san25820_ch03_069_112

3C H A P T E R 3

Social Contexts andSocioemotionalDevelopment

In the end, the power behind development is life.—Erik Erikson

European-Born American Psychotherapist, 20th Century

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Learning Goals

Describe two contemporaryperspectives on socioemotionaldevelopment: Bronfenbrenner’secological theory and Erikson’slife-span development theory.

Discuss how the social contextsof families, peers, and schools arelinked with socioemotionaldevelopment.

Explain these aspects ofchildren’s socioemotionaldevelopment: self-esteem,identity, and moral development.

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Chapter Outline

Contemporary Theories

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Erikson’s Life-Span Development Theory

Social Contexts of Development

Families

Peers

Schools

Socioemotional Development

The Self

Moral Development

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Preview

Divorce is just one of the many aspects of children’s social contexts thatcan have profound effects on their performance in school. Later in thechapter, we examine the topic of divorce and provide further teachingstrategies for helping students cope with the divorce of their parents. Inthis chapter, we explore how parents cradle children’s lives, as well ashow children’s development is influenced by successive waves of peers,friends, and teachers. Children’s small world widens as they becomestudents and develop relationships with many new people. In thissecond chapter on development, we study these social worlds andexamine children’s socioemotional development.

TEACHING STORIES Keren Abra

The socioemotional contexts of children’s lives influence theirability to learn. Keren Abra teaches fifth grade in San Fran-cisco. A student in her class, Julie, was very quiet, so quietthat in classroom discussions she whispered her responses.Her parents, who had gone through a bitter divorce, agreedthat Julie needed a good therapist.

Julie was significantly underachieving, doing minimalwork and scoring low on tests. A crisis of low grades andincomplete work brought her mother to school one evening,and her father the next morning, to talk with Keren. Later thatweek, Keren spoke with Julie, who looked terrified. Follow-ing are Keren’s comments about her talk with Julie:

I kept some objectives in mind. This child needed to knowthat she was a good student, that she was loved, that adultscould be consistent and responsible, and that she didn’thave to hide and keep secrets . . . I told her that her parents

had come in because we all were concerned about her andknew we needed to help her. I told her that her parentsloved her very much and asked if she knew this (she and Iagreed that nobody’s perfect, least of all adults with theirown problems). I explained that a tutor was going to helpher with her work . . . I talked with Julie about how muchI liked her and about coming forward more in class.

Change did not happen overnight with Julie, but she didbegin to increasingly look me in the eye with a more con-fident smile. She spoke out more in class, and improved herwriting efforts. Her best months were when she was seeingboth a therapist and a tutor, although her grades remaineda roller coaster. At the end of the school year, she com-mented that she and her mother both noticed that her bestwork was when she felt supported and confident. For an 11-year-old, that is a valuable insight.

Erikson’s Life-SpanDevelopment Theory

1 CONTEMPORARY THEORIES

Bronfenbrenner’sEcological Theory

A number of theories address children’s socioemotional development. In this chapter,we focus on two main theories: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Erikson’s life-span development theory. These two theories were chosen for the comprehensive waythey address the social contexts in which children develop (Bronfenbrenner) andmajor changes in children’s socioemotional development (Erikson). In chapter 7, wediscuss other theories—behavioral and social cognitive—that also are relevant tosocioemotional development.

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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

The ecological theory developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917–2005)primarily focuses on the social contexts in which children live and thepeople who influence their development.

Five Environmental Systems Bronfenbrenner’s (1995, 2000, 2004;Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998, 2006) ecological theory consists offive environmental systems that range from close interpersonal inter-actions to broad-based influences of culture. The five systems are themicrosystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem(see figure 3.1).

A microsystem is a setting in which the individual spendsconsiderable time, such as the student’s family, peers, school, andneighborhood. Within these microsystems, the individual has directinteractions with parents, teachers, peers, and others. For Bronfen-brenner, the student is not a passive recipient of experiences butis someone who reciprocally interacts with others and helps toconstruct the microsystem.

The mesosystem involves linkages between microsystems. Examples are the con-nections between family experiences and school experiences and between family andpeers. For example, consider one important mesosystem, the connection betweenschools and families. In one study of a thousand eighth-graders, the joint impact offamily and classroom experiences on students’ attitudes and achievement was exam-ined as the students made the transition from the last year of middle school to the firstyear of high school (Epstein, 1983). Students who were given greater opportunities forcommunication and decision making, whether at home or in the classroom, showedmore initiative and earned better grades.

In another mesosystem study, which targeted Latino and African American stu-dents in low-income areas, middle school and high school students participated in aprogram designed to connect their families, peers, schools, and parents’ work(Cooper, 1995). The students commented that the outreach program helped them tobridge the gaps across their different social worlds. Many of the students saw theirschools and neighborhoods as contexts in which people expected them to fail, becomepregnant and leave school, or behave delinquently. The outreach program providedstudents with expectations and moral goals to do “something good for your people,”such as working in the community and encouraging siblings to go to college.

The exosystem is at work when experiences in another setting (in which the stu-dent does not have an active role) influence what students and teachers experiencein the immediate context. For example, consider the school and park supervisoryboards in a community. They have strong roles in determining the quality of schools,parks, recreation facilities, and libraries. Their decisions can help or hinder a child’sdevelopment.

The macrosystem involves the broader culture. Culture is a very broad term thatincludes the roles of ethnicity and socioeconomic factors in children’s development. It’sthe most encompassing context in which students and teachers live, including the soci-ety’s values and customs (Cole, 2006; Greenfield, Suzuki, & Rothstein-Finsch, 2006;Shweder & others, 2006). For example, some cultures (such as those of Islamiccountries—for example, Egypt or Iran) emphasize traditional gender roles. Other cultures(such as found in the United States) accept more varied gender roles. In most Islamiccountries, educational systems promote male dominance. In the United States, schoolsincreasingly have endorsed the value of equal opportunities for females and males.

Socioeconomic status, an important aspect of culture, can have important effectson students’ school performance. For example, poverty can overwhelm children’sdevelopment and impair their ability to learn, although some children in impover-ished circumstances are remarkably resilient (McLoyd, 2005; McLoyd, Aikens, &

www.mhhe.com/santedu3e Contemporary Theories 71

ecological theory Bronfenbrenner’s

theory that consists of five environmental

systems: microsystem, mesosystem,

exosystem, macrosystem, and

chronosystem.

FIGURE 3.1 Bronfenbrenner’s

Ecological Theory of Development

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theoryconsists of five environmental systems:microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem,macrosystem, and chronosystem.

Chronosystem

Family

Churchgroup Neighborhood

play area

School

PeersHealthservices

SexAgeHealthetc.

Time(sociohistorical

conditions and time since life events)

The individual

Mesosystem

offa

mily

Frie

nds

Attitudes and ideologies of the culture

Macrosystem

ExosystemNeighbors

Legal se

rvic

es

Mass

media

Social welfare services

Microsystem

Urie Bronfenbrenner developedecological theory, a perspective that isreceiving increased attention. What isthe nature of ecological theory?


72 Chapter 3 Social Contexts and Socioemotional Development

BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Educating Children Based on Bronfenbrenner’s Theory

Think about the child as embedded in a number of environ-mental systems and influences. These include schools andteachers, parents and siblings, the community and neighbor-hood, peers and friends, the media, religion, and culture.

1. Pay attention to the connection between schools andfamilies. Build these connections through formal andinformal outreach.

2. Recognize the importance of the community, socioeco-nomic status, and culture in the child’s development.These broader social contexts can have powerful influ-ences on the child’s development (Greenfield, Suzuki, &Rothstein-Fisch, 2006; Shweder & others, 2006; Shriaev& Levy, 2007). Next, Juanita Kirton, an assistant princi-pal at the Gramercy School in New York City, describesthe community’s value for her students.

THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS

The Community Is Full of Learning Opportunitiesand Supports for Students

Use of community supports is very important, and NewYork City is full of opportunities. For example, I have

worked closely with the Disabled Library in our neigh-borhood. They have been great at supplying audiobooksfor the children and lending the school special equip-ment. Also, the local fire department has been visitedduring numerous field trips—the firefighters have beenespecially attentive to the students because of their var-ious disabilities. The fire department has also come tothe school, which was very exciting for the children. Itwas amazing to see how patient the firefighters werewith the students.

Many colleges and universities have contributeditems and sent student teachers to visit the school.Donations from the Hasbro toy company during theholidays have made a big difference in in the way somestudents and families spent their holiday vacation. Ourstudents are very visible in the New York City commu-nity, where we are located. This helps our neighborsget to know the staff and children and creates a saferenvironment.

Burton, 2006; Ryan, Fauth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2006). We will say much more aboutpoverty and education in chapter 5, “Sociocultural Diversity.”

The chronosystem includes the sociohistorical conditions of students’ develop-ment. For example, the lives of children today are different in many ways from whentheir parents and grandparents were children. Today’s children are more likely to bein child care, use computers, live in a divorced or remarried family, have less contactwith relatives outside their immediate family, and grow up in new kinds of dispersed,deconcentrated cities that are not quite urban, rural, or suburban.

Evaluating Bronfenbrenner’s Theory Bronfenbrenner’s theory has gained popu-larity in recent years. It provides one of the few theoretical frameworks for system-atically examining social contexts on both micro and macro levels, bridging the gapbetween behavioral theories that focus on small settings and anthropological theo-ries that analyze larger settings. His theory has been instrumental in showing howdifferent contexts of children’s lives are interconnected. As we have just discussed,teachers often need to consider not just what goes on in the classroom but also whathappens in students’ families, neighborhoods, and peer groups.

Critics of Bronfenbrenner’s theory say that it gives too little attention to biolog-ical and cognitive factors in children’s development. They also point out that thetheory does not address the step-by-step developmental changes that are the focus oftheories such as Piaget’s and Erikson’s.

Erikson’s Life-Span Development Theory

Complementing Bronfenbrenner’s analysis of the social contexts in which childrendevelop and the people who are important in their lives, the theory of Erik Erikson(1902–1994) presents a developmental view of people’s lives in stages. Let’s takeErikson’s journey through the human life span.


Eight Stages of Human Development In Erikson’s (1968) theory, eight stages ofdevelopment unfold as people go through the human life span (see figure 3.2). Eachstage consists of a developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis. ForErikson, each crisis is not catastrophic but a turning point of increased vulnerabilityand enhanced potential. The more successfully an individual resolves each crisis, themore psychologically healthy the individual will be. Each stage has both positive andnegative sides.

Trust versus mistrust is Erikson’s first psychosocial stage. It occurs in the first yearof life. The development of trust requires warm, nurturing caregiving. The positiveoutcome is a feeling of comfort and minimal fear. Mistrust develops when infantsare treated too negatively or are ignored.

Autonomy versus shame and doubt is Erikson’s second psychosocial stage. Itoccurs in late infancy and the toddler years. After gaining trust in their caregivers,infants begin to discover that their behavior is their own. They assert their inde-pendence and realize their will. If infants are restrained too much or punished tooharshly, they develop a sense of shame and doubt.

Initiative versus guilt is Erikson’s third psychosocial stage. It corresponds to earlychildhood, about 3 to 5 years of age. As young children experience a widening socialworld, they are challenged more than they were as infants. To cope with these chal-lenges, they need to engage in active, purposeful behavior. In this stage, adults expectchildren to become more responsible and require them to assume some responsibil-ities for taking care of their bodies and belongings. Developing a sense of responsi-bility increases initiative. Children develop uncomfortable guilt feelings if they areirresponsible or are made to feel too anxious.

Industry versus inferiority is Erikson’s fourth psychosocial stage. It correspondsapproximately with the elementary school years, from 6 years of age until puberty orearly adolescence. Children’s initiative brings them into contact with a wealth of newexperiences. As they move into the elementary school years, they direct their energytoward mastering knowledge and intellectual skills. At no time are children moreenthusiastic about learning than at the end of early childhood, when their imagina-tion is expansive. The danger in the elementary school years is developing a sense ofinferiority, unproductiveness, and incompetence.

Identity versus identity confusion is Erikson’s fifth psychosocial stage. It corre-sponds to the adolescent years. Adolescents try to find out who they are, what theyare all about, and where they are going in life. They are confronted with many newroles and adult statuses (such as vocational and romantic). Adolescents need to beallowed to explore different paths to attain a healthy identity. If adolescents do notadequately explore different roles and don’t carve out a positive future path, they canremain confused about their identity.

Intimacy versus isolation is Erikson’s sixth psychosocial stage. It corresponds tothe early adult years, the twenties and thirties. The developmental task is to form pos-itive close relationships with others. Erikson describes intimacy as finding oneself butlosing oneself in another person. The hazard of this stage is that one will fail to forman intimate relationship with a romantic partner or friend and become sociallyisolated. For such individuals, loneliness can become a dark cloud over their lives.

Generativity versus stagnation is Erikson’s seventh psychosocial stage. It corre-sponds to the middle adulthood years, the forties and fifties. Generativity meanstransmitting something positive to the next generation. This can involve such rolesas parenting and teaching, through which adults assist the next generation in devel-oping useful lives. Erikson described stagnation as the feeling of having done noth-ing to help the next generation.

Integrity versus despair is Erikson’s eighth and final psychosocial stage. It corre-sponds to the late adulthood years, the sixties until death. Older adults review theirlives, reflecting on what they have done. If the retrospective evaluations are positive,they develop a sense of integrity. That is, they view their life as positively integratedand worth living. In contrast, older adults become despairing if their backwardglances are mainly negative.


Infancy(first year)

Trust versus mistrust

Erikson’sStages

DevelopmentalPeriod

Infancy(1 to 3 years)

Autonomy versus shame and doubt

Early childhood(preschool years,3 to 5 years)

Initiative versus guilt

Middle and late childhood(elementary school years, 6 years to puberty)

Industry versus inferiority

Adolescence(10 to 20 years)

Identity versus identity confusion

Early adulthood(20s, 30s)

Intimacy versus isolation

Middle adulthood(40s, 50s)

Generativity versus stagnation

Late adulthood(60s onward)

Integrity versus despair

FIGURE 3.2 Erikson’s Eight Life-Span

Stages



BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Educating Children Based on Erikson’s Theory

1. Encourage initiative in young children. Children in pre-school and early childhood education programs should begiven a great deal of freedom to explore their world. Theyshould be allowed to choose some of the activities theyengage in and given exciting materials to stimulate theirimagination. Children at this stage love to play. It not onlybenefits their socioemotional development but also is animportant medium for their cognitive growth. Especiallyencourage social play with peers and fantasy play. Helpchildren assume responsibility for putting toys and mate-rials back in place after they have used them. Childrencan be given a plant or flower to care for and be assistedin caring for it. Criticism should be kept to a minimum sothat children will not develop high levels of guilt and anx-iety. Young children are going to make lots of mistakes andhave lots of spills. They need good models far more thanharsh critics. Structure their activities and environment forsuccesses rather than failures by giving them develop-mentally appropriate tasks. For example, don’t frustrateyoung children by having them sit for long periods of timedoing academic paper-and-pencil tasks.

2. Promote industry in elementary school children. Teachershave a special responsibility for children’s developmentof industry. It was Erikson’s hope that teachers could pro-vide an atmosphere in which children become passion-ate about learning. In Erikson’s words, teachers shouldmildly but firmly coerce children into the adventure offinding out that they can learn to accomplish things theynever thought they could do. In elementary school, chil-dren thirst to know. Most arrive at elementary schoolsteeped in curiosity and a motivation to master tasks.Challenge students, but don’t overwhelm them. Be firmin requiring students to be productive, but don’t beoverly critical. Especially be tolerant of honest mistakesand make sure that every student has opportunities formany successes.

3. Stimulate identity exploration in adolescence. Recog-nize that the student’s identity is multidimensional.Aspects include vocational goals; intellectual achieve-ment; and interests in hobbies, sports, music, and otherareas. Ask adolescents to write essays about suchdimensions, exploring who they are and what they wantto do with their lives. Encourage adolescents to thinkindependently and to freely express their views. Thisstimulates self-exploration. Also encourage adolescentsto listen to debates on religious, political, and ideolog-

ical issues. This will stimulate them to examine differentperspectives.

