provide autonomy (offer choices of how to do
work)
�Foster relatedness between teacher and student
�Provide creative projects
�Don’t compare students
�Assume every child is intelligent and can succeed