Intellectual Development of Young Children The intellectual development of the child is a very complicated and somewhat mysterious process. Not only the young organism has to cope with growing amount of information but also it has to manage the storage facility (physical development of the organs, like brain) availability. Much analysis has been done on the intellectual development of infants and preschoolers and in this paper I will try to summarize the fundamental and axiomatic (as per today) discoveries in this sphere. One of the most famous theories of intellectual development belongs to Jean Piaget, who based his theorizing on the cognitive aspect of childs psychology. By the age f 3 t 4 years ld, children have attained what Piaget called functins r pre-peratins that enable yung children t perfrm a number f feats far beynd the capabilities f infants (Piaget, 1950).
Infants cncentrate n cnstructing a wrld f permanent bjects. nce cnstructed, these bjects will be knwn t exist even when they are n lnger present t the infants senses.
Preschl children, in cntrast, are cnstructing a wrld f qualities and prperties that different bjects share in cmmn. They are beginning t identify and name clurs, shapes, textures, density, and s n. At this stage, children are beginning t understand same and different as these terms refer t prperties. At the same time, it is necessary t recgnize that these classes are frmed nly n the basis f perceptual attributes such as clur and frm and nt n the basis f any quantitative characteristics. Mrever, althugh children can name and identify members f different classes cw, dg, r car, they cannt as yet perate n these categries in a systematic way. That is t say they cannt lgically add categries and recgnize that cats, dgs, and cws are all animals. Nr can they lgically multiply classes and appreciate that a cat is bth a cat and an animal at the same time. In shrt, the ne-many r quantitative dimensin f classes escapes yung children.
nly when they have attained the cncrete peratins f childhd (age 6 t 7 years) will they begin t be able t crdinate sameness and difference and arrive at the ntin f a unit that is basic t all quantitative thinking. A unit, fr example the number 3, is at nce like every ther number in that it is a number but als different in that it is the nly number that cmes after 2 and befre 4. nce children have a ntin f a unit, they can engage in numerical as well as lgical additin and multiplicatin (Gesell, 1949).
The yung childs limitatin with respect t perating n classes is mst evident when we ask them t define a wrd. Yung children rutinely define wrds by describing their functins; an apple is t eat; a bike is t ride. nly when they attain cncrete peratins at abut the age f 6 r 7 years will they begin t define terms by nesting them in higher rder classes, where an apple is a fruit, and a bike has wheels – yu g places with it.
ccasinally yung children may define a wrd by placing it within a brader cntext, but this is ften an anticipatin f later intellectual achievement, nt a true reflectin f the yung childs cmpetence (Carey, 1989).
The incrpratin f Piagetian tls in the educatin f tddlers in day cares is stated t be a means that sciety can use t prmte the intellectual develpment f yung children wh live in cnditins that are a threat t their brain develpment. In discussing yung childrens intellectual grwth and abilities, it is difficult t emphasize the wide range f nrmal variability in the age at which they attain their new mental pwers. Althugh it is smetimes useful, as Gesell and his c-wrkers have dne, t talk abut the characteristics f the 3-year-ld r the 4-year-ld, this can be misleading. Althugh sme temperamental characteristics are relatively unique t each age grup, a great deal f intellectual variability exists (Gesell, 1949).
This individual variability has smetimes been bscured by the tendency t think f yung children in temperamental, rather than intellectual terms. Benjamin Blm has pinted ut that the preschl years are a time f very rapid intellectual grwth. ne characteristic f perids f very rapid grwth, intellectual r therwise, is that they tend t exaggerate individual differences (Blm, 1974).
Cnsider early adlescence and the grwth spurt assciated with puberty.
Girls are taller than bys f the same age, and sme bys and girls mature earlier than thers. The physical variability amng bys and girls in a sixth r seventh grade classrm are incredible. In the meantime, it is critical t appreciate that much f the variability amng yung children in readiness t learn has t d with variability in grwth rate and nthing mre. There is a very real danger in misdiagnsing yung children as learning disabled when in fact their grwth is such that they temprarily fall behind their peers (Nash, 1997).
Recgnizing the nrmal variability in grwth rates is particularly imprtant tday when the academic pressures fr achievement and testing have been pushed dwnward int the kindergarten and even int the pre-kindergarten levels. ne cnsequence f this trend is that ur perceptin f the range f nrmality has been cmpressed.
The mre recent view maintains agreement with the view that nrmal variability is nrmal and it is imprtant t give children space and allwing them t explre their wn envirnments. The earlier article n day-care, hwever, stresses the increased need f prviding all children with individualized attentin and specifically remedial educatin fr yungsters frm disadvantaged hmes (Nash, 1997).
Children f 3 and 4 years f age are unique. They are at an age f increased intellectual grwth and the range f variability f that grwth must be recgnized and appreciated in setting educatinal prgrams and assessing educatinal prgress. The scializatin f yung children is by means f frames that gvern their behaviur in repetitive scial situatins and adults must understand when frames are spiled, switched, r cntradicted. Yung childrens emtins are simple and are expressed directly in their wrds and actins.
Children are mst like us in their feelings and in their emtins, and least like us in their thughts. It is, therefre, imprtant t treat children with the same gd manners we wuld accrd t ther adults. At the same time, we need t remember that yung children may nt understand cncepts the same way we d. Put differently, we shuld treat yung children as we might treat a visitr frm anther cuntry – with gd manners, but withut the expectatin that they will understand everything we have t say r be affected frm ur actins even if believed t be r nt be in their best interest. Reference: Piaget, J. (1950).
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