Encourage adolescents to talk with a school counselorabout career options as well as other aspects of theiridentity. Have people from different careers come andtalk with your students about their work regardless of thegrade you teach. Next, Therese Olejniczak, a teacher atCentral Middle School in East Grand Forks, Minnesota,describes how she encourages students to think abouttheir identity on the first day of school.


Using Art to Explore Adolescents’ Identities

My seventh-grade art students come to class the firstday to read a list of classroom rules. I surprise them bypassing out sheets of art paper, old magazines, and gluewith the verbal directions to tell me about themselves—build a self-portrait—with torn paper. The students areinventive, enthusiastic, and excited to focus on theiridentities, and waste no time beginning. . . . After theopening project, my students are at ease knowing theircreative expression is allowed and encouraged, and I ambetter able to understand their many changing attitudesand need to express them.

4. Examine your life as a teacher through the lens ofErikson’s eight stages (Gratz & Bouton, 1996). For exam-ple, you might be at the age at which Erikson says themost important issue is identity versus identity confusionor intimacy versus isolation. An important aspect ofdevelopment for young adults is to have positive, closerelationships with others. Your identity will benefit fromhaving a positive relationship with a partner and with oneor more friends. Erikson stressed that one of identity’smost important dimensions is vocational. Your successfulcareer as a teacher could be key in your overall identity.Many teachers develop strong camaraderie with otherteachers or their mentors, which can be very rewarding.

5. Benefit from the characteristics of some of Erikson’s otherstages. Competent teachers trust, show initiative, areindustrious and model a sense of mastery, and are moti-vated to contribute something meaningful to the nextgeneration. In your role as a teacher, you will activelymeet the criteria for Erikson’s concept of generativity.



Evaluating Erikson’s Theory Erikson’s theory captures some of life’s key socio-emotional tasks and places them in a developmental framework. His concept of iden-tity is especially helpful in understanding older adolescents and college students (Cote,2006; Kroger, 2007). His overall theory was a critical force in forging our current viewof human development as lifelong rather than being restricted only to childhood.

Erikson’s theory is not without criticism. Some experts believe that his stages aretoo rigid. Bernice Neugarten (1988) says that identity, intimacy, independence, andmany other aspects of socioemotional development are not like beads on a string thatappear in neatly packaged age intervals. Rather, they are important issues through-out most of our lives. Although much research has been done on some of Erikson’sstages (such as identity), the overall scope of his theory (such as whether the eightstages always occur in the order he proposed) has not been scientifically documented.For example, for some individuals (especially females), intimacy concerns precedeidentity or develop simultaneously.

Erik Erikson with his wife, Joan, anartist. Erikson generated one of themost important developmental theoriesof the twentieth century. Which stage ofErikson’s theory are you in? DoesErikson’s description of this stage charac-terize you?

Review, Reflect, and Practice

Describe two contemporary perspectives on socioemotionaldevelopment: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Erikson’slife-span development theory.

REVIEW

● What are Bronfenbrenner’s five environmental systems?

● What Eriksonian stages does a person pass through between birth and the end

of adolescence?

REFLECT

● How well do you think your own socioemotional development can be described

using Erikson’s theory?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE

1. Which of the following is the best example of the mesosystem?

a. Ike’s parents monitor his behavior closely. They know where he is and with

whom at all times.

b. Ike’s parents express concern about his grades. They attend parent-teacher confer-

ences and belong to the PTA, as does John’s teacher. They chaperone field trips.

c. Ike attends church regularly, attends religious school each week, and is prepar-

ing for his confirmation.

d. Ike is quite adept with technology. His parents often ask him to program their

electronic devices, because of their lack of experience with these things when

they were children.

2. Ms. Koslowsky teaches fourth grade. Understanding that it is important for her

students to do well on the state-mandated achievement tests, she has high expec-

tations for their daily work. Often her lessons frustrate some of her students

because they don’t understand the material. Rather than helping them to under-

stand, she forges ahead. She is then frustrated by their performance on home-

work, often making caustic remarks on their papers. How would Ms. Koslowsky’s

teaching style be described from Erikson’s perspective?

a. Ms. Koslowsky’s teaching style is closely aligned with the need to promote

industry in elementary school children. Her high expectations will motivate the

children to succeed.

b. Ms. Koslowsky’s teaching style is closely aligned with elementary-school-age

children’s need to discover who they are and establish an identity.

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Peers Schools

2 SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF DEVELOPMENT

Families

In Bronfenbrenner’s theory, the social contexts in which children live are importantinfluences on their development. Let’s explore three of the contexts in which childrenspend much of their time: families, peers, and schools.

Families

Children grow up in diverse families. Some parents nurture and support their chil-dren. Others treat them harshly or ignore them. Some children have experienced theirparents’ divorce. Others live their entire childhood in a never-divorced family. Otherslive in a stepfamily. Some children’s mothers and fathers work full-time and place themin after-school programs; others have parents present when they come home fromschool. Some children grow up in an ethnically uniform neighborhood, others in aneighborhood that is more mixed. Some children’s families live in poverty; others areeconomically advantaged. Some children have siblings; others don’t. These varying cir-cumstances affect children’s development and influence students in and beyond theclassroom (Luster & Okagaki, 2005; Parke & Buriel, 2006; Thompson, 2006).

Parenting Styles Is there a best way to parent? Diana Baumrind (1971, 1996), a lead-ing authority on parenting, thinks so. She argues that parents should be neither puni-tive nor aloof. Rather, they should develop rules for children, while being supportive andnurturing. Hundreds of research studies, including her own, support her view (Collins& Steinberg, 2006). Baumrind says that parenting styles come in four main forms:

● Authoritarian parenting is restrictive and punitive. Authoritarian parentsexhort children to follow their directions and respect them. They place firmlimits and controls on their children and allow little verbal exchange. Forexample, an authoritarian parent might say, “Do it my way or else. There willbe no discussion!” Children of authoritarian parents often behave in sociallyincompetent ways. They tend to be anxious about social comparison, fail toinitiate activity, and have poor communication skills.

● Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but still placeslimits and controls on their actions. Extensive verbal give-and-take is allowedand parents are nurturant and supportive. An authoritative parent might puthis or her arm on the child’s shoulder in a comforting way and say, “You knowyou should not have done that. Let’s talk about how you can handle the situa-tion differently the next time.” Children whose parents are authoritative oftenbehave in socially competent ways. They tend to be self-reliant, delay gratifica-tion, get along with their peers, and show high self-esteem. Because of thesepositive outcomes, Baumrind strongly endorses authoritative parenting.

authoritarian parenting A restrictive

and punitive parenting style in which

there is little verbal exchange between

parents and children; associated with

children’s social incompetence.

authoritative parenting A positive par-

enting style that encourages children to

be independent but still places limits and

controls on their actions; extensive verbal

give-and-take is allowed; associated with

children’s social competence.

c. Ms. Koslowsky’s teaching style is unlikely to promote industry in elementary-

school-age children. Instead, it is likely to make them feel inferior.

d. Ms. Koslowsky’s teaching style is likely to increase students’ initiative. They will

respond to her high expectations by taking initiative in their work.

Please see the answer key at the end of the book.

Review, Reflect, and Practice continued


● Neglectful parenting is a parenting style in which parents are uninvolved intheir children’s lives. When their offspring are adolescents or perhaps evenyoung children, these parents cannot answer the question “It is 10 P.M. Do youknow where your child is?” Children of neglectful parents develop the sensethat other aspects of their parents’ lives are more important than they are.Children of neglectful parents often behave in socially incompetent ways. Theytend to have poor self-control, don’t handle independence well, and aren’tachievement motivated.

● Indulgent parenting is a parenting style in which parents are highly involvedwith their children but place few limits or restrictions on their behaviors.These parents often let their children do what they want and get their waybecause they believe the combination of nurturant support and lack ofrestraints will produce a creative, confident child. The result is that these chil-dren usually don’t learn to control their own behavior. These parents do nottake into account the development of the whole child.

Do the benefits of authoritative parenting transcend the boundaries of ethnicity,socioeconomic status, and household composition? Although some exceptions havebeen found, evidence links authoritative parenting with competence on the partof the child in research across a wide range of ethnic groups, social strata, cultures,and family structures (Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Steinberg, Blatt-Eisengart, &Cauffman, 2006).

Nonetheless, researchers have found that in some ethnic groups, aspects of theauthoritarian style may be associated with more positive child outcomes than Baum-rind predicts. Elements of the authoritarian style may take on different meanings andhave different effects depending on the context.

For example, Asian American parents often continue aspects of traditional Asianchild-rearing practices sometimes described as authoritarian. Many Asian Americanparents exert considerable control over their children’s lives. However, Ruth Chao(2001, 2005; Chao & Tseng, 2002) argues that the style of parenting used by manyAsian American parents is distinct from the domineering control of the authoritar-ian style. Instead, Chao argues that the control reflects concern and involvement inchildren’s lives and is best conceptualized as a type of training. The high academicachievement of Asian American children may be a consequence of the “training”provided by their parents (Stevenson & Zusho, 2002).

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neglectful parenting A parenting style

of uninvolvement in which parents spend

little time with their children; associated

with children’s social incompetence.

indulgent parenting A parenting style

of involvement but few limits or restric-

tions on children’s behavior; linked with

children’s social incompetence.

How does Ruth Chao describe the parenting style of Asian American parents?


An emphasis on requiring respect and obedience is also associated with theauthoritarian style. However, in many African American and Latino families, espe-cially in low-income, dangerous neighborhoods, this type of child rearing may havepositive outcomes. In these contexts, requiring obedience to parental authority maybe an adaptive strategy to keep children from engaging in antisocial behavior thatcan have serious consequences for the victim or the perpetrator (Harrison-Hale,McLoyd, & Smedley, 2004; McLoyd, Aikens, & Burton, 2006).

The Changing Family in a Changing Society Increasing numbers of children arebeing raised in divorced families, stepparent families, and families in which both par-ents work outside the home. As divorce has become epidemic, a staggering numberof children have been growing up in single-parent families. The United States has ahigher percentage of single-parent families than virtually any other industrializedcountry (see figure 3.3). Today, about one in every four children in the United Stateshave lived a portion of their lives in a stepfamily by age 18. Also, more than two ofevery three mothers with a child from 6 to 17 years of age are in the labor force.

Children of Divorce The effects of divorce on children are complex, depending onsuch factors as the child’s age, the child’s strengths and weaknesses at the time of thedivorce, the type of custody, socioeconomic status, and postdivorce family functioning(Lansford & others, 2006). The use of support systems (relatives, friends, house-keepers), an ongoing positive relationship between the custodial parent and the ex-spouse, the ability to meet financial needs, and quality schooling help children adjustto the stressful circumstances of divorce (Huurre, Junkkari, & Aro, 2006).

E. Mavis Hetherington’s (1995, 2000, 2005; Hetherington & Kelly, 2002; Hether-ington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002) research documents the importance of schools whenchildren grow up in a divorced family. Throughout elementary school, children indivorced families had the highest achievement and fewest problems when both theparenting environment and the school environment were authoritative (according toBaumrind’s categorization). In the divorced families, when only one parent wasauthoritative, an authoritative school improved the child’s adjustment. The most neg-ative parenting environment occurred when neither parent was authoritative. Themost negative school environment was chaotic and neglecting.

In response to the high divorce rate, the state of Florida passed a law requiringthat all high school students be taught marital and relationship skills (Peterson, 1998).Many schools teach some form of family life course, but marriage and family expertsbelieve such courses need upgrading to include the latest research on communica-tion skills, the factors most likely to cause divorce, strategies for conflict resolution,and family problem-solving techniques (Gottman, 1996).

Let’s look at a child in the midst of a family situation in which parents are get-ting divorced (Brodkin & Coleman, 1995). Maggie is a 10-year-old fifth-grader whohad been a happy child and had done well in school, but all of that changed whenher parents recently separated. Her father moved out and Maggie’s mother became


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ith

ch

ild

ren

un

der

18 30

25

20

15

10

5

0

23

1715

11 11

6

1314

FIGURE 3.3 Single-Parent Families

in Various Countries


depressed. Maggie began to not show up for school. Now, although she is at schoolregularly, she has trouble concentrating on her schoolwork.

How might you as a teacher help Maggie? Some strategies follow:

1. Reach out to the parents. Call Maggie’s mother instead of waiting to see ifthings get better on their own.

2. Recommend professional help. Tell the parent(s) that many people goingthrough a divorce—including parents and children—benefit from professionalcounseling. In some school districts, there are regular meetings for children ofdivorce or divorced parents, led by a mental health professional or a teacherwith special training.

3. Support the child. The daily caring you give children like Maggie can make adifference in their ability to cope with the divorce and concentrate on theirschoolwork.

4. Recommend a good book related to divorce. Here are three excellent books ondivorce (Norcross & others, 2003):● For children 3 to about 8 years old: Brown and Brown (1988), Dinosaurs

Divorce● For older children and adolescents: Gardner (1985), The Boys and Girls Book

About Divorce● For parents: Hetherington and Kelly (2002), Divorce Reconsidered, and Kalter

(1990), Growing Up with Divorce

Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in Families Earlier, we described variationsin parenting styles of African American, Latino, and Asian American families. Fami-lies in different ethnic groups also vary in their size, structure, and composition; theirreliance on kinship networks; and their levels of income and education (Parke &Buriel, 2006; Ramsay, 2006; Trask & Hamon, 2007). Large and extended families aremore common among some minority groups than among the general population(McAdoo, 2002). For example, 19 percent of Latino families have three or more chil-dren, compared with 14 percent of African American and 10 percent of non-LatinoWhite families. African American and Latino children interact more with grandpar-ents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more-distant relatives than do non-Latino Whitechildren (Gonzales & others, 2004).

Single-parent families are more common among African Americans and Latinosthan among non-Latino White Americans. Single parents often have less time, money,and energy than do two-parent households. Ethnic minority parents are less edu-cated and more likely to be low-income than their White counterparts (Harwood &others, 2002). Still, many impoverished ethnic minority families manage to find waysto raise competent children (McLoyd, Aikens, & Burton, 2006; Tucker, Subramanian,& James, 2004).

Some aspects of home life can help to protect ethnic minority children frominjustice. The community and the family can filter out destructive racist messages,and parents can present alternative frames of reference to counter negative messages.The extended family also can serve as an important buffer to stress.

In the United States and most other Western cultures, child-rearing practices dif-fer among different socioeconomic status (SES) groups (SES refers to a grouping ofpeople with similar occupational, educational, and economic characteristics). Low-income parents often place a high value on external characteristics such as obedienceand neatness. In contrast, middle-SES families frequently place a high value on inter-nal characteristics such as self-control and delay of gratification. Middle-SES parentsare more likely to explain, praise, accompany their discipline with reasoning, and asktheir children questions. Low-income parents are more likely to use physical pun-ishment and criticize their children (McLoyd, Aikens, & Burton, 2006).

There also are socioeconomic differences in the way that parents think abouteducation (Hoff, Laursen, & Tardif, 2002). Middle-SES parents more often think of



education as something that should be mutually encouraged by parents and teachers.Low-income parents are more likely to view education as the teacher’s job.

In the Diversity and Education interlude, we will explore educational concernsabout America’s fastest-growing female minority population—Latinas.

School-Family Linkages In Bronfenbrenner’s theory, linkages between the familyand the school are an important mesosystem (Fiese, Eckert, & Spagnola, 2006). Also,in Hetherington’s study, which we just discussed, an authoritative school environment


DIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAre America’s Schools Leaving Latinas Behind?

The high school graduation rate of Latinas is lowerthan for girls in any other ethnic group, and theyare the least likely to go to college (National Centerfor Education Statistics, 2001). Findings like theseprompted a recent report by the American Associ-ation of University Women, which concluded thatU.S. schools are not meeting Latinas’ educationalneeds (Ginorio & Huston, 2000). The report foundthat although Latinas bring many strengths and per-sonal resources to school, for them to be success-ful schools need to view bilingualism and other val-ues as assets rather than liabilities.

Despite the importance of education to theLatino community, family needs and peer pres-sure often clash with Latinas’ school expectations.For example, many Latinas face pressure aboutgoing to college from boyfriends and fiancés whoexpect their girlfriends or future wives to not be “too educated.”

Contrary to stereotypes about Latino communities, most Latino parents hopethat their children will excel in school. However, many Latino families face eco-nomic and social problems that defer the realization of those dreams for theirchildren (Rodriguez-Galindo, 2006).

