Applied Child Study

A Developmental Approach

Anthony D. Pellegrini, David F. Bjorklund

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 1998
• ISBN:
  9781135682798
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Child study is a very complex field. Human beings, and children, specifically, are very complex beings. Consequently, simple answers and solutions to problems are very often just that: too simple. This text presents principles and methods for studying children in the varied contexts in which they live and function. These theories and methods can be used as a kind of "tool kit" for application in a variety of situations by the people who work with children such as researchers, parents, educators, pediatricians, nurses, social workers, and child psychologists, to name but a few. In short, the book is written for people interested in how to examine and describe children as well as those interested in creating educational environments for children.

1
Applied Child Study: An Introduction

This book is meant to serve as a source for the varied group of professionals who work with children. This group includes researchers, parents, educators, pediatricians, nurses, social workers, and child psychologists. In short, the book is written for those interested in examining and describing children as well as those interested in creating educational environments for children. As such, this book outlines different ways in which children can be viewed.

Child study is a very complex field; human beings, and children, specifically, are very complex. Consequently, simple answers and solutions to problems are very often too simple. A short example helps make the point. Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of having problems with our car. We take the car to the mechanic and explain the problem. The mechanic diagnoses the problem and attempts to solve it. We get the car back, and very often the problem is still there! Why is this all-too-familiar example relevant? The reason is, compared to children, cars are VERY SIMPLE! If well-trained professionals have difficulty with this relatively simple entity, think of the difficulty involved in “figuring out” children, who are vastly more complex than even the most complex car.

Our best hope for gaining insight into children and their worlds is through the systematic study of the varied contexts in which they live and function. This is best accomplished through training in a variety of methods following the scientific method. After a phenomenon is recognized, we should generate hypotheses, or educated hunches, that we think might be causing or related to the phenomenon. These hunches should then be tested, systematically, until we arrive at a satisfactory answer. Furthermore, seemingly similar phenomena may have different causes and consequences with different children, thus the process should be repeated under slightly varying conditions.

Our message, in short, is that there are very few simple answers and solutions to working with children. Indeed, we are skeptical of such simple answers. Your best guide in the venture of working with children is an understanding of theory and methods in child study. This book provides that basis.

Our underlying belief is that sound theory and empirical research are needed to guide effective work with children. Consequently, this book is organized such that different theories and methods for studying children are presented. Our aim is provide students with a repertoire of theoretical and research skills that will be useful in their work. Students should view the theories and methods as a “tool kit” that can be applied to various situations.

Another underlying basis of this book is its “developmental orientation,” which assumes that children are qualitatively different from adults: They see the world in ways different from adults. Some of the best, and most common, examples of this qualitative difference between children and adults come from Piaget. For example, children have difficulty looking at a problem from a number of perspectives. So when we ask a question about which two arrays of sticks is greater in number, spatial arrangement of those items affects children’s answers more directly than answers given by adults.

Correspondingly, we do not assume that these developmental differences between children and adults are deficits. We assume that these characteristics have evolved in direct response to the demands of childhood. In other words, there is good reason for children to be as they are: They are not merely imperfect adults. The notion of development is explicitly addressed in the next chapter.

In writing each chapter we tried to stress the skills necessary to describe children and ways in which different situations, or contexts, affect children and the theories underlying all this. An assumption of this book is that we need both objective ways of studying children and good theories of child development to make sense of our observations. Such theoretical descriptions, in turn, are necessary before we can design environments and programs that will optimally facilitate children’s development. Thus, description, theory, and application are seen as interdependent processes necessary to study and work with children.

This book is organized to reflect this orientation. We discuss a number of current theories of child development and learning as well as a number of different methods of studying children, because there are currently several feasible theories to explain children’s behavior and thinking in any given domain. The observer should examine each theory critically and decide what is the most relevant for his or her purposes. Too often textbooks adhere to only one theory, either implicitly or explicitly. This leaves the naive reader with the assumption that the theory being discussed is not a theory but truth. The history of science generally (Kuhn, 1962), and the history of child psychology specifically, indicates that theories wax and wane no matter how entrenched they may be at any one time.

Readers of this text will, hopefully, see the relative merits of different theories and support the theories in light of their observations of children’s behavior. An important test of a theory, of course, is its ability to account for what children do; that is, do children act the way a theory predicts? Additionally, students with an interest in applied issues have an additional requirement for a theory: the extent to which the theory can be used to change children’s and caretakers’ behavior and thinking in applied settings. In short, theories are needed to help us explain the phenomena we study and to apply that knowledge.

