Nature provides potentials while nurture provides opportunities.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL LEARNING
Human
development can be defined
psychologically as the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception
and continuous through the human life span (santruck- 2005)
The study of
human development gives you insights on where actually you came from (who were
you) (who are you) how to come from.
Thus
development involves stages from born to death that every individual must have
passed through different development task which are the necessary activities
and behaviors characterizing each stage of development eg childish play.
Human
development involves two main concepts which are
ü Growth
ü Maturation
GROWTH
This refers to an increase in body size, weight, shape and height. It involves
quantitative changes. Growth is believed to occur rapidly during the pre-natal
and adolescence periods of human development.
MATURATION
This refers to change in mental abilities and function ability eg language use,
thinking etc. Maturation involves to a large extent the unfolding of genetic
code and that is significantly a qualitative of human development.
CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
i.
Development
is continuous versus
discontinuous. This simply implies that development should be in continuation
from birth to death and that any retardation/ pause caused by any factors such
as diseases leads to discontinuation.
ii.
Development is directional. Development starts from certain
parts of the body to another. Different parts of the body are formed at
different time from conception to birth. Development psychologist has come up
with.
Two parts of development
·
Cephalocaudal
This explains development
as starting from head to the trunk
·
Proximodistal
This concept explain the
concept of development as starting from centre to peripheral (body parts)
iii.
Development is stageous. Development follows stages from
birth to death.
iv.
Development is classical. This implies that development
involves potential for change.
v.
Development is dimensional, development involves different
stages.
vi.
Development is orderly, development follows order ie change
in a certain aspect behavior should start and the other should follow eg
children starting sitting, then follows crawling, standing, walking, running
and jumping.
vii.
Development starts from simple to
complex.
viii.
Development
involves qualitative
changes and quantitative change.
FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
v What exactly influence human
development?
v Have you ever considered how
different natural hazards and human factors affects/ have affected human
development.
v Have you ever thought why you are
different from your fellow
v Are twins equal/ similar in each and
everything, why?
These question and
Principles of development (two main factors that affecting
human development nature and nurture)
NATURE-
NURTURE INFLUENCE
ü Nature –
evolutionary psychologist defined this concept of nature as the combination of
genetic factors that influence one’s behavior. These includes Rh factors, genotype and
phenotype, diseases such as sickle cell etc
ü Nurture – refers to
the environmental factors that influence the human development. These include
the variety of factors diseases
such as STDs, Nutrition,
age of the mother, drugs such as contraceptives, alcoholism smoking etc.
ü Nature provides potentials while nurture provides opportunities.
What might
come into our mind is that nature proved.
John. B. Watson one of the qunusin psychologies,
commented on the role of nature- nurture influence in human development and had
the following to say.
ü Give me a dozen of health infants and
well formed and my own specified world to bring them up and I will guarantee to
take any one random and train him to
become any type of specialist –lawyer, teacher, doctor ,artist, merchants, and
chief
Watson contributed in understanding the
role of nature and nurture and environment, experiences plays a significant
role in shaping individual behavior through classical conditioning.
ü Currently, it is insisted by
development psychologist that the debate of nature- nurture should be looked in
alternative ways as an interactive.
ü Every stage of human development is
prone to different or even similar factors affecting processes ie “pre- natal”,
natal, post natal etc development
FACTORS
AFFECTING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AT PRE – NATAL STAGE
i.
Age of mother. Early pregnancy teenage pregnancy may lead to death
and immature child while mother aged above thirties years and above beyond lead
to child`s effects such as low birth weight and down syndrome.
ii.
Rh factors. Difference between blood group of the mother may
lead to not only blood group difference (A,B,O,AB) of the foetus but also blood
that is either Rh response positive or Rh negative the difference in Rh status leads to
mother`s antibodies to attack the fetus and then may results for
miscarriage heart effects, brain damage.
iii.
Alcoholism, conception of alcohol by pregnant women can cause a
serious birth defect, foetal alcohol syndrome to the child.
iv.
Diseases, STD’s syphilis can lead to eye lesions that may cause
blindness and skin lesion, AIDS
v.
Nutrition, pregnant mother taking food rich in
vitamins, proteins and minerals are more likely to give birth to healthy and
well formed child and vice versa.
vi.
Emotional
state and stress .Intense fears, anxiety, conflicts, beatings, isolation,
stigmatization. An emotionally distraught pregnant mother may have irregular
contradiction and move difficult labour limiting the supply of oxygen to the
fetus stress may lead.
ü Research indicates that optimistic
pregnant mothers are less prone to labor complication than pessimist.
vii.
Drugs
cocaine, marijuana
viii.
Exposure
to radiation, these can cause gene mutation abrupt
ix.
Environment
hazards
HUMAN PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
ü Have you ever thought of how you have
increased in height and weight
ü How have you been attributed with
characteristics such as beautiful, handsome, gentlemen, lazy? Different changes
in your body from hair to toe etc
ü Physical development involves two
aspects; body and organs growth and change.
ü Growth and change may be internally
or externally observed, thus as we grow in both external organs such as legs,
arms, reproductive organs, physical appearances etc and internal organs such as
brain, lungs, hormone etc.