Latino girls and boys face similar educational challenges and experiencestereotyping and other obstacles that discourage their success in school. Someobstacles, though, are different for Latinas than Latinos (DeMirjyn, 2006; Lara,2006). Latinas are three times as likely to fear for their personal safety in schoolsas other girls, and too often Latinos are assumed to be gang members by teachersand counselors simply because they speak Spanish (Ginorio & Huston, 2000).

Recommendations for improving the education of Latinas and Latinos includethe following:

● All adults need to encourage academic success. Latinas and Latinos need tohear from all the adults in their lives that college and professional careers arerewarding options and ones that they can achieve.

● Involve the whole family in the process of college preparation. Teachers andcounselors need to work with Latino families to demystify college requirementsand the long-term benefits of college.

● Deal meaningfully with stereotypes and challenges such as adolescent preg-nancy that impact school performance. This includes offering child care andalternative scheduling and recognizing that being a young mother and com-pleting one’s education are not incompatible.

What educational chal-lenges do Latinas face?


benefited children from divorced families. Two aspects of family/school linkages arefamily management and parental involvement, which we discuss next.

Family Management Researchers have found that family management practices arepositively related to students’ grades and self-responsibility, and negatively to school-related problems (Taylor, 1996). One of the most important practices in this regard ismaintaining a structured and organized family environment, such as establishing rou-tines for homework, chores, bedtime, and so on. Creating a family environment inwhich high expectations for achievement are present is also important (Jeynes, 2003).

One recent study focused on African American families, examining links betweenmothers’ reports of family management practices, including routine and achievementexpectations, and adolescents’ school-related behavior (Taylor & Lopez, 2005). Fam-ily routine (well managed and organized) was positively related to adolescents’ schoolachievement, paying attention in class, and attendance, and negatively linked toschool-related problems. Compared with the students whose mothers had low expec-tations for achievement, students whose mothers had high expectations made bettergrades and had more consistent school attendance.

Parental Involvement and School-Family-Community Connections Experiencedteachers know the importance of getting parents involved in children’s education. Inone survey, teachers listed parental involvement as the number one priority inimproving education (Chira, 1993). However, schools often don’t set goals or imple-ment effective programs to make that involvement occur (Epstein, 2001).

All parents, even those with considerable education, need yearly guidance fromteachers in how to remain productively involved in their children’s education. Forone thing, education expert Joyce Epstein (2001, 2005; Epstein & Sheldon, 2006)explains that almost all parents want their children to succeed in school, but needclear and useful information from their children’s teachers and from other schooland district leaders in order to help their children develop their full potential. Forexample, sometimes parents ask their child, “How was school today?” We know thatmay end with the child responding, “Fine” or “Okay” and not much more. Parentsshould be guided, instead, to ask their child, “Would you read to me something youwrote today?” or “Could you show me something you learned in math today?” orsimilar direct questions about work and projects in other content areas. Conversa-tions or homework assignments that enable students to share ideas and celebrate suc-cesses are likely to promote positive school-related parent-child interactions.

A low level of parental involvement concerns educators because it is linked with stu-dents’ low achievement (Anguiano, 2004; Myers-Walls & Frias, 2007). By contrast, in astudy of more than 16,000 students, the students were more likely to get As and lesslikely to repeat a grade or be expelled if both parents were highly involved in their school-ing (National Center for Education Statistics, 1997). In this study, high involvement wasdefined as the parent participating in three or four of the following: school meetings, ateacher conference, a class meeting, or volunteering. Other studies have found that stu-dents’ grades and academic achievement are linked to parental involvement (Carpenter-Aeby & Aeby, 2001; Epstein, 2005; Sheldon & Epstein, 2005; Simon, 2004).

One problem that can interfere with building partnerships between school andfamily is negative perceptions of families (Workman & Gage, 1997). Some childrencome to school poorly clothed, on drugs, with knives or guns, and without theirhomework. They might not be motivated to learn and might show little respect forthe teacher. In such circumstances, it can be hard to get past blaming parents for theproblems that children present to the teacher. However, to get parents more positivelyinvolved in their children’s education, you have to get past the blaming. Think of par-ents as having potential strengths that, if tapped, can help you educate the child moreeffectively (Hiatt-Michael, 2001).

Consider the following example of a successful partnership between schools andfamilies. In Lima, Ohio, the goal is for each school to establish a personal relationshipwith every parent. At an initial parent-teacher conference, parents are given a packet



that discusses how they can participate in the child’s learning activities at home. Con-ferences, regular phone calls, and home visits strengthen the school-family connection.These make other kinds of communication (such as progress reports, report cards,activity calendars, or discussion of problems that arise during the year) more welcomeand successful. For more about effective communication with parents, see the Tech-nology and Education box.

For ways to develop effective school-family-community partnerships and pro-grams, see the Web site of the National Network of Partnership Schools at JohnsHopkins University (NNPS): www.partnershipschool.org Especially look at thesection titled “In the Spotlight.”

Out-of-School Care In addition to actively participating in their children’s school-ing, children benefit when parents arrange and monitor out-of-school care (Coley,Morris, & Hernandez, 2004). The increase in single-parent families and families inwhich both parents work outside the home has made out-of-school child care a moreimportant aspect of children’s development.

Too many U.S. children are largely unsupervised for 2 to 4 hours a day duringeach school week. During the summer months, they might be unsupervised for entiredays, five days a week. These children easily can find their way into trouble, possiblystealing, vandalizing, or abusing a sibling. In one study of children in the after-schoolhours, unsupervised peer contact, lack of neighborhood safety, and low monitoringwere linked with externalizing problems such as acting out problems and delinquency(Pettit & others, 1999).

One study examined whether out-of-school care was linked with children’s aca-demic achievement toward the end of the first grade. Five types of out-of-school carewere studied: before- and after-school programs, extracurricular activities, father care,

82

TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

Communicating with Parents about Television and Children’s Development

Many children spend more time in front of the television setthan they do with their parents. U.S. 8- to 14-year-olds aver-age more than 21 hours a week watching television (Com-stock & Scharrer, 2006; Roberts, Henriksen, & Foehr, 2004).Amazingly, the 20,000 hours of television, on average, thatchildren watch by the time they graduate from high schoolrepresents more hours than they have spent in the classroom!

The more children watch TV, the lower their schoolachievement (Comstock & Scharrer, 2006). Why mightwatching TV be negatively related to children’s achievement?Three possibilities are interference, displacement, and self-defeating tastes/preferences. In terms of interference, havinga TV on can distract children while they are doing cognitivetasks such as homework. In terms of displacement, TV cantake time away from engaging in achievement-related tasks,such as homework, reading, writing, and mathematics.Researchers have found that children’s reading achievementis negatively linked to the amount of time they watch TV(Comstock & Scharrer, 2006). In terms of self-defeating tastesand preferences, TV attracts children to entertainment, sports,commercials, and other activities that capture their interestmore than school achievement. Children who are heavy TVwatchers tend to view books as dull and boring (Comstock& Scharrer, 2006).

Here are some recommendations that you can communi-cate to parents about reducing TV’s negative impact andincreasing its positive impact on their children’s development(Singer & Singer, 1987):

● Monitor children’s viewing habits and plan what they willwatch, instead of letting them view TV randomly. Be activewith young children between planned programs.

● Look for children’s programs that feature children in thechild’s age group.

● Make sure that television is not a substitute for otheractivities.

● Develop discussions about sensitive television themeswith children. Give them the opportunity to ask questionsabout the programs.

● Balance reading and television activities. Children can“follow up” on interesting television programs by check-ing out the library books from which some programs havebeen adapted and by pursuing additional stories by theauthors of those books.

● Point out positive examples of females performing com-petently both in professions and at home, and positiveexamples that show how various ethnic and culturalgroups contribute to a better society.



BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Forging School-Family-Community Linkages

Joan Epstein (2001, 2005; Epstein & Sheldon, 2006) devel-oped an integrated theory of school, family, and commu-nity partnerships that helps to explain children’s learningand development. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s theory, heroverlapping spheres of influence theory helps educatorszero in on the three main contexts that influence students’school success—home, school, and community. Epsteindescribes interactions that include both macro school-levelactions (such as a Back-to-School Night for all educatorsand families) and micro individual actions (such as parent-teacher conferences for one parent and teacher).

Epstein (1996, 2001, 2005; Epstein & Sanders, 2002;Epstein & Sheldon, 2006; Epstein & others, 2002) has devel-oped six types of involvement that can be implemented todevelop comprehensive school, family, and communitypartnerships in any elementary, middle, or high school.These goal-oriented and age-appropriate activities includethe following:

1. Provide assistance to families. Assist schools in under-standing families’ backgrounds, cultures, and goals forchildren. Schools can provide parents with informationabout child-rearing skills, the importance of family sup-port, child and adolescent development, and home con-texts that enhance learning at each grade level. Teachersare an important contact point between schools and fam-ilies and can become aware of whether the family ismeeting the child’s basic physical and health needs.Next, Juanita Kirton, who earlier described the impor-tance of involving the community in children’s educa-tion, talks about the importance of involving parents inchildren’s schooling.


Connecting with Parents

Parents are the primary ingredient of the classroomteam at the Gramercy School. Many parents of preschoolchildren have no idea as to how or if their child willdevelop. It becomes the job of educators and other pro-fessionals to assist parents in their child’s development.We then become partners. We have ongoing parenttraining groups, support groups, and parents can spendtime in school with a therapist at any time. GramercySchool has an open-door policy. . . . When a familyfaces a very challenging situation, I might meet withthem or I might call in the psychologist to assist withspecific issues. We have on occasion asked parents toassist other parents or to be a resource for others. This ispowerful and gives support to families.

2. Communicate effectively with families about school pro-grams and their child’s progress. This involves both school-to-home and home-to-school communication. Encourageparents to attend parent-teacher conferences and otherschool functions. Their attendance conveys to their chil-dren that they are interested in their school performance.Set up times for parent meetings that are convenient forthem to attend. Most parents cannot come to meetingsduring the school day because of other obligations. Oneoption is “work nights” for parents and children to cometo school and work on various projects to improve theschool’s physical appearance, mount artwork, and so on.Also, work on developing activities in which parents canget to know each other, not just know the teacher.

Here are some specific strategies for improving com-munication (Rosenthal & Sawyers, 1997):● Invite parents to meet you before the school year begins

at an orientation, or invite parents to a potluck dinner.● Send home children’s work each week accompanied

by a note or a letter written in the parents’ primarylanguage. The letter might review the week’s activitiesand include suggestions for helping children withtheir homework.

● In schools with computerized telephone systems, recordmessages about study units and homework assignmentsso that parents can call at their convenience. InMcAllen, Texas, the school district has developed acommunity partnership with local radio stations. Thedistrict sponsors “Discusiones Escolares,” a weekly pro-gram in Spanish that encourages parents to becomemore involved in their children’s education. Parents cancheck out copies of the script or a cassette tape of eachprogram from the parent coordinators at their schools.

● Use PTA/PTO meetings effectively. Sometimes the par-ent-teacher conference is the only contact teachershave with parents. Schedule the first conference in thefirst two weeks of school so that parents can raiseconcerns, ask questions, and make suggestions. Thiscan avoid potential problems from the outset. At thisfirst meeting, try to find out about the family’s struc-ture (intact, divorced, stepfamily), rules, roles, andlearning style. Practice active listening skills and saysomething positive about their child to establish your-self as someone who can be approached.

● Another way of making a school family-friendly is tocreate a parent room or parent center at the school(Johnson, 1994). Here parents can help each other,help the school, and receive information or assistancefrom the school or community.




3. Encourage parents to be volunteers. Improve training,work, and schedules to involve parents as volunteers atschool and to increase attendance at school meetings. Tryto match the skills of volunteers to classroom needs.Remember from the opening teaching story in chapter 2that in some schools parents are extensively involved ineducational planning and assisting teachers. Parents havedifferent talents and abilities, just like children, which isreflected in the following comments by Heather Zoldak,a teacher at Ridge Wood Elementary School in Michigan.


Encouraging Parent Involvement

Understanding that parents come with different levels ofcomfort with the school environment is important whenencouraging parent support for the classroom. Prepare avariety of opportunities for parents to become involvedboth inside the classroom and to support the classroom inother ways. Due to busy schedules, work restrictions, orcomfort level based on their own experiences with school,some parents may be more involved if they can help out-side the classroom on field trips or even prepare items athome for an upcoming project. Taking steps to build thecomfort level and relationship withparents is a key factor in encouragingparents to be volunteers.

4. Involve families with their childrenin learning activities at home. Thisincludes homework and othercurriculum-linked activities and deci-sions. Parents want to know how tohelp their children at home andguide them in becoming motivatedto do their best work. Epstein (1998)coined the term interactive home-work and designed a program thatencourages students to go to theirparents for help. In one elementaryschool that uses Epstein’s approach,a weekly teacher’s letter informs par-ents about the objective of each

assignment, gives directions, and asks for comments.One interactive homework assignment in language artsencourages students to interview a parent about hairstylespopular when the parent was the student’s age. After theinterview, the student draws a picture of what the hairstylelooked like and writes a paragraph on “Hairstyles Then andNow.” You can see this and other examples of interactivehomework in language arts, math, and science on the Website www.partnershipschool.org in the section on TeachersInvolve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS).

5. Include families as participants in school decisions. Parentscan be invited to be on PTA/PTO boards, various com-mittees, councils, and other parent organizations. At AntwaElementary School in a rural area of Wisconsin, potlucksupper parent-teacher organization meetings involve dis-cussions with parents about school and district educationalgoals, age-appropriate learning, child discipline, and test-ing performance.

6. Coordinate community collaboration. Help interconnectthe work and resources of community businesses, agencies,colleges and universities, and other groups to strengthenschool programs, family practices, and student learning.Schools can alert families to community programs andservices that will benefit them.

Enable students, staff, and familiesto contribute their service to the com-munity. An example of coordinatingcommunity collaboration is First Thurs-days at the Baltimore Museum of Art andLockerman-Bundy Elementary School inBaltimore. On one First Thursday, theschool provided a hot dog dinner for247 students and their families beforeboarding buses to the museum for anevening that focused on “Portraits inParis.”

According to Epstein (2005), schoolscan choose from hundreds of practicesto represent the six types of involve-ment. Family and community activitiescan be designed and implemented foreach type of involvement to help stu-dents reach specific school goals.

This mother is working with her sonat a Saturday math workshop inOakland, California, sponsored byFamily Math.

BEST PRACTICES continuedStrategies for Forging School-Family-Community Linkages


and nonadult care—usually an older sibling (NICHD Early ChildCare Research Network, 2004). “Children who consistently par-ticipated in extracurricular activities during kindergarten andfirst grade obtained higher standardized math test scores than chil-dren who did not consistently participate in these activities. . . .Participation in other types of out-of-school care was not relatedto child functioning in the first grade” (p. 280). Note, though, thatthese results may reflect the influence of other factors. For exam-ple, parents who enroll their children in extracurricular activitiesmay be more achievement-oriented and have higher achievementexpectations for their children than parents who don’t place theirchildren in these activities.

After-school programs can make a difference in children’s lives(Barnett & Gareis, 2006; Morris & Kalil, 2006. A recent study foundthat low-income parents were especially dissatisfied with the qual-ity of options available in after-school programs (The WallaceFoundation, 2004). Researchers and policymakers recommend thatafter-school programs have warm and supportive staff, a flexibleand relaxed schedule, multiple activities, and opportunities for pos-itive interactions with staff and peers (Vandell & Pierce, 2002).

Peers

In addition to families and teachers, peers also play powerful roles in children’s devel-opment. Just what are peers?

In the context of child development, peers are children of about the same age ormaturity level. Same-age peer interaction plays a unique role in children’s socioemo-tional development. One of the most important functions of the peer group is to pro-vide a source of information and comparison about the world outside of the family.

Good peer relations might be necessary for normal development (Howes &Tonyan, 2000; Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). Social isolation, or the inability to“plug in” to a social network, is linked with many problems and disorders, rangingfrom delinquency and problem drinking to depression (Kupersmidt & Coie, 1990).In one study, poor peer relations in childhood were associated with dropping out ofschool and delinquent behavior in adolescence (Roff, Sells, & Golden, 1972). Inanother study, harmonious peer relations in adolescence were related to positive men-tal health at midlife (Hightower, 1990).

