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Development Statement
Possessing a comprehensive understanding of human development is essential in helping
school-aged children succeed in an educational setting. Learning can be viewed through the
lenses of cognitive, social, and moral development, and familiarity with the different stages
through which children pass as they mature should influence the objective and curricular choices
educators make. In this case study on emergent literacy, I worked with a struggling first grade
student and his classmates to broaden and deepen my understanding of how children develop not
only their literacy skills, but also cognitive and social competencies. The works of theorists like
Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Kohlberg, and Clay influenced and continue to inform my
understanding of and implementation of educational experiences.
Piaget’s (1954) four distinct stages of cognitive development according to biological
maturation is an idea that stresses the importance of readiness. In the case study, student work is
assessed based on developmental readiness, and instructional strategies determined based on
individual student needs. His view of schema as mental building blocks upon which additional
knowledge is constructed and organized illustrates the way children develop their understanding
of the world. The adaptation of schema through assimilation and accommodation determines
intellectual growth, and throughout the case study I reflected upon how my focus student adapted
to new schema and structures of language.
The influences of the social environment on development have been emphasized by
Vygotsky (1978) and his main principles of the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) and the
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Educators are MKOs who are able to scaffold
appropriate educational content based on a child’s ZPD. Instructional reading material, neither
too easy nor too difficult, are most effective at building literacy in emerging readers and writers.
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In the case study, reading records are conducted with the focus student to determine instructional
reading material and identify patterns of language recognition by scaffolding reading skills like
self-monitoring through guided and dialogic reading.
Competency in literacy is also greatly influenced by the psychological needs of children
in a social setting. Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development impact learning especially
in the early elementary grades as children grapple with what Erikson terms the industry versus
inferiority psychosocial crisis. During this stage, which occurs between the ages of five and
twelve, both teachers and peers gain greater significance in an individual’s sense of self-esteem
and confidence. If a child cannot develop skills demanded of them, they may acquire a sense of
inferiority. The emergent literacy case study allowed me to consider how the psychosocial needs
of a struggling reader contributed to his difficulties and how instructional strategies like
encouraging constructive feedback and choosing appropriate material can aim at meeting these
needs.
Motivation for learning can be viewed through the lens of moral development, and
Kohlberg’s (1984) stages indicate that in the pre-school and early elementary grades, most
children are transitioning from pre-conventional to conventional moral development, where self-
interest, conformity, and approval are key motivations. Explicit expectations and praise for effort
and competence are effective instruments for achievement in all content areas. My experiences
with a struggling reader provided the opportunity to reflect upon the increasing importance of
mentors’ and peers’ influence on a child’s motivations for learning.
Attempting to pigeon-hole children into developmental learning sequences is not exactly
what I see myself doing in the overall picture. Undeniably, there are alternative progression
patterns according to differences in physical and social contexts among individuals. Clay (2014)
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points to the importance of cultural relativity in describing human development, and Duckworth
(1984) stresses that an educator’s task is to understand our students’ understanding.
References
Clay, M.M. (2014). By different paths to common outcomes: Literacy learning and teaching.
Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand: The Marie Clay Literacy Trust.
Duckworth, E. (1984). Teaching as research. Harvard Educational Review 56, 4: 273-274.
Erikson, E. H. (1963). Youth: Change and challenge. New York: Basic books.
Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral
Stages (Essays on Moral Development, Volume 2). Harper & Row.
Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child. New York: Basic Books.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
