As early childhood professionals, we study theories to understand human behavior. A theory addresses three major components. First, continuity-discontinuity addresses whether humans change gradually or abruptly (Sigelman & Rider, 2018). Second, universality-context specificity discusses whether developmental changes are the same in all humans or are specific to cultural contexts. This is also described as one course or many courses of development (Burke, 2019). Third, nature-nurture considers whether development is primarily driven by biological or environmental factors (Sigelman & Rider, 2018).
To prepare for this discussion,
- Read Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies
- Read Developmentally Appropriate PracticeLinks to an external site.
For this discussion, you will utilize the case study below:
Case Study
Paul and Amy were recently married. Paul is going to school to obtain his degree in early childhood. He is currently enrolled in a child development course and has been fascinated with all of the different developmental theories and conversations he has been having with his classmates about developmentally appropriate practice. When he returns home from class each night, he is always excited to share with Amy about the new knowledge he has gained regarding child development.
In your initial post,
- Explain if you would choose one single theory or a combination of several different theories to represent your view of child development. Why?
- Discuss how your theoretical approach aligns with your stance on one of the three basic issues of child development (continuous or discontinuous, one course of development or many, influence of nature and nurture.)
- Connect your chosen theories to developmentally appropriate practices in your learning environment.