Peer relations may influence whether children and adolescents develop problems.(Bukowski & Adams, 2005; Collins & Steinberg, 2006; Ladd, Herald, & Andrews, 2006;Masten, 2005). In one study of more than 3,000 eleventh-grade students, peer pres-sure was strongly linked to alcohol use (Borden, Donnermeyer, & Scheer, 2001). Inanother study, associating with certain crowds in the tenth grade (“jocks” and“criminals”) was linked with being in a substance-abuse program in the early twen-ties (Barber, Eccles, & Stone, 2001).

Peer Statuses Developmentalists have pinpointed five types of peer status: popu-lar children, average children, neglected children, rejected children, and controversialchildren (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006; Wentzel & Battle, 2001).

Many children worry about whether or not they are popular. Popular children arefrequently nominated as a best friend and are rarely disliked by their peers. Popularchildren give out reinforcements, listen carefully, maintain open lines of communi-cation with peers, are happy, act like themselves, show enthusiasm and concern forothers, and are self-confident without being conceited (Hartup, 1983).

Neglected children are infrequently nominated as a best friend but are not dis-liked by their peers. Rejected children are infrequently nominated as someone’s bestfriend and are often actively disliked by their peers. Controversial children are fre-quently nominated both as someone’s best friend and as being disliked.


Children spend considerable time withpeers and friends. What peer statusescan children have? How do peer rela-tions change developmentally?


Rejected children often have more serious adjustment problems than do neglectedchildren (Coie, 2004; Ladd, Buhs, & Troop, 2004). In one study, more than a hundredfifth-grade boys were evaluated over a period of 7 years until the end of high school(Kupersmidt & Coie, 1990). The most important factor in predicting whether rejectedchildren would engage in delinquent behavior or drop out of secondary school wasaggression toward peers in elementary school. Aggression, impulsiveness, and disrup-tiveness characterize the majority of rejected children, although 10 to 20 percent ofrejected children are actually shy. One recent social-skills intervention program wassuccessful in increasing social acceptance and self-esteem and decreasing depressionand anxiety in peer-rejected children (DeRosier, & Marcus, 2005). Students partici-pated in the program once a week (50 to 60 minutes) for 8 weeks. The programincluded instruction in how to manage emotions, how to improve prosocial skills, howto become better communicators, and how to compromise and negotiate.

A special peer relations problem involves bullying. We will discuss bullying inchapter 14, “Managing the Classroom,” where we will provide strategies for dealingwith bullies.

Friendship The importance of friendship was recently underscored in a 2-yearlongitudinal study (Wentzel, Bary, & Caldwell, 2004). Sixth-grade students who didnot have a friend engaged in less prosocial behavior (cooperation, sharing, helpingothers), had lower grades, and were more emotionally distressed (depression, lowwell-being) than their counterparts with one or more friends. Two years later, in theeighth grade, the students who did not have a friend in the sixth grade were still moreemotionally distressed. Why are friendships so significant?

Friendships contribute to peer status and provide other benefits (Parker & Asher,1987:

● Companionship. Friendship gives children a familiarpartner, someone who is willing to spend time withthem and join in collaborative activities.

● Physical support. Friendship provides resources andassistance in times of need.

● Ego support. Friendship helps children feel they arecompetent, worthy individuals. Especially importantin this regard is social approval from friends.

● Intimacy/affection. Friendship provides childrenwith a warm, trusting, close relationship with others.In this relationship, children often feel comfortableabout disclosing private, personal information.

Having friends can be a developmental advantage,but keep in mind that friendships are not all alike (Gest,Graham-Bermann, & Hartup, 2001; Rubin, Bukowski, &Parker, 2006). Having friends who are socially skilled andsupportive is a developmental advantage. However, it isnot developmentally advantageous to have coercive andconflict-ridden friendships. And it sometimes is disad-vantageous to a child or an adolescent to be friends withsomeone who is several years older. Students with olderfriends engage in more deviant behaviors than theircounterparts who have same-age friends (Berndt, 1999).Early-maturing adolescents are especially vulnerable inthis regard (Magnusson, 1988).

Developmental Changes in Peer Relations Duringthe elementary school years, children’s peer groupsincreasingly consist of same-sex peers (Maccoby, 1998,


THROUGH THEEYES OF STUDENTS

We Defined Each Otherwith Adjectives

“I was funky. Dana was sophisticated. Liz was crazy. Wewalked to school together, went for bike rides, cut school, gotstoned, talked on the phone, smoked cigarettes, slept over, dis-cussed boys and sex, went to church together, and got angryat each other. We defined each other with adjectives and eachother’s presence. As high school friends, we simultaneouslyresisted and anticipated adulthood and womanhood. . . .

“What was possible when I was 15 and 16? We still had totell out parents where we were going! We wanted to do excit-edly forbidden activities like going out to dance clubs anddrinking whiskey sours. Liz, Dana, and I wanted to do theseforbidden things in order to feel: to have intense emotional andsensual experiences that removed us from the suburban same-ness we shared with each other and everyone else we knew.We were tired of the repetitive experiences that our town, oursiblings, our parents, and our school offered to us. . . .

“The friendship between Dana, Liz, and myself was bornout of another emotional need: the need for trust. The threeof us had reached a point in our lives when we realized howunstable relationships can be, and we all craved safety andacceptance. Friendships all around us were often uncertain.We wanted and needed to be able to like and trust eachother.” (Garrod & others, 1992, pp. 199–200)



BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Improving Children’s Social Skills

In every class you teach, some children will likely have weak social skills. Oneor two might be rejected children. Several others might be neglected. Are therethings you can do to help these children improve their social skills? As you thinkabout this, keep in mind that improving social skills is easier when children are10 years of age or younger (Malik & Furman, 1993). In adolescence, peer repu-tations become more fixed as crowds and peer groups take on more importance.Here are some good strategies for improving children’s social skills:

1. Help rejected children learn to listen to peers and “hear what they say” insteadof trying to dominate peers. In one study, socially rejected young adolescentswere coached on the importance of showing behaviors (such as having betterempathy, listening carefully, and improving communication skills) that wouldimprove their chance of being liked by others (Murphy & Schneider, 1994).The intervention helped the rejected youth develop better friendships.

2. Help neglected children attract attention from peers in positive ways and holdtheir attention. They can do this by asking questions, listening in a warm andfriendly way, and saying things about themselves that relate to the peers’interests. Also work with neglected children on entering groups more effectively.

3. Provide children low in social skills with knowledge about how to improvethese skills. In one study of sixth- and seventh-graders, knowledge of bothappropriate and inappropriate strategies for making friends was related posi-tively to peer acceptance (Wentzel & Erdley, 1993). Knowledge of appropri-ate strategies included knowing:● How to initiate interaction, such as asking someone about his or her favorite

activities and asking the other child to do things together● That it is important to be nice, kind, and considerate● That it is necessary to show respect for others by being courteous and lis-

tening to what others have to sayKnowledge of inappropriate strategies includes knowing:● That it is not a good idea to be aggressive, show disrespect, be inconsid-

erate, hurt others’ feelings, gossip, spread rumors, embarrass others, orcriticize others

● Not to present yourself negatively, be self-centered, care only about your-self, or be jealous, grouchy, or angry all the time

● Not to engage in antisocial behavior, such as fighting, yelling at others, pick-ing on others, making fun of others, being dishonest, breaking school rules,or taking drugs

4. Read and discuss appropriate books on peer relations with students and devisesupportive games and activities. Include these as thematic units in your cur-riculum for young children. Make books on peer relations and friendship avail-able to older children and adolescents.

2002; Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). After extensive observations of elementaryschool playgrounds, two researchers characterized the settings as “gender school”(Luria & Herzog, 1985). They said that boys teach one another the required mascu-line behavior and strictly reinforce it, and girls often pass on the female culture andmainly congregate with each other.


In early adolescence, participation in mixed-sex groups increases. Also in ado-lescence, many students become members of crowds, and allegiance to the crowd canexert a powerful influence over their lives (Brown, 2004). Group identity with thecrowd can override the adolescent’s personal identity. In any secondary school, thereoften are three to six well-formed crowds. Some typical crowds are jocks, populars,brains, druggies, and toughs. Although many adolescents want to be in a crowd, someare fiercely independent and have no desire to be in one.

Friendship likely plays a more important developmental role in secondary schoolthan in elementary school (Sullivan, 1953). Adolescents disclose more personalinformation to their friends than younger children do (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987).And adolescents say that they depend more on their friends than on their parents tosatisfy their needs for companionship, reassurance of worth, and intimacy (Furman& Buhrmester, 1992).

Schools

In school, children spend many years as members of a small society that exerts atremendous influence on their socioemotional development. How does this socialworld change as children develop?

Schools’ Changing Social Developmental Contexts Social contexts vary throughthe early childhood, elementary school, and adolescent years (Minuchin & Shapiro,1983). The early childhood setting is a protected environment whose boundary is theclassroom. In this limited social setting, young children interact with one or twoteachers, usually female, who are powerful figures in their lives. Young children alsointeract with peers in dyads or small groups.

The classroom still is the main context in elementary school, although it ismore likely to be experienced as a social unit than is the early childhood class-room. The teacher symbolizes authority, which establishes the climate of the class-room, the conditions of social interaction, and the nature of group functioning.Peer groups are more important now, and students have an increased interest infriendship.

As children move into middle and junior high school, the school environmentincreases in scope and complexity (Wigfield & others, 2006). The social field is nowthe whole school rather than the classroom. Adolescents interact with teachers andpeers from a broader range of cultural backgrounds on a broader range of interests.More of the teachers are male. Adolescents’ social behavior becomes weighted morestrongly toward peers, extracurricular activities, clubs, and the community. Secondaryschool students are more aware of the school as a social system and might be moti-vated to conform to it or challenge it.

Early Childhood Education There are many variations in how young children areeducated. However, an increasing number of education experts advocate that thiseducation be developmentally appropriate (Slentz & Krogh, 2001).

Developmentally Appropriate Education In chapters 1 and 2, we described theimportance of engaging in developmentally appropriate teaching practices. Here weexpand on this topic in our discussion of developmentally appropriate education forchildren from birth to 8 years of age. Developmentally appropriate education isbased on knowledge of the typical development of children within an age span (ageappropriateness) as well as the uniqueness of the child (individual appropriateness).Developmentally appropriate education contrasts with developmentally inappropri-ate practice, which ignores concrete, hands-on methods in the teaching of young chil-dren. Direct teaching, largely through abstract paper-and-pencil tasks presented tolarge groups of young children, is believed to be developmentally inappropriate.Although we are discussing developmentally appropriate education in this chapter on


developmentally appropriate education

Education based on knowledge of the

typical development of children within an

age span (age appropriateness) as well as

the uniqueness of the child (individual

appropriateness).


socioemotional development, the concept applies to children’s physical and cognitivedevelopment as well.

Here are some of the themes of developmentally appropriate education (Brede-kamp & Copple, 1997):

● Domains of children’s development—physical, cognitive, and socioemotional—areclosely linked and development in one domain can influence and be influenced bydevelopment in other domains. Recognition of the connections across domainscan be used to plan children’s learning experiences.

● Development occurs in a relatively orderly sequence with later abilities, skills, andknowledge building on those already acquired. Knowledge of typical developmentwithin the age range served by the program provides a general framework toguide teachers in preparing the learning environment.

● Individual variation characterizes children’s development. Each child is a uniqueindividual and all children have their own strengths, needs, and interests.Recognizing this individual variation is a key aspect of being a competentteacher.

● Development is influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts. Early child-hood teachers need to understand how sociocultural contexts—such as povertyand ethnicity—affect children’s development. Teachers should learn about theculture of the majority of the children they serve if the culture differs fromtheir own.

● Children are active learners and should be encouraged to construct an understand-ing of the world around them. Children contribute to their own learning as theystrive to make meaning out of their daily experiences.

● Development advances when children have opportunities to practice newly acquiredskills as well as when they experience a challenge just beyond their present level ofmastery. In tasks that are just beyond the child’s independent reach, the adultand more-competent peers can provide scaffolding that allows the child tolearn.

● Children develop best in the context of a community where they are safe andvalued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure. Childrenbenefit from having caring teachers who genuinely want to help them learnand develop in positive ways.

Figure 3.4 contrasts developmentally appropriate and developmentally inappropriatepractices in constructing curriculum goals, teaching strategies, and creating a caringcommunity of learners (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997).

Do developmentally appropriate educational practices improve young children’sdevelopment? Yes. Young children in developmentally appropriate classrooms arelikely to have less stress, be more motivated, be more skilled socially, have better workhabits, be more creative, have better language skills, and demonstrate better mathskills than children in developmentally inappropriate classrooms (Hart & others,1996, 2003; Sherman & Mueller, 1996; Stipek & others, 1995).

How common are programs that use developmentally appropriate practice? Asfew as one-third to one-fifth of early childhood programs follow this educationalstrategy. Even fewer elementary schools do. Child-initiated activities and small-groupinstruction are the exception rather than the rule (Dunn & Kontos, 1997).

An increasingly popular approach to young children’s education in the UnitedStates is the developmentally appropriate education practiced in Reggio Emilia, asmall town in northern Italy (Stegelin, 2003). There children are encouraged to learnby investigating and exploring topics that interest them. A wide range of stimulatingmedia and materials are available for children to use as they learn. Children oftenexplore topics in a group. Two co-teachers serve as guides. The Reggio Emilia teach-ers view a project as an adventure. The project might start from a teacher’s suggestion,




FIGURE 3.4 Examples of NAEYC Guidelines for Appropriate and Inappropriate Practices for 3- through 5-Year-Olds

• To promote a positive climate for learning, teachers

help children learn how to develop positive relation-

ships with other children and adults.

• Teachers foster group cohesiveness and create

activities that meet children’s individual needs.

• Teachers bring each child’s home culture and

language into the shared culture of the school.

• Teachers recognize the importance of having

children work and play collaboratively.

• Teachers plan and prepare a learning environment

that fosters children’s initiative, active exploration

of material, and sustained engagement with other

children, adults, and activities.

• In selecting materials, teachers consider children’s

developmental levels and cultural backgrounds.

• Teachers maintain a safe, healthy environment and

carefully supervise children.

• Teachers give children opportunities to plan and

select many of their program activities from a variety

of learning areas and projects.

• Teachers encourage children’s language and com-

munication skills.

• Teaching strategies involve observing and interact-

ing with children to determine what each child is

capable of doing.

• Teachers support children’s play and child-chosen

activities. They also provide many opportunities for

children to plan, think about, reflect on, and discuss

their own experiences.

• Activities are interesting and at the right level to

challenge children and encourage their intrinsic

motivation.

• Teachers facilitate the development of social skills

and self-control by providing positive guidance

strategies.

• Curriculum goals assess learning in all develop-

mental areas—physical, social, emotional, language,

aesthetic, and intellectual.

• Curriculum content from various disciplines, such

as math, science, or social studies, is integrated

through themes, projects, play, and other learning

experiences.

• The curriculum plan is designed to help children

explore key ideas in disciplines appropriate for their

age.

• Culturally diverse and nonsexist materials are

provided.

• Teachers use a variety of approaches and daily op-

portunities to develop children's language and

literacy skills through meaningful experiences.

• Children have daily opportunities for aesthetic ex-

pression through art and music, as well as daily

opportunities to develop gross- and fine-motor skills.

• Little or no effort is made to build a sense of

community.

• The curriculum and environment are essentially

the same for each group of children that comes

through the program without considering the

interests and identities of the children.

• Cultural and other individual differences are

ignored.

• Teachers don’t help children develop feelings of

caring and empathy for each other.

• The environment is disorderly with little structure.

• The organization of the environment limits

children’s interaction with other children.

• Teachers don’t adequately monitor children.

• Learning materials are mainly drill-and-practice,

workbook-type activities rather than interesting

and engaging activities.

• The program provides few or no opportunities for

children to make choices.

• Children spend too much time sitting and being

quiet.

• Children do a lot of paper-and-pencil seatwork.

• Teachers don't provide adequate time for children

to develop concepts and skills.

• Too many activities are uninteresting and

unchallenging, or so difficult, that they diminish

children's intrinsic motivation to learn.

• Teachers spend too much time providing negative

feedback and punishment.

• Curriculum goals are narrowly focused.

