HFC 311
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT -
Introduction
H. K. NKHONYA
What is child development?
What is “Early Childhood”?
What is Early Childhood Development?
▪ Child Development is the scientific
study of how children change as
well as how they remain the same
over time.
▪ The pattern of child development is
created by the interplay of several
processes- biological, cognitive,
and socioemotional.
Biological processes- produce changes in an
individuals body e.g. changes in body weight, height,
motor skills, body shapes, etc
Cognitive processes –refers to changes in an
individuals thoughts, intelligence and language
Socioemotional processes –involve changes in
an individuals relationship with others, changes in
emotions, and changes in personality.
Child development conti....
... understanding of constancy and
change for human beings, in the
physical, cognitive, social and
emotional domains interpreted
through a variety of theoretical
frameworks, contexts, and
interdisciplinary research
Early childhood or ‘the early years’ refers
to a period of a child’s life from
conception to age eight.
The period is marked by a pattern of
changes as a child develops the ability to
have more complex and sophisticated
thinking and reasoning skills,
communicates more clearly, moves more
freely, and learns to be social and control
his or her emotions
The period is formative (determinant)-
the child learns, acquires, and develops
values, attitudes, beliefs values and
abilities on which the formation of his
or her character and total development
will be based
The long reach of early childhood
Early child development
is the first and
most critical
phase of human growth.
‘Sensitive periods’ in early Vision
brain development Hearing
Habitual ways of responding
Language
High Emotional control
Symbol
Peer social skills
`Numbers’
Low
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Years
Graph developed by Council for Early Child Development (ref: Nash, 1997; Early Years Study, 1999; Shonkoff, 2000.)
What is Early Childhood
Development?
The term refers to all aspects of a
young child’s needs, growth and
development: physical, social,
emotional, cognitive, spiritual and
moral, and creative potentials
… refers to the way a child grows and
learns during the early years of their life
ECD further refers to a comprehensive
approach to programmes for children from
birth to eight years of age, their parents and
community.
It includes nutrition, child immunization,
early learning and stimulation , psychosocial
support and development, parenting and
community support, hygiene and sanitation
in the homes, communities and institutions
This holistic approach promotes and
protects the rights of the child for
survival, growth, development and
learning.
CARE: is a process of creating an
enabling environment to meet the
holistic needs of children -that support
their psychosocial and cognitive
development, health, nutrition, hygiene
and sanitation, and protection
Childcare Services in Malawi
ECD centres: nursery and CBCCs, etc.
Under 5 Clinics
Transitional and Preparatory classes (P
level class)
Infant classes (Standards 1 and 2 )
Nutrition Rehabilitation Units (NRU)
Faith-based classes for children
Baby friendly hospitals
Prenatal and postnatal clinics
PMTCT Clinics
Private preschools and Kindergartens
Day care Centres
Orphanages
Parenting education activities
Health and Nutrition Services
Importance of ECD
Early years are crucial-
When well nurtured and cared for in their
earliest years, children are more likely to
survive, to grow in a healthy way, to have less
disease and fewer illnesses, and to fully
develop thinking, language, emotional and
social skills
When they enter school, their prospects for
performing well are improved, and they have
a greater chance of becoming creative and
productive members of society
..are critical for the development of intelligence,
personality, and social behaviour
In summary- Children living in healthy and
supportive environments are more likely to
reach their developmental potential,
reaching optimal levels of physical,
cognitive, language, and social-emotional
development
Developmental Domains
Child Development is continuous and
integrates the following domains
Physical
Social
Emotional
Cognitive
Spiritual and Moral (habitual)
Domains of development
Physical Development
Comprises of changes in the body,
brain, sensory capabilities and motor
skills.
It includes milestones, such as rolling
over, sitting up, crawling, and
walking. It also includes running,
jumping, throwing and catching, as
well as activities like eating with a
spoon and copying lines and circles
The changes exert a major influence on
both intellect and personality – ie much
of an infant’s knowledge of the world
comes from the senses and the motor
activity, so a loss in hearing may lead to
delayed language development
Cognitive(intellectual)
development
▪ include the different changes in mental
abilities such as learning, memory,
reasoning, thinking and language.
