Children learn best when they have a strong sense of self and family, and when they have access to healthy, safe environments, positive adult relationships, and comprehensive supports. This is known as the whole child approach.
Research shows that children in poverty have better cognitive development if they attend quality learning programs; have access to good teachers and other adults who understand their experiences; and receive the comprehensive, integrated supports they need.
Social and Emotional Development
Children with positive social-emotional development have more interest in learning, are able to pay attention and are more likely to achieve academic success. Early positive social-emotional development can also influence a child’s personality, including empathy and the ability to build meaningful relationships with others.
A child’s emotional stability is also a key factor in their cognitive and physical development. When a child is upset or angry, they cannot learn as well. They need to have a safe, nurturing environment with adults that is a supportive place where they can explore their ideas and emotions.
A learning environment that supports children’s social-emotional development is one that reflects the values of a multicultural society. For example, the Grandma Method of education uses a pedagogical lens that mirrors the unconditional love and warmth associated with a grandmother to nurture the whole personality of a child. It also encourages the respectful exploration of diverse traditions, languages and worldviews to foster open-minded, empathetic citizens prepared to thrive in pluralistic societies.
Cognitive Development
During cognitive development, children’s thinking changes in dramatic and surprising ways. For example, when psychologist DeVries put a mask of a dog on a cat named Maynard and asked 3-year-olds to identify him, most said that he was a dog despite the fact that he still had his cat’s bones and stomach.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development suggests that children develop in stages. In the first stage, infants learn through sensory experiences. For example, they touch and taste things to see how they react. This helps them develop object permanence, the concept that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible.
Other researchers, such as Lev Vygotsky, have suggested that teachers play a key role in cognitive development by guiding children’s learning and providing cultural contexts. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural learning theory places greater emphasis on the influence of social and cultural environments than that of Piaget. This theory also suggests that children build on their prior knowledge when learning new information. For example, kindergartners who are more aware of the component sounds in words tend to do better on tests measuring phonemic awareness.
Physical Development
A child’s physical development involves changes and advancements in their body composition, movement and fine and gross motor skills. It is influenced by a combination of genetic factors and environmental experiences they have in early childhood.
The Evidence Store’s Physical Development theme focuses on the evidence and practices that support children’s movement and handling skills (including gross and fine motor), stability and mark-making (which is also covered in the Literacy theme). There is a close link between physical development and self-regulation and executive function, which are covered in the forthcoming Self-Regulation and Executive Function theme.
Parents can encourage their children’s development by providing them with opportunities to explore, practice and achieve new physical challenges. They can provide support and guidance through a process known as scaffolding. For example, by holding a baby’s hand when they crawl or walk, helping them to reach items and teaching them how to use utensils or buttons. They can also promote physical play by introducing them to sports and active outdoor activities.
Language Development
In the early stages of language development, children have receptive but not expressive capabilities. They can answer simple one- or two word questions and build small stories.
Children use a process called assimilation to adapt words to their own sound system. They often replace stressed syllables with easier syllables to pronounce. They also delete syllables from words to simplify their sound. This is a process known as syllable simplification.
When hearing new words, children use contextual clues to determine their meaning and categorization. They may overgeneralize a new word by associating it with objects that are similar in basic features, such as the cat with all other cats or the bottle with all other bottles.
This type of learning is referred to by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky in his socio-cultural theory of learning. He emphasized the importance of social interaction in the learning process and encouraged teachers to promote children’s cognitive development by sharing knowledge that is relevant to their environment.