• The curriculum is too trivial and follows a rigid plan

that doesn’t take into account children’s interests.

• In some programs, the curriculum is not adequately

planned.

• Curriculum expectations are not well matched to

children’s intellectual capacities and developmental

characteristics.

• Children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds are

ignored.

• Reading and writing instruction is too rigid.

• Instruction focuses on isolated skill development

through rote memorization.

• Little effort is made to provide children with oppor-

tunities to engage in aesthetic activities.

• Little time is spent in gross- or fine-motor activities.

Teaching to enhance development and learning

Constructing appropriate curriculum

Creating a caring community of learners

Component Appropriate Practice Inappropriate Practice


a child’s idea, or an event such as a snowfall or some-thing else unexpected. Children are given ample timeto think about and plan the project. Cooperation isa major theme in the Reggio Emilia approach (Firlik,1996). Reggio Emilia reflects the constructivistapproach to education that initially was described inchapters 1 and 2 and will be explored in greaterdepth in later chapters, especially chapter 10, “SocialConstructivist Approaches.”

Controversy in Early Childhood Education Cur-rently there is controversy about what the curriculumof U.S. early childhood education should be (Cress,2004). On one side are those who advocate a child-centered, constructivist approach much like thatemphasized by the National Association for the Edu-cation of Young Children (NAEYC) along the linesof developmentally appropriate practice. On theother side are those who advocate an academic, direct instruction approach.

In reality, many high-quality early childhood education programs include bothacademic and constructivist approaches. Many education experts such as Lilian Katz(1999) worry about academic approaches that place too much pressure on youngchildren to achieve and don’t provide any opportunities to actively construct knowl-edge. Competent early childhood programs also should focus on cognitive develop-ment and socioemotional development, not exclusively on cognitive development(Anderson & others, 2003; Jacobson, 2004; Kagan & Scott-Little, 2004; NAEYC, 2002).Early childhood education should encourage adequate preparation for learning, var-ied learning activities, trusting relationships between adults and children, andincreased parental involvement (Hildebrand, Phenice, & Hines, 2000). Too manyyoung children go to substandard early childhood programs. According to a reportby the Carnegie Corporation (1996), four out of five early childhood programs didnot meet quality standards.

Early Childhood Education for Children from Low-Income Families For manyyears, many children from low-income families did not receive any education beforethey entered first grade. In the 1960s, an effort was made to break the cycle of povertyand inadequate education for young children in the United States. Project Head Startwas designed to provide young children from low-income families opportunities toacquire the skills and experiences that are important for success in school. Fundedby the federal government, Project Head Start began in 1965 and continues to servedisadvantaged children today.

In high-quality Head Start programs, parents and communities are involved inpositive ways (Thurgood, 2001). The teachers are knowledgeable about children’sdevelopment and use developmentally appropriate practices. Researchers have foundthat when young children from low-income families experience a quality Head Startprogram, there are substantial long-term benefits. These include being less likely todrop out of school, to be in a special education class, or to be on welfare than theirlow-income counterparts who did not attend a Head Start program (Lazar & others,1982; Schweinhart, 1999). However, Head Start programs are not all created equal(McCarty, Abbott-Shim, & Lambert, 2001). One estimate is that 40 percent of the1,400 Head Start programs are inadequate (Zigler & Finn-Stevenson, 1999). Moreattention needs to be given to developing high-quality Head Start programs (Raver &Zigler, 1997; Zigler & Styco, 2004).

The U.S. Congress is considering changes that would infuse Head Start programswith a stronger academic focus. Although early childhood experts clearly hope thatthe overall quality of Head Start programs will improve, some worry that the emphasis


What is the curriculum controversy inearly childhood education?


on academic skills will come at the expense of reduced health services and decreasedemphasis on socioemotional skills.

The Transition to Elementary School As children make the transition to elemen-tary school, they interact and develop relationships with new and significant others.School provides them with a rich source of ideas to shape their sense of self.

A special concern about early elementary school classrooms is that they not pro-ceed primarily on the basis of negative feedback. I (your author) vividly remembermy first-grade teacher. Unfortunately, she never smiled; she was a dictator in the class-room, and learning (or lack of learning) progressed more on the basis of fear thanof enjoyment and passion. Fortunately, I experienced some warmer, more student-friendly teachers later on.

Children’s self-esteem is higher when they begin elementary school than whenthey complete it (Blumenfeld & others, 1981). Is that because they experienced somuch negative feedback and were criticized so much along the way? We will say moreabout the roles of reinforcement and punishment in children’s learning in chapter 7and about managing the classroom in chapter 14.

For now, though, consider the following two elementary school classrooms andwhat effect they might have on children’s learning and self-esteem (Katz & Chard,1989). In one, students spend the entire morning making identical pictures of traf-fic lights as they sit glued to their chairs. The teacher seems uninterested in theirwork, except when she occasionally comes around and informs them of their mis-takes. The teacher makes no attempt to get the students to relate the pictures to any-thing else the class is doing.

In the other class, students are investigating a school bus. They write to the dis-trict’s school superintendent and ask if they can have a bus parked at their school fora few days. They study the bus, discover how it functions, and discuss traffic rules.Then, in the classroom, they build their own bus out of cardboard. The students arehaving fun, but they also are practicing writing, reading, and even some arithmetic.When the class has parents’ night, the teacher is ready to report on how each childis doing. But the main thing the parents want to do is to see the bus, because theirchildren have been coming home and talking about the bus for weeks. Which classwould you say reflects developmentally appropriate education?

The Schooling of Adolescents Three special concerns about adolescent schoolingare (1) the transition to middle or junior high school, (2) effective schooling foryoung adolescents, and (3) the quality of high schools. How might the transition tomiddle or junior high school be difficult for many students?

The Transition to Middle or Junior High School This transition can be stressfulbecause it coincides with many other developmental changes (Conti, 2001; Eccles,2004; Wigfield, Byrenes, & Eccles, 2006; Wigfield & others, 2006). Students are begin-ning puberty and have increased concerns about their body image. The hormonalchanges of puberty stimulate increased interest in sexual matters. Students arebecoming more independent from their parents and want to spend more time withpeers. They must make the change from a smaller, more personalized classroom to alarger, more impersonal school. Achievement becomes more serious business andgetting good grades becomes more competitive.

As students move from elementary to middle or junior high school, they expe-rience the top-dog phenomenon. This refers to moving from the top position (in ele-mentary school, being the oldest, biggest, and most powerful students in the school)to the lowest position (in middle or junior high school, being the youngest, smallest,and least powerful students in the school). Schools that provide more support, lessanonymity, more stability, and less complexity improve student adjustment duringthis transition (Fenzel, Blyth, & Simmons, 1991). Also, one study found that when



parents were attuned to their young adolescents’ developmental needs and supportedtheir autonomy in decision making, the students were better adjusted during theschool transition (Eccles, Lord, & Buchanan, 1996).

Effective Schools for Young Adolescents Some critics argue that today’s middleand junior high schools have become watered-down versions of high schools.Instead of offering curricular and extracurricular activities geared to the biologicaland psychological development of young adolescents, say the critics, middle andjunior high schools mimic the curricular and extracurricular schedules of highschools.

In a 1989 report, “Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Cen-tury,” the Carnegie Foundation concluded that most young adolescents in the UnitedStates attend massive, impersonal schools; learn from seemingly irrelevant curricula;trust few adults in school; and lack access to health care and counseling. The CarnegieFoundation (1989) report recommended the following:

● Develop smaller “communities” or “houses” to lessen the impersonal nature oflarge middle schools.

● Lower student-to-counselor ratios from several hundred-to-1 to 10-to-1.● Involve parents and community leaders in schools.● Develop curricula that produce students who are literate, understand the

sciences, and have a sense of health, ethics, and citizenship.● Have teachers team teach in more flexibly designed curriculum blocks that

integrate several disciplines, instead of presenting students with disconnected,rigidly separated 50-minute segments.

● Boost students’ health and fitness with more in-school programs, and helpstudents who need public health care to get it.

In Turning Points 2000, there was continued emphasis on the earlier TurningPoints recommendations (Jackson & Davis, 2000). Some of the new emphases in the2000 recommendations focused on teaching a curriculum grounded in rigorous aca-demic standards, using instructional methods designed to prepare all students toachieve higher standards, provide a safe and healthy school environment, and involveparents and communities in supporting student learning and healthy development.In sum, middle schools throughout the nation need a major redesign if they are tobe effective in educating adolescents for becoming competent adults in the twenty-first century.

Improving America’s High Schools Just as there are concerns about U.S. middleschool education, so are there concerns about U.S. high school education (Kaufman,2001). Many students graduate from high school with inadequate reading, writing,and mathematical skills, including many who go on to college and have to enroll inremediation classes there. Other students drop out of high school and do not haveskills that will allow them to advance in the work world (Christensen & Thurlow,2004; Lehr & others, 2003).

In the last half of the twentieth century, high school dropout rates declinedoverall (Child Trends, 2006). For example, in the 1940s, more than half of U.S. 16-to 24-year-olds had dropped out of school; in 2003, only 10 percent had droppedout. Figure 3.5 shows the trends in high school dropout rates from 1972 through2004. Notice that the dropout rate of Latino adolescents remains high (24 percent of16- to 24-year-old Latino adolescents had dropped out of school in 2004). Althoughstatistics on Native American youth have not been adequately obtained, some esti-mates indicate that they likely have the highest dropout rate in the United States withonly about 50 to 70 percent completing their high school education.

Gender differences characterize U.S. dropout rates with males more likely to dropout than females (12 versus 9 percent) (Child Trends, 2006). The gender gap in



dropout rates is especially large for Latino adolescents (27 versus 20 percent) andAfrican American adolescents (12.5 versus 9.5 percent) (data for 2003).

Students drop out of schools for many reasons (Christensen & Thurlow, 2004).In one study, almost 50 percent of the dropouts cited school-related reasons for leav-ing school, such as not liking school or being expelled or suspended (Rumberger,1995). Twenty percent of the dropouts (but 40 percent of the Latino students) citedeconomic reasons for leaving school. One-third of the female students dropped outfor personal reasons, such as pregnancy or marriage.

A recent review of school-based dropout programs found that the most effectiveprograms provided early reading programs, tutoring, counseling, and mentoring(Lehrer & others, 2003). They also emphasized the importance of creating caringenvironments and relationships, and offered community-service opportunities.

“I Have a Dream” (IHAD) is an innovative comprehensive, long-term dropoutprevention program administered by the National IHAD Foundation in New York.Since the National IHAD Foundation was created in 1986, it has grown to num-ber over 180 projects in 64 cities and 27 states, serving more than 12,000 children(“I Have a Dream” Foundation, 2005). Local IHAD projects around the country“adopt” entire grades (usually the third or fourth) from public elementary schools,or corresponding age cohorts from public housing developments. Thesechildren—“Dreamers”—are then provided with a program of academic, social,cultural, and recreational activities throughout their elementary, middle school,and high school years. An important part of this program is that it is personalrather than institutional: IHAD sponsors and staff develop close long-term rela-tionships with the children. When participants complete high school, IHAD pro-vides the tuition assistance necessary for them to attend a state or local college orvocational school.

The IHAD Program was created in 1981, when philanthropist Eugene Lang madean impromptu offer of college tuition to a class of graduating sixth-graders at P.S.121 in East Harlem. Statistically, 75 percent of the students should have dropped outof school; instead, 90 percent graduated and 60 percent went on to college. Otherevaluations of IHAD programs have found dramatic improvements in grades, testscores, and school attendance, as well as a reduction of behavioral problems ofDreamers. For example, in Portland, Oregon, twice as many Dreamers as control-group students had reached a math standard, and the Dreamers were less likely to bereferred to the juvenile justice system (Davis, Hyatt, & Arrasmith, 1998).

Even when students graduate from high school, many not only are poorly pre-pared for college, but they also are poorly prepared for the demands of the modern,


These adolescents participate in the“I Have a Dream” (IHAD) Program, acomprehensive, long-term dropoutprevention program that has been verysuccessful.

01972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

Year

Perc

en

tag

e o

f 15-

to 24-y

ear-

old

s w

ho

have d

rop

ped

ou

t o

f sch

oo

lLatino

African American

White, non-Latino

Total

FIGURE 3.5 Trends in High School

Dropout Rates

From 1972 through 2004, the schooldropout rate for Latinos remained veryhigh (24 percent of 16- to-24-year-oldsin 2004). The African Americandropout rate was still higher (12 per-cent) than the White non-Latino rate(7 percent) in 2004. The overalldropout rate declined considerablyfrom the 1940s through the 1960s buthas declined only slightly since 1972.


high-performance workplace. A review of hiring practices at major companies indi-cated that many companies now have sets of basic skills they want new hires to have.These include the ability to read at relatively high levels, do at least elementary alge-bra, use personal computers for straightforward tasks such as word processing, solvesemistructured problems in which hypotheses must be formed and tested, commu-nicate effectively (orally and in writing), and work effectively in groups with personsof various backgrounds (Murnane & Levy, 1996).

An increasing number of educators argue that the nation’s high schools need anew mission for the twenty-first century, one which addresses these problems(National Commission on the High School Senior Year, 2001):

1. More support is needed to enable all students to graduate from high schoolwith the knowledge and skills to succeed in postsecondary education andcareers. Many parents and students, especially those in low-income and minor-ity communities, are unaware of the knowledge and level of skills required tosucceed in postsecondary education.

2. High schools need to have higher expectations for student achievement. Aspecial concern is the senior year of high school, which has become toomuch of a party-time rather than a time to prepare for one of life’s mostimportant transitions. Some students who have been accepted to collegeroutinely ignore the academic demands of their senior year. One recent sur-vey of 90,000 high school students in 26 states found that almost 20 percentof college-track seniors did not take a math course in their final year ofhigh school (Indiana University High School Survey of Student Engagement,2004). In this survey, 55 percent of the students studied less than 3 hours aweek, yet approximately two-thirds of those students said they mainly gotAs and Bs. Thus, many students are getting high grades without studyingmuch.

3. U.S. high school students spend too much time working in low-level servicejobs. Researchers have found that when tenth-graders work more than 14hours a week their grades drop, and when eleventh-graders work 20 ormore hours a week their grades decline (Greenberger & Steinberg, 1986). Atthe same time, shorter, higher-quality work experiences, including commu-nity service and internships, have been shown to benefit high schoolstudents.



Discuss how the social contexts of families, peers, and schoolsare linked with socioemotional development.

REVIEW

● What four parenting styles did Baumrind propose and which is likely to be

the most effective? How do aspects of families such as divorce and ethnicity/

socioeconomic status affect children’s development and education? In what

ways can school-family linkages be fostered?● What are peers and the five peer statuses? What differences can positive or

negative peer relations make in a child’s and an adolescent’s development and

education? What risks are attached to certain peer statuses? How do friendships

matter?● What is meant by developmentally appropriate education? What transitional

problems do students face as they move through different levels of schooling?

2




Review, Reflect, and Practice continued

REFLECT

● What parenting style(s) have you witnessed and experienced? What effects did

they have?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE

1. Which of the following teachers is most likely to encourage appropriate parental

involvement in their children’s education?

a. Mr. Bastian sends home weekly progress notes to the parents who request

them. He invites each parent to a conference at the end of the first grading

period, and contacts parents if a child is in serious trouble at school.

b. Ms. Washington contacts parents before the school year begins. She holds a

meeting for parents to discuss her expectations for both children and parents

and to answer questions. She requests volunteers to help in the classroom and

chaperone field trips. She sends home weekly progress reports that include

academic and social information.

c. Ms. Jefferson tells parents that their children need to develop independence,

which won’t happen if they hover around at school and interfere with the

educational process.

d. Ms. Hernandez holds two parent-teacher conferences each year and e-mails

parents if children fall behind in their work or present any problems in class.

She occasionally e-mails a parent when a child has made marked improvement

or accomplished something special.