The interdependence of theory as part of the “basic” scientific venture of studying children cannot, from our perspective, be divorced from the contexts they inhabit. That is, children’s behaviors probably evolved in response to and in order to affect the contexts in which they live. As is discussed in more detail in chapter 3, this interdependence between context and behavior necessitates that we consider them in concert. This orientation is basic to certain constructs such as “adaptation” and “everyday cognition.”

Such an “everyday” approach to child study is useful, then, because it helps us understand the ways in which children do develop and grow to the extent that children are embedded in multiple contexts. Knowledge gained from the study of children who develop optimally in different contexts can then be used to design specific programs.

A number of different methodologies are also reviewed. We also stress “number” here because we are convinced that there is no one best method by which to study children. As noted earlier, the venture is much too complex to be adequately addressed by one method, so different methods are used to answer different questions. Questions, in turn, are determined by our theories. Thus, unity is necessary to correctly study children: Specific theories assume specific questions and methods; again, however, the choice of a method and corresponding theory should be grounded in the ability of the theory to explain children in their everyday contexts.

An important point to be made here is that different methods have different theoretical assumptions. Our assumptions of children and the worlds in which they live should be made explicit through theoretical statements, which should then guide our study of children to the extent that our methods of studying children and designing environments for them are consistent with our assumptions.

As the reader can infer, there are no “quick fixes” in child study. It is a laborious process with no quick or certain answers. Answers are only as meaningful as the theories and data collection methods that are used to answer the questions; as such, this book does not provide answers to questions such as: How do I discipline and teach my children? It does provide answers relevant to questions about studying children’s behaviors and learning. The reader will then have to apply his or her preferred theory to the observations to tests those answers. Answers to specific questions, such as discipline methods, therefore, are provided only after the student observes children, generates hypotheses, and then tests the hypotheses. The student trying to answer such practical questions uses similar procedures to those employed by a researcher studying children. The reason we have chosen this analytic approach to child study is really very simple. Children and the contexts they live in are very complex and often unique. No one writing a book can reasonably provide answers for discipline or learning problems that he or she knows little or nothing about. Further, professionals working with children, such as teachers, clinicians, nurses, and physicians, should and can be given the opportunity to design programs they feel are best for their group of children. This goal can be accomplished only through systematic child study. In short, this book should help you engage in the enterprise of the scientific study of children in applied settings. The theories and methods presented should be judged useful to the extent that they explain children’s behavior in your specific situation.

The book should be used as a source that outlines, in an objective way, different theories of development/learning and different methodologies; the decision on how to collect and interpret data will be left to the reader. Thus, the dichotomy between research and practice should be replaced by an orientation of using research to solve everyday, or practical, problems.

WHAT IS CHILD STUDY?

Child study starts with working with children. First we try to understand the ways in which they develop, grow, and learn in their everyday habitats. This knowledge is then used to design environments for children. Various theories attempt to explain the meaning of children’s behavior and development, provide different methods of collecting child data, and show how intervening in children’s lives can facilitate optimal development. By its very nature, therefore, child study is interdisciplinary. In this volume we draw from theory and research in fields ranging, literally, from anthropology to zoology.

This interdisciplinary approach to child study makes the field stronger because children are viewed from many different perspectives. Indeed, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to understand the complex behavior of children. For example, we need the zoologist’s orientation to understand the ontogenetic phylogenetic histories of children.

All of these disciplines attempt to draw pictures of children at different levels of specificity. Some psychologists attempt to describe the normative behavior of children. The best example of such a normative description of behavior can be found in Piaget’s (1970) stage theory. These stages are said to describe children independent of their cultural histories. Thus, this is a universalistic description of behavior. Such an approach to child study also assumes specific methods by which children can be studied. Typically, psychologists have a specific theory about children and they design tests or experiments to elicit behaviors relevant to the theory. Observed behaviors are used as the data for inferences about children’s competence. More recently, however, such normative descriptions have often embedded children in various contexts that affect development (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition [LCHC], 1983).

Anthropologists and ethologists are more concerned with cultural and environmental effects on behavior. That is, they believe that the environments and the people who live in them are interdependent; they affect each other. As such, children from different environments will behave differently. Such researchers typically spend a great deal of time describing the contexts in which children are being studied because it is those contexts, they believe, that elicit children’s behaviors. The method of child study followed by this group of researchers is often naturalistic to the extent to which children are studied in their everyday environments.

In short, the question “What is child study?” can be answered thus: Child study describes children and the various contexts in which they interact.

FUNCTIONS OF CHILD STUDY

Why should we study children?