▪ All these are aspects of cognitive
development
Emotional development-
Include the different abilities to feel
varied types of emotions and the ways
in which such emotions are expressed
or managed.
Social development- comprises the
different ways in which humans are
able to relate with others and the
implications of those interactions.
Moral development- comprises of
the aspects of knowing right from
wrong, adoption of norms and values of
one’s culture
Developmental Milestones
Developmental milestones are things
most children can do by a certain age.
Skills such as taking a first step, waving
bye are developmental milestones
The first eight years of life are full of
significant developmental milestones,
or markers of typical development.
Although every child is different, and
some may reach their milestones
slightly early or slightly late, most
children reach common milestones by
certain periods in their growth
Reaching milestones much earlier means a
child may be advanced compared with his or
her peers of the same age.
Not reaching milestones or reaching them
much later than children the same age can
be the earliest indication that a child may
have a developmental delay and needs extra
support and services to reach his or her full
potential
22
Milestones offer important clues to a
child’s developmental health and may
validate that a child is developing on
schedule or may indicate a potential
concern
Milestones offer important clues to a
child’s developmental health and may
validate that a child is developing on
schedule or may indicate a potential
concern
Early Childhood Development
KEY PRINCIPLES OF ECD
Key Principles
1. Development is holistic
Concerned with the whole being
The whole child development
fragmented into: physical, mental,
social, emotional and spiritual
development, but are not exclusive of
one another
Progress in one area affects progress
in another,
ECD professionals need knowledge,
training and skills to support the
development of the whole child
ECD services and programmes cannot
be compartmentalized but integrated to
support the development of the “whole”
child
Collaboration between ECD
professionals and families is key
2. Development begins prenatally
and learning begins at birth
The child’s ability to learn, to thrive, to
grow and be healthy can be greatly
influenced right from pregnancy.
During prenatal period important
developmental processes takes place,
these affects the brain, and the physical
body of the developing child
Priority-the mother’s health, nutrition
and well-being is given adequate
attention and that she receives proper
care to promote safe motherhood.
2. The early years of a child’s life
form the foundation for all later
development
Early attention to the child’s needs is
critical.
In the early years, the child develops all the
basic brain functions and psychological
structures upon which later growth and
learning are dependent on
The Bottom Line
What happens in the
early years matters
now….
…and later.
3. Children’s needs differ across
the early childhood years
A child’s developmental needs will vary
as he / she moves through the different
stages of development .
This will be influenced by various
biological and environment factors.
4. Children’s development is
cumulative in nature, not just
progressive progressive.
The earlier attention is given to the child’s
health, nutritional, and developmental needs,
the better!
The early years are critical in terms of the
child’s long-term development and the
earlier that attention is given to the child’s
developmental process, the more likely that
problems can be prevented
5. Active participatory learning; Better
together
Children’s natural curiosity to be
active and participative becomes
noticeable from an early age (in all
cultures).
Children, just like adults, learn best
through hands-on experiences with
people, materials, events, ideas, and
so on.
Children are active participants in their
own development and learning
Learning involves the child’s
construction of knowledge, not adult’s
imposition of information onto the child.
Children should be provided with
opportunities to develop their own
knowledge and awareness of
themselves and the world around them
through exploration, interaction with
materials, and imitation of positive role
models.
Children need to learn by doing
❑ Development and learning occur
as a result of the child interacting
with people and objects in his or
her environment.
Learning and development is fostered by
adults creating a healthy environment,
providing space, materials and
opportunities to help children learn
through play and exploration, whether in
the home or at the centre.
Parents and caregivers need to nurture,
stimulate, talk to and play with their
children.
6. Children live within a context
(family, community and culture)
and their needs are most
effectively addressed in relation
to that context.
The child’s wellbeing is closely
interlinked to the well being of the
child’s family and community in which
they grow up in.
‘Rules of development are the same for
all children, but social contexts shape
children’s development into different
configurations’ (Bowman 1994, 220)
Support to families and communities
help support the development of
children