2. Samuel is in fourth grade. He is large for his age, but not very mature. He is

extremely sensitive to any kind of criticism—constructive or not. He cries when

somebody teases him, which is often. Samuel often elicits teasing from his peers

by engaging in it himself. Which peer status is most likely for Samuel?

a. controversial

b. neglected

c. popular

d. rejected

3. Which of the following is the best example of a developmentally appropriate unit

on pioneer life for fourth-graders?

a. Mr. Johnson’s class has read about the daily lives of pioneers and are now

constructing log cabins that demonstrate their understanding of the typical

cabin of the period. Mr. Johnson moves around the room, giving help when

needed, asking students why they are including certain features, and ensuring

that all stay on task.

b. In Ms. Lincoln’s class, each student has read a different book about pioneer

life and is now writing a book report. The students work quietly at their

desks on their reports. She occasionally chastises students for talking or for

daydreaming.

c. Mr. Roosevelt’s class is taking turns reading aloud a book about pioneer life.

Each student reads a paragraph of the book in turn. When they are finished

with the book, they will be tested on the content.

d. Ms. Silver is lecturing to her students about pioneer life. She has gone over

reasons for the westward migration, modes of transportation, and clearing

the land and building a cabin. She will give them a test about pioneer life

on Friday.



www.mhhe.com/santedu3e Socioemotional Development 97

Moral Development

3 SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Self

So far we have discussed three important social contexts that influence students’socioemotional development: families, peers, and schools. In this section, we focusmore on the individual students themselves, as we explore the development of theself and morality.

The Self

According to twentieth-century Italian playwright Ugo Betti, when children say “I,”they mean something unique, not to be confused with any other. Psychologists oftenrefer to that “I” as the self. Two important aspects of the self are self-esteem andidentity.

Self-Esteem Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall view of himself or herself.Self-esteem also is referred to as self-worth or self-image. For example, a child withhigh self-esteem might perceive that she is not just a person but a good person.

Interest in self-esteem arose from the work of psychotherapist Carl Rogers(1961). Rogers said that the main reason individuals have low self-esteem is that theyhave not been given adequate emotional support and social approval. He especiallythought that as children grow up, they get told, “You didn’t do that right,” “Don’tdo that,” “You should have done that better,” or “How could you be so dumb?”

For many students, periods of low self-esteem come and go. But for some stu-dents, persistent low self-esteem translates into other, more serious problems. Persis-tent low self-esteem is linked with low achievement, depression, eating disorders, anddelinquency (Harter, 1999, 2006). The seriousness of the problem depends not onlyon the nature of the student’s low self-esteem but on other conditions as well. Whenlow self-esteem is compounded by difficult school transitions (such as the transitionto middle school) or family problems (such as divorce), the student’s problems canintensify.

Researchers have found that self-esteem changes as children develop (Galambos,Barker, & Krahn, 2006). In one recent study, both boys and girls had high self-esteemin childhood but their self-esteem dropped considerably in early adolescence(Robins & others, 2002). The self-esteem of girls dropped about twice as much asthat of boys during adolescence (see figure 3.6). Other researchers have found thatthe self-esteem of girls drops more than that of boys during adolescence (Kling& others, 1999; Major & others, 1999). Among the reasons given for the self-esteem decline in both boys and girls are the upheaval in physical changes ofpuberty, increased achievement demands and expectations, and inadequate supportfrom schools and parents. Among the reasons given for the gender disparity in thedecline of self-esteem are the high expectations for physical attractiveness in girls,which becomes more pronounced with pubertal change, and motivation for socialrelationships that is not rewarded by society (Crawford & Unger, 2004). However,note in figure 3.6 that despite the drop in self-esteem among adolescent girls,their average self-esteem score (3.3) was still higher than the neutral point on thescale (3.0).

Variations in self-esteem have been linked with many aspects of development(Harter, 2006). For example, one recent study found that adolescents who had lowself-esteem had lower levels of mental health, physical health, and economicprospects as adults than adolescents with high self-esteem (Trzesniewski & others,2006). However, much of the research on self-esteem is correlational rather thanexperimental. Recall from chapter 1 that correlation does not equal causation. Thus,

self-esteem Also called self-image

and self-worth, the individual’s overall

conception of himself or herself.

3.109–12

Self

-este

em

3.20

3.30

3.50

3.60

3.70

3.80

3.90

13–17

Age

18–22

Males

Females

FIGURE 3.6 The Decline of

Self-Esteem in Adolescence

In one study, the self-esteem of bothboys and girls declined during adoles-cence, but it declined considerablymore for girls than boys (Robins &others, 2002). The self-esteem scoresrepresent the mean self-esteem scoreson a 5-point scale, with higher scoresreflecting higher self-esteem.


if a correlational study finds an association between children’s low self-esteem andlow academic achievement, low academic achievement could cause the low self-esteem as much as low self-esteem causes low academic achievement (Bowles, 1999).

In fact, there are only moderate correlations between school performance andself-esteem, and these correlations do not suggest that high self-esteem produces bet-ter school performance (Baumeister & others, 2003). Efforts to increase students’ self-esteem have not always led to improved school performance (Davies & Brember,1999; Hansford & Hattie, 1982).

Children with high self-esteem show greater initiative, but this can produce pos-itive or negative outcomes (Baumeister & others, 2003). High self-esteem children areprone to both prosocial and antisocial actions. For example, they are more likely thanchildren with low self-esteem to defend victims against bullies, but they are also morelikely to be bullies.

Researchers have also found strong links between self-esteem and happiness(Baumeister & others, 2003). For example, the two were strongly related in an interna-tional study of 13,000 college students from 49 universities in 31 countries (Diener &Diener, 1995). It seems likely that high self-esteem increases happiness (Baumeister &others, 2003).

Many studies have found that individuals with low self-esteem report that theyfeel more depressed than individuals with high self-esteem (Arndt & Greenberg,2002; Baumeister & others, 2003; Fox & others, 2004). Low self-esteem has also beenlinked to suicide attempts and to anorexia nervosa (Fenzel, 1994; Osvath, Voros, &Fekete, 2004).

Students’ self-esteem often varies across different domains, such as academic,athletic, physical appearance, social skills, and so on (Harter, 1999, 2006). Thus, a stu-dent might have high self-esteem in regard to his or her school work but have lowself-esteem in the areas of athletic skills, physical appearance, and social skills. Evenwithin the academic domain, a student might have high esteem in some subjects(math, for example) and low self-esteem in others (English, for example).

Also, as students age their self-esteem becomes more differentiated (Harter, 2006;Horowitz & others, 2005). For example, Susan Harter (1989) added three new self-perception domains in her assessment of adolescents’ self-perceptions (close friend-ship, romantic appeal, and job competence) to the five she assesses with children(scholastic competence, athletic competence, social acceptance, physical appearance,and behavioral conduct).

Identity Development Another important aspect of the self is identity. Earlier in thechapter we indicated that Erik Erikson (1968) argued that the most important issuein adolescence involves identity development—searching for answers to questions likethese: Who am I? What am I all about? What am I going to do with my life? Not usu-ally considered during childhood, these questions become nearly universal concerns

during the high school and college years (Kroger,2007; Pals, 2006).

Identity Statuses Canadian researcher James Marcia(1980, 1998) analyzed Erikson’s concept of identityand concluded that it is important to distinguishbetween exploration and commitment. Explorationinvolves examining meaningful alternative identities.Commitment means showing a personal investmentin an identity and staying with whatever that iden-tity implies.

The extent of an individual’s exploration andcommitment is used to classify him or her accordingto one of four identity statuses (see figure 3.7).


Yes

Yes

No

No

Has the person explored meaningful alternatives regarding some identity question?

Has the person made a commitment?

IdentityAchievement

IdentityMoratorium

IdentityForeclosure

IdentityDiffusion

FIGURE 3.7 Marcia’s Four Identity of Statuses



BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Improving Children’s Self-Esteem

A current concern is that too many of today’s children andadolescents grow up receiving empty praise and as a con-sequence have inflated self-esteem (Graham, 2005; Stipek,2005). Too often they are given praise for mediocre or evenpoor performance. They may have difficulty handling com-petition and criticism. The title of a book, Dumbing DownOur Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Them-selves But Can’t Read, Write, or Add (Sykes, 1995) vividlycaptures the theme that many U.S. children’s, adolescents’,and college students’ academic problems stem from unmer-ited praise as part of an effort to prop up their self-esteem.Instead, it is possible to raise children’s self-esteem throughfour strategies (Bednar, Wells, & Peterson, 1995; Harter,1999, 2006):

1. Identify the causes of low self-esteem and the areas ofcompetence important to the self. This is critical. Is thechild’s low self-esteem due to poor school achievement?family conflict? weak social skills? Students have thehighest self-esteem when they perform competently inareas that they themselves feel are important. Thus, findout from students with low self- esteem what areas ofcompetence they value.

2. Provide emotional support and social approval. Virtuallyevery class has children who have received too manynegative evaluations. These children might come from anabusive and demeaning family that constantly puts themdown, or they might have been in prior classrooms thatdelivered too much negative feedback. Your emotionalsupport and social approval can make a big differencein helping them value themselves more. A school coun-selor also likely will benefit these children. The follow-ing comments by Judy Logan, a middle school teacherin San Francisco, underscore the importance of providingemotional support.


Listening, Explaining, and Supporting

I believe that a good teacher should passionately be onthe side of her students. That does not mean I supportthem in everything I do. It means I demand the best ofthem and am willing to help them be their best selves.It means I listen, explain, support, and allow withoutjudgment, sarcasm, or the need to impose the truth fromthe outside. The passage from childhood to adulthoodwe call adolescence is a very vulnerable journey. It isoften a difficult time for students and for their families.It is an adolescent’s “job” to rebel at times and to ques-tion the family environment that was such a comfortablecocoon during childhood. No matter how wonderful theparents, how loving the family, each adolescent needs tohave other adults in whom to confide. . . .

3. Help children achieve. Achieving can improve children’sself-esteem. Straightforward teaching of real academicskills often improves children’s achievement, and subse-quently their self-esteem. Often it is not enough to tellchildren they can achieve something; you also have tohelp them develop their academic skills.

4. Develop children’s coping skills. When children face aproblem and cope with it rather than avoid it, their self-esteem often improves. Students who cope rather thanavoid are likely to face problems realistically, honestly,and nondefensively. This produces in them favorablethoughts about themselves that raise their self-esteem.On the other hand, for students with low self-esteem,their unfavorable self-evaluations trigger denial, decep-tion, and avoidance. This type of self-generated disap-proval makes a student feel personally inadequate.

identity diffusion The identity status in

which individuals have neither explored

meaningful alternatives nor made a

commitment.

identity foreclosure The identity

status in which individuals have made a

commitment but have not explored

meaningful alternatives.

identity moratorium The identity

status in which individuals are in the

midst of exploring alternatives but have

not yet made a commitment.

● Identity diffusion occurs when individuals have not yet experienced a crisis(that is, they have not yet explored meaningful alternatives) or made any com-mitments. Not only are they undecided about occupational and ideologicalchoices, but they are also likely to show little interest in such matters.

● Identity foreclosure occurs when individuals have made a commitment buthave not yet experienced a crisis. This occurs most often when parents handdown commitments to their adolescents, more often than not in an authori-tarian manner. In these circumstances, adolescents have not had adequateopportunities to explore different approaches, ideologies, and vocations ontheir own.

● Identity moratorium occurs when individuals are in the midst of a crisis buttheir commitments are either absent or only vaguely defined.


● Identity achievement occurs when individuals have undergone a crisis andhave made a commitment.

Let’s explore some examples of Marcia’s identity statuses. A 13-year-old adoles-cent has neither begun to explore her identity in any meaningful way nor made anidentity commitment, so she is identity diffused. An 18-year-old boy’s parents wanthim to be a medical doctor, so he is planning on majoring in premedicine in collegeand really has not adequately explored any other options; he is identity foreclosed.Nineteen-year-old Sasha is not quite sure what life paths she wants to follow, but sherecently went to the counseling center at her college to find out about differentcareers, so she is in identity moratorium status. Twenty-one-year-old Marcelo exten-sively explored a number of different career options in college, eventually getting hisdegree in science education, and is looking forward to his first year of teaching highschool students, so he is identity achieved. Our examples of identity statuses havefocused on the career dimension, but remember that other dimensions are alsoimportant. Adolescents can explore alternative identities in numerous areas, such asvocational, religious, intellectual, political, sexual, gender, ethnic, and interests. Anadolescent can be farther along the path to identity in some of these areas than inothers. While many high school students are exploring different areas of their iden-tity, some will be identity diffused and others will be foreclosed because of theauthoritarian ways of their parents.

To further consider identity, complete Self-Assessment 3.1. There you will be ableto apply Marcia’s identity statuses to a number of different areas of identity in yourown life.

Ethnic Identity Ethnic identity is an enduring aspect of the self that includes a senseof membership in an ethnic group, along with the attitudes and feelings related to thatmembership (Phinney, 1996). The indicators of identity often differ for each succeeding

generation of immigrants (Phinney, 2003, 2006; Phinney &others, 2006). First-generation immigrants are likely to besecure in their identities and unlikely to change much;they may or may not develop a new identity. The degreeto which they begin to feel “American” appears to berelated to whether or not they learn English, develop socialnetworks beyond their ethnic group, and become cultur-ally competent in their new country. Second-generationimmigrants are more likely to think of themselves as“American” possibly because citizenship is granted atbirth. For second-generation immigrants, ethnic identityis likely to be linked to retention of their ethnic languageand social networks. In the third and later generations, theissues become more complex. Broad social factors mayaffect the extent to which members of this generationretain their ethnic identities. For example, media imagesmay either discourage or encourage members of an ethnicgroup from identifying with their group or retaining partsof its culture. Discrimination may force people to seethemselves as cut off from the majority group and encour-age them to seek the support of their own ethnic culture.

The immediate contexts in which ethnic minorityyouth live also influence their identity development

(Spencer, 2006; Spencer & others, 2001). In the United States, many ethnic minorityyouth live in pockets of poverty, are exposed to drugs, gangs, and crime, and inter-act with youth and adults who have dropped out of school or are unemployed. Sup-port for developing a positive identity is scarce. In such settings, programs for youthcan make an important contribution to identity development.


identity achievement The identity

status in which individuals have explored

meaningful alternatives and made a

commitment.

THROUGH THEEYES OF STUDENTS

IdentityExploring

Parents do not understandthat teenagers need to findout who they are, whichmeans a lot of experi-menting, a lot of moodswings, a lot of emotionsand awkwardness. Likeany teenager, I am facingan identity crisis. I amstill trying to figure outwhether I am a ChineseAmerican or an Americanwith Asian eyes. Michelle Chin, age 16


101

SELF-ASSESSMENT 3.1

Where Are You Now? Exploring Your Identity

Your identity is made up of many different parts, and so too will your students’ identities be comprisedof many different dimensions. By completing this checklist, you should gain a better sense of your ownidentity and the different aspects of your future students’ identities. For each component, check youridentity status as diffused, foreclosed, in a moratorium, or achieved.

If you checked “Diffused” or “Foreclosed” for any areas, take some time to think about what youneed to do to move into a “Moratorium” identity status in those areas and write about this in yourportfolio.

Identity Status

Identity Component Diffused Foreclosed Moratorium Achieved

Vocational identity

Religious identity

Achievement/intellectual identity

Political identity

Sexual identity

Gender identity

Relationship identity

Lifestyle identity

Ethnic and cultural identity

Personality characteristics

Interests

Researchers are also increasingly finding that a positive ethnic identity is relatedto positive outcomes for ethnic minority adolescents (Lee, 2005; Riekmann,Wadsworth, & Deyhle, 2004; Umana-Taylor, 2004, 2006). For example, one recentstudy revealed that ethnic identity was linked with higher school engagement andlower aggression (Van Buren & Graham, 2003). Another study with ninth-grade stu-dents found that the strength of adolescents’ ethnic identification was a better pre-dictor of their academic success than the specific ethnic labels they used to describethemselves (Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005).

Shirley Heath and Milbrey McLaughlin (1993) studied 60 youth organizationsthat involved 24,000 adolescents over a period of 5 years. They found that theseorganizations were especially good at building a sense of ethnic pride in inner-cityyouth. Heath and McLaughlin stress that many inner-city youth have too much timeon their hands, too little to do, and too few places to go. Organizations that perceive


youth as fearful, vulnerable, and lonely but also as capable, worthy, and eager to havea healthy and productive life contribute in positive ways to the identity developmentof ethnic minority youth.