ü Physical development involves two
patterns which are important changes which involves.
a) Cephalocaudal
b) Proximodistal
a)
Cephalocaudal
ü Is the pattern or is the sequence in which the fastest growth
always occurs at the top the head with physical growth in size, weight and
feature, differentiation gradually working its way down from the top to the
bottom eg neck, shoulders, middle trunk (santruck 2005)
ü During pre- natal stage of
development the head constitutes o an extra ordinary proportion of the body
size
b)
Proximodistal
ü Is the sequence that starts from the
centre of body moves towards the extremities
(body parts) for example the central of the trunk and arms before the use of
hand and fingers
ü Picking of things follows after the
balance in arms or standing following the balance in legs and other tools
ü Moreover physical development is characterized
with development of body muscles
ü The increase in body muscles is
important in infancy and child’s development as they facilitate changes in behavior
and attainment of certain development task. (R.Havighustusts developmental task in Oman 2006)
The growth of muscles involves two
types of muscles.
1. Gross motor growth, this refers to
changes in muscles that are necessary for complex body physical activities eg
eye, muscles, arms
2. Fine motor growth, this is the growth
in muscles that are involved in simple body activities eg eye muscles, fingers
muscles
NOTE: for proper physical development
coordination between psyche -metal and motor muscles is important, for example
growth of hands
ü It is important that teachers should help and foster students
coordinate their mental abilities and motor activities through practical
activities such as drawings
ü Physical development enables
individual, ability, flexibility, strength endurance and with standing time, balance.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING INFANCY
ü Height and weight increase rapidly in
infancy from the age of 2 years the increase in height and weight decreases
with each additional year
ü Brain development is also among the
major changes in this stage, increase brain function ability and decrease in
brain size is evident. The size of the head is bigger than other parts of the
body
ü At infancy stage, newborn are
dominated by reflexes actions (the genetically carried survival mechanism). (Struck
2005) such as sucking, blinking, grasping.
ü The above reflex action in the new born
signifies that the child is trying to coordinate several components of the
skills.
ü The coordination between sensation
and the desire to complete certain behavior
ü The child above reflex action in the
new signifies that child is try to coordinate components of the skills.
ü Thus the development of motor skills involve
both the gross of with skills
ü Another important physical
development features in infants are sensory,
and perceptual skills
Sensation
ü The process in which the sensory receptors
i.e eyes, nose, skin and tongue interacts with certain information/environment.
Perception
ü The interpretation of the receptors
information, there for what infant interprets
from their diseases has great influences in their motor behavior and motor
skills.
ü For example the visual perception of
objects influences those infants to move towards that particular objects touch
or grasp.
ü Other sensory perception such as
hearing, touch and pain.
QUESTION TO ASK OURSELVES
ü Can infants differentiate certain
types of small, taste and sound?
ü Can infants perceive depth (depth
perception) and
ü What are the associated motor
behavior related to ability in differentiating taste sound and smell
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING CHILDHOOD
ü At the early childhood, growth in
height weight are the man physical changes witnessed in this stage, girls are
slightly smaller at this stage than the boys till the onset of puberty.
ü However during middle and late
childhood, the trend change while growth slowdown and become consistent at this
stage. Boys
ü The development of brain also is
evident at this stage (taking plan in different parts of the brain) eg the
frontal lobe area is responsible for planning and organization new action that
enables children to plan their action, respond to stimulus.
ü During the middle and childhood,
children motors skills become much smoother and more coordinated than before
where climbing bicycle, riding, swimming are among.
ü At early childhood stage, children
also develop handedness preference left and right hand when doing activities.
ü Teachers, parents and curriculum
developers of early childhood education should enable and design curriculum
that help children at this stages to develop.
THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING
ADOLESCENCE:
THE BEGINNING OF PUBERT Y
ü This is the stage for onset of
puberty a person of rapid physical maturation involves hormonal and bodily
change that occurs
ü Hormone are powerful chemical
substance secreted by the endocrine gland carried through the body by the blood
stream
ü The interaction between the
hypothalamus, pituitary glands and others
ü Hypothalamus, brain portion that
monitor, eating, drinking and sex behavior
ü Pituitary gland, important endocrine
gland that control
ü Gonads, sex glands is testes in males
and ovaries in females
ü Androgens, the main class of male sex
hormones
ü Estrogens, the main class of female
sex hormone
ü Testosterone, is an androgens that plays
an important role in male puberty development eg development of external
genitals, increase on height and voice changes.
ü Estrogen, is an estrogen that play an
important role in female puberty development eg development of breast
development uterus development and skeletal change.
ü Puberty involves two phases linked
with hormonal changes adrenarche and gonadarche
ü Adrenanche, involves human changes in
the adrenal glands located above the kidney
ü Gonadarche, it involves sexual
maturity on and development of reproductive maturity occurs around age 8/9
years.
ü In boys gonardarch begin at age 10-11.
ü Gonardarche involves sperm ache and menarche
for girls
Menarche-- girl’s first menstruation
Spermarche
– boy’s ejaculation
ADOLESCENT PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTERISTICS
ü At what age can you to be onset of
your puberty
ü What was the first change in your
body that you noticed
ü What was/ were the associated behavior(s)
do you remembered to engage in at early times of your puberty
CHARACTERISTICS
i.
Increase
in weight and height, girls out weight boys at early adolescence similarity
height but at around age 14 boys begin to surprise girls in height
ii.
Changes
in body shapes, girls increase in hips width (associated with increase estrogen and boys increase in shoulder width
associated with increase in testosterone)
iii.
Changes
in facial structure, boys facial structure become more angular while girls
facial structure become more round and soft
iv.
Sex
maturation, development of puberty parts in boys including in penis and
testicle size, appearance of straight public hair, minor voice change, first
ejaculation, appearance of public hair onset off maximum body growth, growth of
hair in armpits
Development of puberty parts in girls
including breast enlargement
NOTE:
These are
variation in the onset and progression of puberty. Some individuals,
experience, puberty early while other experience later.
PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH ADOLESCENCE
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
As explained