At the most general level, child study serves the function of describing children in various situations. Child study can provide normative pictures of children at different ages and in different situations and how they develop, grow, and learn. General pictures can be drawn of different groups of children by their responses to test items and their behavior in different environments. Child psychologists and developmental psychologists often engage in this type of child study, as they are most interested in objectively describing children. They are minimally interested, however, in the applications of the descriptions. Educational psychologists and educators are most interested in making practical applications of child study. Applications of child study are often related to designing environments that facilitate children’s learning/development. To engage in this venture, however, we must first objectively describe children in the target environments. This description phase is critical in order to understand the aspects of behavior to be studied and to form hypotheses, or theories, about what causes what, and such hypotheses should then be tested. Only after the hypotheses have been tested and supported can we apply our knowledge of children to the actual designing of facilitative environments.

Child study can be used in applied settings as an important part of the school curriculum or program implementation cycle. A basic assumption is that knowledge of children should provide the basis on which programs are developed. A program, or curriculum, is a plan of actions and environments to which children are exposed in order to bring about desired changes in them. For example, a preschool language program might outline student and teacher activities designed to stimulate children’s communicative competence. The program implementation cycle involves the following stages: diagnosis of children’s need, program design, program implementation, and evaluation of program. Child study is a necessary part of each of the components of this cycle. The first, or diagnostic, phase consists of the analysis and description of the current state of the children in the program. If we are interested in children’s ability to use language as a communicative tool (i.e., communicative competence), we must determine children’s level of expertise with this tool. This can be accomplished through a number of child study techniques: diagnostic testing, observations, and interviews. This phase of the program implementation cycle therefore, provides baseline, or beginning, data on the children. Again, we should make sure that the diagnostic procedures used are appropriate for the children that are being studied. For example, is the procedure part of the way in which they are expected to use language at home? Are the stimulus materials, examiners, and examination room familiar to the child?

The second phase, program design, involves testing of an intervention process that will affect children’s behaviors. Theory becomes particularly important at this stage, because theories of language development suggest ways in which children’s communicative competence can be facilitated. The researcher should design an experimental environment following a particular theory in order to facilitate communicative competence. The particular environment chosen should also be relevant to the particular type of children in the program, such as Native Americans. As noted earlier our job is to establish a bridge from the children’s everyday context to intervention contexts such as schools or clinics. After programs are tested systematically and shown to be effective they may be implemented.

Implementation of a program, the third phase, also uses child study techniques. Very often the program implemented is very different from the actual program designed. As a result, child study techniques such as observation are necessary to determine the extent to which the program guidelines are being followed.

The last phase is the evaluation of the program’s effectiveness in the specific context. This phase of the cycle answers the question: Did the program have its intended effects? The intended effects often are indicated in terms of improved test scores, behavioral changes, or both. We should take care, however, to ensure that the changes do indeed occur in the contexts in which they were intended and are maintained. For example, does a nutrition program for children affect their choice of snacks in the cafeteria? Are these food preferences maintained after the program is completed? Child study is certainly germane to this stage. In short, child study can help us improve the environments in which children live; it can help us help them realize their potential.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN CHILD STUDY

When we engage in the enterprise of child study we must consider the ethical implications of our work. The American Psychological Association has long been concerned with the ethical problems in psychology. This concern has resulted in a document entitled “Ethical Principles of Psychologists.” Although this document was written for psychologists, it is relevant for all of us working with children. For that reason, we highlight some of its relevant points. Principles that should be followed are:

1. Responsibility: Professionals should take responsibility for the consequences of their actions; their services should be used appropriately.
2. Competence: Professionals should recognize their area of competence and their limitations.
3. Moral and legal standards: Professionals should be sensitive to community and professional standards of behavior.
4. Public statements: Statements about one’s work should be made to help the public make informed choices and judgments.
5. Confidentiality: Information acquired in the course of one’s work should be kept confidential unless the consent of the involved parties is obtained.
6. Welfare of the consumer: Professionals should protect the people with whom they work.
7. Professional relationships: Professionals should respect the needs and competence of other professionals.
8. Assessment techniques: Professionals should promote the welfare and children and families by guarding against the misuse of assessment results.
9. Research with human participants: Participants, their parents, or both should be well informed as to the intent of a research project.

An example of a consent form is given in Fig. 1.1.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

The book is organized to guide the reader through our most basic assumptions first.

In chapter 2 we address the construct of “development” and the ways in which it is crucial to our understanding of children. In chapter 3, we outline the interdependence between behavior and context. As noted earlier, we believe that behavior must be studied in the context in whi...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Applied Child Study: An Introduction
• 2 What is Developmental?
• 3 Behavior in Context
• 4 Tests and Performance-Based Assessment
• 5 Experimental Methods
• 6 Observational Methods
• 7 Naturalistic Inquiry: Ethological and Interpretive Methods
• 8 Children’s Learning, Thinking, and Remembering
• 9 Language Development
• 10 Children’s Social Competence
• 11 Children’s Play
• Bibliography