Moral Development

As children develop a sense of self and an identity, they also develop a sense ofmorality. Moral development has important implications in the classroom. For exam-ple, a strong moral sense may increase the likelihood that students will consider oth-ers’ feelings or not cheat on a test. In one recent survey of 8,600 U.S. high schoolstudents, 70 percent admitted that they had cheated on at least one school exam inthe current school year, up from 60 percent in 1990 (Upfront, 2000). In this survey,almost 80 percent said they had lied to a teacher at least once.

Domains of Moral Development Moral development concerns rules and conven-tions about just interactions between people. These rules can be studied in threedomains: cognitive, behavioral, and emotional.

In the cognitive domain, the key issue is how students reason or think about rulesfor ethical conduct. In the behavioral domain, the focus is on how students actuallybehave rather than on the morality of their thinking. In the emotional domain, theemphasis is on how students morally feel. For instance, do they associate strongenough guilt feelings with an immoral action to resist performing that action? Dothey show empathy toward others?

Piaget’s Theory Piaget (1932) stimulated interest in how students think about moralissues. He extensively observed and interviewed 4- to 12-year-old children. He watchedthem play marbles, seeking to learn how they used and thought about the game’s rules.He also asked children about ethical rules, quizzing them about theft, lies, punishment,and justice. From this he derived a stage theory of moral development.

Heteronomous morality is Piaget’s first stage of moral development. It lasts fromapproximately 4 to 7 years of age. At this stage, justice and rules are conceived of asunchangeable properties of the world, removed from the control of people.Autonomous morality is Piaget’s second stage of moral development, reached atabout 10 years of age or older. At this point, the child becomes aware that rules andlaws are created by people and that, in judging an action, the actor’s intentions aswell as the consequences should be considered. Children 7 to 10 years of age are ina transition between the two stages, showing some features of both.

The heteronomous thinker also believes in immanent justice, the concept that ifa rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately. Young children believethat a violation is in some way automatically connected to punishment. They oftenlook around in a worried fashion after committing a transgression, expectinginevitable punishment. Older children, being moral autonomists, recognize that pun-ishment is socially mediated and occurs only if a relevant person witnesses thewrongdoing and that, even then, punishment is not inevitable.

Piaget said that moral development is mainly advanced through the mutualgive-and-take of peer relations. In the peer group, where all members have similarpower and status, children negotiate rules and discuss and settle disagreements. InPiaget’s view, parents play a less important role in children’s moral developmentbecause they have so much more power than children and hand down rules in anauthoritarian way.

Kohlberg’s Theory Lawrence Kohlberg (1976, 1986), like Piaget, stressed that moraldevelopment primarily involves moral reasoning and occurs in stages. Kohlbergarrived at his theory after interviewing children, adolescents, and adults (primarily


moral development Development with

respect to the rules and conventions of

just interactions between people.

heteronomous morality In Piaget’s

theory, the first stage of moral develop-

ment (about 4 to 7 years of age), in which

justice and rules are conceived of as

unchangeable properties of the world,

beyond the control of people.

autonomous morality In Piaget’s theory,

the second stage of moral development

(entered at about 10 years of age), in which

children become aware that rules and laws

are created by people and that in judging

action, the actor’s intentions as well as

consequences need to be considered.


males) about their views on a series of moral dilemmas. Here is an example of thetype of dilemma he presented:

A woman is near death and is suffering from a special kind of cancer. There is only one drugthat doctors think might save her. It was recently discovered by a druggist living in the sametown as the woman. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist is charging 10 timeswhat the drug cost him to make. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, tries to borrow themoney to buy the drug from every place he can think of but he can’t raise enough money.He tells the druggist that his wife is dying and asks him to sell it to him cheaper or let himpay later. But the druggist says, “No, I discovered it and I deserve to make money from it.”Later, Heinz gets desperate, breaks into the druggist’s store, and steals the drug for his wife.

After reading the story (or, in the case of young children, hearing it read to them),individuals are asked a series of questions, such as these: Was Heinz right to steal thedrug? Is it a husband’s duty to steal the drug? Would a good husband steal? Did thedruggist have the right to charge so much for the drug? Why or why not?

Kohlberg’s Levels and Stages of Moral Development Based on the reasons individu-als gave in response to the dilemma just discussed and 10 others like it, Kohlberg con-structed a theory of moral development that has three main levels with two stages ateach of the levels. A key concept in understanding Kohlberg’s theory is internalization,which refers to the developmental change from externally controlled behavior to inter-nally controlled behavior.

Preconventional reasoning is the lowest level of moral development inKohlberg’s theory. At this level, the child shows no internalization of moral values.Moral reasoning is controlled by external rewards and punishment.

Conventional reasoning is the second, or intermediate, level in Kohlberg’s the-ory. At this level, the child’s internalization is intermediate. The child abides inter-nally by certain standards, but they are essentially the standards imposed by otherpeople, such as parents, or by society’s laws.

Postconventional reasoning is the highest level in Kohlberg’s theory. At this level,morality is completely internalized and not based on external standards. The studentrecognizes alternative moral courses, explores options, and then decides on the moralcode that is best for him or her. A summary of Kohlberg’s three levels and six stages,along with examples of each of the stages, is presented in figure 3.8.

In studies of Kohlberg’s theory, longitudinal data show a relation of the stages toage, although few people ever attain the two highest stages, especially stage 6 (Colby& others, 1983). Before age 9, most children reason about moral dilemmas at a pre-conventional level. By early adolescence, they are more likely to reason at theconventional level.

Kohlberg stressed that underlying changes in cognitive development promote moreadvanced moral thinking. He also said that children construct their moral thoughts asthey pass through the stages—that they do not just passively accept a cultural norm formorality. Kohlberg argued that a child’s moral thinking can be advanced through dis-cussions with others who reason at the next higher stage. Like Piaget, Kohlberg thoughtthat the mutual give-and-take of peer relations promotes more advanced moral think-ing because of the role-taking opportunities they provide children.

Kohlberg’s Critics Kohlberg’s provocative theory has not gone unchallenged (Gibbs,2003; Lapsley, 2006; Lapsley & Narvaez, 2006; Nucci, 2004; Shweder & others, 2006;Turiel, 2006). One powerful criticism centers on the idea that moral thoughts don’talways predict moral behavior. The criticism is that Kohlberg’s theory places toomuch emphasis on moral thinking and not enough on moral behavior. Moral rea-sons sometimes can be a shelter for immoral behavior. Bank embezzlers and U.S.presidents endorse the loftiest of moral virtues, but their own behavior can prove tobe immoral. No one wants a nation of stage-6 Kohlberg thinkers who know what isright yet do what is wrong.


Lawrence Kohlberg, the architect of aprovocative cognitive developmentaltheory of moral development.

preconventional reasoning In

Kohlberg’s theory, the lowest level of

moral development; at this level, the

child shows no internalization of moral

values and moral reasoning is controlled

by external rewards and punishments.

conventional reasoning In Kohlberg’s

theory, the middle level of moral develop-

ment; at this level, internalization is

intermediate in the sense that individuals

abide by certain standards (internal) but

these essentially are the standards of

others (external).

postconventional reasoning In

Kohlberg’s theory, the highest level of

moral development; at this level, moral

development is internalized and moral

reasoning is self-generated.


Another line of criticism is that Kohlberg’s theory is too individualistic. CarolGilligan (1982, 1998) distinguishes between the justice perspective and the care per-spective. Kohlberg’s is a justice perspective that focuses on the rights of the individ-ual, who stands alone and makes moral decisions. The care perspective views peo-ple in terms of their connectedness. Emphasis is placed on relationships and concernfor others. According to Gilligan, Kohlberg greatly underplayed the care perspective—possibly because he was a male, most of his research was on males, and he lived ina male-dominant society.

In extensive interviews with girls from 6 to 18 years of age, Gilligan found thatthey consistently interpret moral dilemmas in terms of human relationships, not interms of individual rights. Gilligan (1996) also has argued that girls reach a criticaljuncture in their development in early adolescence. At about 11 or 12 years of age,they become aware of how much they prize relationships yet come to realize thisinterest is not shared by the male-dominant society. The solution, says Gilligan, is togive relationships and concern for others a higher priority in our society. Gilligandoes not recommend totally throwing out Kohlberg’s theory. She argues the highestlevel of moral development occurs when individuals combine the care and justiceperspectives in positive ways.

Controversy exists over whether the gender difference in moral judgment is asstrong as Gilligan says (Hyde, 2005, 2007; Walker, 2005). For example, a meta-analysis(a statistical analysis that combines the results of many different studies) cast doubton Gilligan’s claim of substantial gender differences in moral judgment (Jaffee &Hyde, 2000). Overall, this analysis found only a small gender difference in care-basedreasoning. However, some researchers have found differences in how boys and girlsinterpret moral situations with girls giving more prosocial, helping responses (Eisen-berg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2006; Eisenberg & Morris, 2004).

Moral Personality Recently there has been a surge of interest in what might con-stitute a moral personality. The interest has focused on three areas: moral identity,moral character, and moral exemplars:

● Moral identity. Individuals have a moral identity when moral notions andcommitments are central to their lives (Blasi, 2005). In this view, if students


LEVEL 3

Postconventional LevelFull Internalization

LEVEL 2

Conventional LevelIntermediate Internalization

LEVEL 1

Preconventional LevelNo Internalization

Stage 5Social Contract or Utility

and Individual Rights

Stage 3Mutual Interpersonal

Expectations, Relationships,

and Interpersonal Conformity

Individuals pursue their own interests

but let others do the same. What is

right involves equal exchange.

Individuals value trust, caring, and

loyalty to others as a basis for moral

judgments.

Individuals reason that values, rights,

and principles undergird or transcend

the law.

Stage 6Universal Ethical Principles

The person has developed moral

judgments that are based on universal

human rights. When faced with a

dilemma between law and conscience,

a personal, individualized conscience is

followed.

Stage 4Social Systems Morality

Moral judgments are based on

understanding of the social order, law,

justice, and duty.

Stage 1Heteronomous Morality

Children obey because adults tell them

to obey. People base their moral

decisions on fear of punishment.

Stage 2Individualism, Purpose,

and Exchange

justice perspective A moral perspective

that focuses on the rights of the individual;

Kohlberg’s theory is a justice perspective.

care perspective A moral perspective

that focuses on connectedness and

relationships among people; Gilligan’s

approach reflects a care perspective.

Carol Gilligan says that girls experiencelife differently than boys do; in Gilligan’swords, girls have a “different voice.”She argues that relationships are centralto every aspect of a female’s life.

FIGURE 3.8 Kohlberg’s Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral Development


behave in a manner that violates their moral commitment, it places theintegrity of their self at risk (Lapsley & Narvaez, 2006).

● Moral character. An emphasis on moral character suggests that if studentsdon’t have a moral character, they will wilt under pressure or fatigue, fail tofollow through, become distracted and discouraged, and fail to behave morally.The moral character approach emphasizes the importance of having certainmoral virtues, such as “honesty, truthfulness, and trustworthiness, as well asthose of care, compassion, thoughtfulness, and considerateness. Other salienttraits revolve around virtues of dependability, loyalty, and conscientiousness”(Walker, 2002, p. 74).

● Moral exemplars. Moral exemplars are people who have lived exemplary morallives. Then have a moral personality, identity, character, and set of virtues thatreflect moral excellence and commitment. Students may benefit when teachersinvite moral exemplars to talk with them about their lives and experiences.

Moral Education Is there a best way to educate students so they will developbetter moral values? Moral education is hotly debated in educational circles. Wewill study one of the earliest analyses of moral education, then turn to some con-temporary views.

The Hidden Curriculum Recall from chapter 1 that John Dewey was one of edu-cational psychology’s pioneers. Dewey (1933) recognized that even when schools donot have specific programs in moral education, they provide moral educationthrough a “hidden curriculum.” The hidden curriculum—conveyed by the moralatmosphere that is a part of every school—is created by school and classroom rules,the moral orientation of teachers and school administrators, and text materials.Teachers serve as models of ethical or unethical behavior. Classroom rules and peerrelations at school transmit attitudes about cheating, lying, stealing, and considera-tion for others. Through its rules and regulations, the school administration infusesthe school with a value system.

Character Education Character education is a direct approach to moral educa-tion that involves teaching students basic moral literacy to prevent them from engag-ing in immoral behavior and doing harm to themselves or others. The argument isthat behaviors such as lying, stealing, and cheating are wrong and that studentsshould be taught this throughout their education (Lapsley & Narvaez, 2006; Nucci,2004). According to the character education approach, every school should have anexplicit moral code that is clearly communicated to students. Any violations of thecode should be met with sanctions (Bennett, 1993). Instruction in moral conceptswith respect to specific behaviors, such as cheating, can take the form of exampleand definition, class discussions and role-playing, or rewards to students for properbehavior.

Some character education movements are the Character Education Partnership,the Character Education Network, the Aspen Declaration on Character Education,and the publicity campaign “Character Counts.” Among the books that promotecharacter education are William Bennett’s (1993) The Book of Virtues and WilliamDamon’s (1995) Greater Expectations. Critics argue that some character educationprograms encourage students to be too passive and noncritical.

Values Clarification Values clarification means helping people to clarify what theirlives are for and what is worth working for. In this approach, students are encour-aged to define their own values and to understand others’ values. Values clarificationdiffers from character education in not telling students what their values should be.

In values clarification exercises, there are no right or wrong answers. The clarifi-cation of values is left up to the individual student. Advocates of values clarification


hidden curriculum Dewey’s concept

that every school has a pervasive moral

atmosphere even if it does not have a

program of moral education.

character education A direct approach

to moral education that involves teaching

students basic moral literacy to prevent

them from engaging in immoral behavior

and doing harm to themselves or others.

values clarification An approach to

moral education that emphasizes helping

people clarify what their lives are for and

what is worth working for; students are

encouraged to define their own values

and understand the values of others.



cognitive moral education An ap-

proach to moral education based on the

belief that students should value things

such as democracy and justice as their

moral reasoning develops; Kohlberg’s

theory has served as the foundation for

many cognitive moral education efforts.

service learning A form of education

that promotes social responsibility and

service to the community.

say it is value-free. Critics, however, argue that its controversial content offends com-munity standards. They also say that because of its relativistic nature, values clarifica-tion undermines accepted values and fails to stress right behavior.

Character education should involve more than a listing of moral virtues on aclassroom wall (Walker, 2002). Instead, children and adolescents need to participatein critical discussions of values—to discuss and reflect on how to incorporate virtuesinto their daily lives. Exposing children to moral exemplars worthy of emulating andgetting them to participate in community service are also strategies important incharacter education.

Cognitive Moral Education Cognitive moral education is an approach based onthe belief that students should learn to value ideals such as democracy and justice astheir moral reasoning develops. Kohlberg’s theory has been the basis for a numberof cognitive moral education programs. In a typical program, high school studentsmeet in a semester-long course to discuss a number of moral issues. The instructoracts as a facilitator rather than as a director of the class. The hope is that studentswill develop more advanced notions of such concepts as cooperation, trust, respon-sibility, and community. Toward the end of his career, Kohlberg (1986) recognizedthat the school’s moral atmosphere is more important than he initially envisioned.For example, in one study, a semester-long moral education class based on Kohlberg’stheory was successful in advancing moral thinking in three democratic schools butnot in three authoritarian schools (Higgins, Power, & Kohlberg, 1983).

Service Learning Another approach to moral education—service learning—takeseducation out into the community (Benson & others, 2006; Hart, 2006; Metz &Youniss, 2005; Reinders & Youniss, 2006; Youniss, 2006). Service learning is a formof education that promotes social responsibility and service to the community. Inservice learning, students engage in activities such as tutoring, helping older adults,working in a hospital, assisting at a child-care center, or cleaning up a vacant lot to make

This adolescent volunteered to work in the National Helpers Network, which gives studentsan opportunity to participate in service learning. Among the service provided are helpingwith environmental concerns, improving neighborhoods, and tutoring. Students also partici-pate in weekly seminars that encourage them to reflect on their active involvement in thecommunity.



BEST PRACTICESStrategies for Improving Children’s Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial behavior involves the positive side of moral devel-opment (in contrast to antisocial behavior such as cheating,lying, and stealing). Prosocial behavior is behavior that isregarded as being altruistic, fair, sharing, or generally empa-thetic (Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2006). Here are somestrategies that teachers can adopt to improve students’prosocial behavior (Wittmer & Honig, 1994, pp. 5–10):

1. “Value and emphasize consideration of others’ needs.”This encourages students to engage in more helpingactivities. Nel Noddings (2001) explains the morality ofcaring as one of teaching students to feel for others,which leads to empathy and concern.

2. “Model prosocial behaviors.” Students imitate whatteachers do. For example, a teacher who comforts a stu-dent in times of stress is likely to observe students imi-tating her comforting behavior.

3. “Label and identify prosocial and antisocial behaviors.”Often go beyond just saying, “That’s good” or “That’snice” to a student. Be specific in identifying prosocialbehaviors. Say, “You are being helpful” or “You gave hima tissue; he really needed it to wipe his nose.” Or regard-ing antisocial behavior, to a young child you might saysomething like “That’s not being nice. How would youfeel if he messed up your papers like that?”

4. “Attribute positive social behaviors to each child.”Attribute positive intentions to a positive act, such as“You shared because you like to help others.”

5. “Notice and positively encourage prosocial behaviors,but do not overuse external rewards.” Commenting onpositive behaviors and attributing positive characteristicsto students rather than using external rewards helps stu-dents to internalize prosocial attitudes.

6. “Facilitate perspective taking and understanding others’feelings.” Helping students notice and respond to others’feelings can increase their consideration of others.

7. “Use positive discipline strategies.” Reason with studentswhen they do something wrong. If a student is tooaggressive and harms another student, point out the con-sequences of the student’s behavior for the victim. Avoidharsh, punitive behavior with students.

8. “Develop class and school projects that foster altruism.”Let children come up with examples of projects they canengage in that will help others. These projects mightinclude cleaning up the schoolyard, writing as pen palsto children in troubled lands, collecting toys or food forindividuals in need, and making friends with older adultsduring visits to a nursing home.

a play area. Thus, service learning takes education out into the community (Reinders& Youniss, 2006; Youniss, 2006).

One goal of service learning is to help students to become less self-centered andmore strongly motivated to help others (Pritchard & Whitehead, 2004). Oneeleventh-grade student worked as a reading tutor for students from low-incomehomes with reading skills well below their grade levels. She commented that untilshe did the tutoring she didn’t realize how many students had not experienced thesame opportunities that she had had when she was growing up. An especiallyrewarding moment was when one young girl told her, “I want to learn to read likeyou do so I can go to college when I grow up.” A key feature of service learning isthat it benefits both the student volunteers and the recipients of their help (Hamil-ton & Hamilton, 2004).

Students who engage in service learning tend to share certain characteristics, suchas being extraverted, having a high level of self-understanding, and showing a com-mitment to others (Eisenberg & Morris, 2004). Also, females are more likely to vol-unteer to engage in community service than males (Eisenberg & Morris, 2004).

Researchers have found that service learning benefit students in a number of ways:

● Their grades improve, they become more motivated, and set more goals (John-son & others, 1998; Search Institute, 1995).

● Their self-esteem improves (Hamburg, 1997; Johnson & others, 1998).● They have an improved sense of being able to make a difference for others

(Search Institute, 1995).


● They become less alienated (Calabrase & Schumer, 1986).● They increasingly reflect on society’s political organization and moral order

(Yates, 1995; Youniss, 2006).

Recent figures indicate that 26 percent of U.S. public high schools require stu-dents to participate in service learning (Metz & Youniss, 2005). One recent studyfound that participating in the required 40 hours of community service improvedthe civic attitudes and behaviors of 12th grade students who had never before par-ticipated in a service learning program (Metz & Youniss, 2005). The benefits ofservice learning, both for the volunteer and for the recipient, suggest that more stu-dents should be required to participate in service learning programs (Benson &others, 2006).



Explain these aspects of children’s socioemotional development:self-esteem, identity, and moral development.

REVIEW

● What is self-esteem and what are some ways to increase students’ self-esteem?

What is the nature of identity development and what are the four statuses of

identity?● What is moral development and what stages of moral development were described

by Piaget? What levels were identified by Kohlberg and what are two criticisms of

his theory? Contrast the justice and care perspectives. What are some forms of

moral education?

REFLECT

● What is the level of moral development likely to be among the children you

intend to teach? How might this affect your approach to how you manage

students’ relations with others in class?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE

1. Teachers can have the most positive impact on students’ self-esteem and achieve-

ment by

a. making academic tasks easy.

b. having children who often receive negative feedback from peers work in

groups with these peers to foster social approval.

c. helping children succeed by teaching them appropriate learning strategies.

d. intervening in children’s problems so that they don’t get frustrated.

2. Marika sees Jamal take Yosuke’s snack. Soon afterward, she sees Yosuke retaliate

by taking Jamal’s favorite pen. Marika does not report these incidents to the

teacher, because they involve equal exchanges. According to Kohlberg, which

stage of moral development has Marika reached?

a. stage 1

b. stage 2

c. stage 3

d. stage 4


3

In chapters 2 and 3 we have examined how students develop, focusing mainly onthe general pattern. In chapter 4, we will explore how individual students vary withregard to intelligence and other personal characteristics.


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CRACK THE CASEThe Case of the Fight

Many schools, including the one in which Miss Mahoneyteaches, emphasize character education as a strategy for pre-venting violence. The basic idea is to promote empathyamong students and to disallow behaviors such as teasing,name-calling, and threats of any kind. Miss Mahoney hasincluded character education in the curriculum of her fifth-grade class. However, many of her students, especially theboys, continue to display the very behaviors she is trying toeliminate.

Two students in Miss Mahoney’s class, Santana and Luke,are on the same club soccer team and often get into verbalconflicts with each other, although they appreciate eachother’s talents on the field. Tuesday night at practice, in vio-lation of the team’s rules, Santana told Luke that he “sucks.”Luke decides to let it go. He doesn’t want Santana to suffera one-game suspension, recognizing Santana’s value to theteam in light of facing a tough opponent that weekend.

Thursday in class, Luke accuses Santana of stealing the cardshe was using to organize a project. Luke is very angry. Santanaalso gets infuriated, claiming he did not steal them. He thenfinds them on the floor and hands them to Luke. “Here’s yourdumb cards, Luke,” he says. “See, I didn’t steal them.”

In anger, Luke says, “Fine. Then how come they’re all crin-kled? You know, I could beat you up and maybe I just will.”

“Yeah, right. You and who else?” asks Santana with asneer.

Two other boys working nearby overheard the altercationand begin contributing their perspectives.

“Yeah, Santana, Luke would kick your rear,” says Grant.“I think Santana would win,” chimes in Peter.“Meet me at the park tomorrow after school and let’s just

see!” demands Santana.“No problem,” retorts Luke.Thursday evening, they are both at soccer practice. Noth-

ing is said about the fight that was to take place the next dayafter school.

Friday morning Santana’s mother calls Miss Mahoney totell her that Santana is afraid to come to school because Lukehas threatened to beat him up. Obviously, Miss Mahoney is

concerned and realizes she must address the situation. Luke’smother also talks to the principal about the situation. How-ever, all Santana’s mother told either of them is that Luke hadthreatened to beat up her son. She didn’t know why and didnot think the reason mattered in the least. She wanted herson protected and the other boy punished.

That morning Luke’s mother was in the school for anotherpurpose. The principal stopped her to talk about the situa-tion, telling her that Santana had told his mother he wasafraid to come to school because Luke was going to beat himup. Luke’s mother asked for more information. On hearingSantana’s side of the story, which was simply that Luke hadthreatened him, she told the principal that this didn’t soundright—that Luke was impulsive enough that if he’d wanted tobeat up Santana, he probably would have just hit him, notplanned a fight for a later date. She wanted to talk to Lukebefore she jumped to any conclusions and asked that MissMahoney and the principal talk to both of the boys and anyother children involved.

Both Miss Mahoney and the principal did as Luke’smother asked. The story that came out is the one you read.They decided that Luke should serve an in-school suspen-sion the following day and miss recess all week “because itis the third ‘incident’ we’ve had with him this year.” Santanareceived no punishment and walked away from the meeting,grinning.

● What are the issues in this case?● At what stage of moral development would you expect

these boys to be, based on the information you have?What predictions can you make regarding each boy’ssense of self and emotional development?

● What can you say about the boys’ mothers?● What do you think about the punishment that Luke

received? How would you have handled this situation?● What impact do you think this will have on the boys’

future relationship? What impact on their attitudes towardschool?


110

Reach Your Learning GoalsSocial Contexts and Socioemotional Development

1 CONTEMPORARY THEORIES: Describe two contemporary perspectives on socioemotionaldevelopment: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Erikson’s life-span development theory.

Bronfenbrenner’s EcologicalTheory

Erikson’s Life-SpanDevelopment Theory

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory seeks to explain how environmental systems influencechildren’s development. Bronfenbrenner described five environmental systems that includeboth micro and macro inputs: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, andchronosystem. Bronfenbrenner’s theory is one of the few systematic analyses that includesboth micro and macro environments. Critics say the theory lacks attention to biologicaland cognitive factors. They also point out that it does not address step-by-step develop-mental changes.

Erikson’s life-span development theory proposes eight stages, each centering on a particulartype of challenge or dilemma: trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt,initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus identity confusion, intimacyversus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and integrity versus despair. Erikson’s theoryhas made important contributions to understanding socioemotional development, althoughsome critics say the stages are too rigid and that their sequencing lacks research support.

2 SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF DEVELOPMENT: Discuss how the social contexts of families, peers,and schools are linked with socioemotional development.

Peers

Families Baumrind proposed four parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and indul-gent. Authoritative parenting is associated with children’s social competence. Greater num-bers of children are growing up in diverse family structures than at any other point inhistory. A special concern is the number of children of divorce. When both the parentingand school environment are authoritative, children in divorced families benefit. Other spe-cial concerns are ethnic and socioeconomic variations in families. Middle-income familiesare more likely to use discipline that encourages internalization; low-income families aremore likely to use discipline that focuses on external characteristics. Two important aspectsof school-family linkages are family management and parental involvement. Fosteringschool-family partnerships involves providing assistance to families, communicating effec-tively with families about school programs and student progress, encouraging parents to bevolunteers, involving families with their children in learning activities at home, includingfamilies in school decisions, and coordinating community collaboration. Another importantaspect of parenting involves structuring and monitoring out-of-school care.

Peers are children of about the same age or maturity level. Social isolation, or the inabilityto “plug in” to a social network, is linked with many problems. Children can have one offive peer statuses: popular, average, rejected, neglected, or controversial. Rejected childrenoften have more serious adjustment problems than neglected children. Friendship is animportant aspect of students’ social relations. Peer relations begin to consume more ofchildren’s time in elementary and secondary schools. Same-sex peer groups predominate inelementary school. In early adolescence, participation in mixed-sex groups increases andbeing a member of a crowd becomes more important.

Schools involve changing social developmental contexts from preschool through high school.The early childhood setting is a protected environment with one or two teachers, usuallyfemale. Peer groups are more important in elementary school. In middle school, the socialfield enlarges to include the whole school, and the social system becomes more complex.

Schools


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3 SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Explain these aspects of children’s socioemotionaldevelopment: self-esteem, identity, and moral development.

Moral Development

The Self Self-esteem, also referred to as self-worth or self-image, is the individual’s overall conceptionof himself or herself. Self-esteem often varies across domains and becomes more differenti-ated in adolescence. Four keys to increasing students’ self-esteem are to (1) identify thecauses of low self-esteem and the domains of competence important to the student,(2) provide emotional support and social approval, (3) help students achieve, and (4) developstudents’ coping skills. Marcia proposed that adolescents have one of four identity statuses(based on the extent to which they have explored or are exploring alternative paths andwhether they have made a commitment): identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identitymoratorium, identity achievement.

Moral development concerns rules and conventions about just interactions between people.These rules can be studied in three domains: cognitive, behavioral, and emotional. Piagetproposed two stages of moral thought: heteronomous morality (ages 4 to 7 years) andautonomous morality (10 years and older). Piaget argued that the mutual give-and-take of peerrelations advances moral development. Kohlberg, like Piaget, stressed that the key to under-standing moral development is moral reasoning and that it unfolds in stages. Kohlberg identi-fied three levels of moral development (preconventional, conventional, and postconventional),with two stages at each level. As individuals go through the three levels, their moral thinkingbecomes more internalized. Two main criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory are (1) Kohlberg did notgive enough attention to moral behavior, and (2) Kohlberg’s theory gave too much power tothe individual and not enough to relationships with others. In this regard, Gilligan argued thatKohlberg’s theory is a male-oriented justice perspective. She believes that what is needed inmoral development is a female-oriented care perspective. Recently there has been a surge ofinterest in what constitutes a moral personality. Three aspects of moral personality are identity,character, and exemplars. The hidden curriculum is the moral atmosphere that every schoolhas. Three types of moral education are character education, values clarification, and cognitivemoral education. Service learning is becoming increasingly important in schools.

Controversy characterizes early childhood education curricula. On the one side are the devel-opmentally appropriate, child-centered, constructivist advocates; on the other are those whoadvocate an instructivist, academic approach. Head Start has provided early childhood edu-cation for children from low-income families. High-quality Head Start programs are effectiveeducational interventions, but up to 40 percent of these programs may be ineffective. Aspecial concern is that many early elementary school classrooms rely mainly on negativefeedback. The transition to middle or junior high is stressful for many students because itcoincides with so many physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes. It involves goingfrom the top-dog position to the lowest position in a school hierarchy. Effective schools foryoung adolescents adapt to individual variations in students, take seriously what is knownabout the development of young adolescents, and give as much emphasis to socioemotionalas to cognitive development. An increasing number of educational experts also believe thatsubstantial changes need to be made in U.S. high school education.

KEY TERMS

ecological theory 71

authoritarian parenting 76

authoritative parenting 76

neglectful parenting 77

indulgent parenting 77

developmentally appropriate

education 88

self-esteem 97

identity diffusion 99

identity foreclosure 99

identity moratorium 99

identity achievement 100

moral development 102

heteronomous morality 102

autonomous morality 102

preconventional

reasoning 103

conventional reasoning 103

postconventional

reasoning 103

justice perspective 104

care perspective 104

hidden curriculum 105

character education 105

values clarification 105

cognitive moral

education 106

service learning 106

S


112

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

TAKING IT TO THE NETww

w.m

hhe.com/santedu

2e

Now that you have a good understanding of this chapter, com-plete these exercises to expand your thinking.

Independent Reflection: Develop a Personal TeachingStatement

Think about the age of students you intend to teach. Which ofErikson’s stages is likely to be central for them? What, if anything,does Bronfenbrenner’s theory suggest about important resourcesfor students at that age? Does his system suggest particular chal-lenges to students or ways that you as a teacher might facilitatetheir success? Write down your ideas in your portfolio.

Collaborative Work

Which approach to moral education (character education, val-ues clarification, or cognitive moral education) do you like the

best? Why? Should schools be in the business of having specificmoral education programs? Get together with several other stu-dents in this class and discuss your perspectives. Then write abrief statement that reflects your own perspective on moraleducation.

Research/Field Experience: Reflections

Interview several teachers from local schools about how they fos-ter family-school linkages. Try to talk with a kindergarten teacher,an elementary teacher, a middle school teacher, and a high schoolteacher. Summarize your discoveries.

Go to the Online Learning Center for downloadable portfoliotemplates.

● How can teachers help children and youth successfully resolvethe challenges of the different stages of psychosocial develop-ment? Describe a teaching strategy that could be used to fos-ter independence, confidence, and risk-taking in students.www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/youthdevelopment/

DA6715.html

● Research shows that family involvement greatly influences stu-dent attitudes, attendance, and academic achievement. Developan action plan for involving families in your classroom in a vari-ety of ways. What are some of the challenges to involving fami-

lies, and how do you plan to overcome these? www.ncrel.org/

sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa300.htm

● Do you believe that helping students develop good characteris just as important as teaching reading, writing, and math? Orshould families solely be in control of character and moralinstruction? Why? In what ways do teachers inherently impactstudents’ character development through their daily interac-tions? chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/morchr/morchr.html

Connect to the Online Learning Center to explore possible answers.

STUDY, PRACTICE, AND SUCCEED

Visit www.mhhe.com/santedu3e to review the chapter with self-grading quizzes and Self-Assessments, to apply the chapter mate-

rial to two more Crack the Case studies, and for suggested activ-ities to develop your teaching portfolio.


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