EDUC 101:THE CHILD AND

ADOLESCENT LEARNERS By Karl Panelo

AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES

LESSON CONTENT
I. Definitions of Child and Adolescent Learners
I. Definitions from UNESCO, UNICEF, and WHO

II. Growth and Development: Nature or Nurture

III. Periods of development
IV. Developmental Tasks and Education (Havighurst)
V. Domains of Human Development
I. Biological
II. Cognitive
III. Socio-emotional
INTRODUCTION
Children and adolescent are not short adults – they are
qualitatively. They have physical, psychological and social needs
that must be met to enable healthy growth and development.
The extent to which parents, the family, the community, and the
society are able to meet these developmental needs (or not) has
long-term consequences for the kinds of adult they will become.
Armed conflict, displacement, disruption of normal life, and
separation from family and/or community can have powerful,
long-lasting effects that need to be compensated for in protection
and assistance interventions. The fact that almost half of the
people of concern to UNHCR are children and adolescents, gives
quantitative significance to these operational issues.
ACTIVITY
1. Here are pictures of seven-year old Lyka and three-year old
Althea. Each one is a bundle of possibilities. Describe what they
are before birth (their point of origin) and who will they possibly
be after birth unto adulthood. What will they possibly become?
Expound your answers.
2. Different pictures of
the basic Periods of

ACTIVITY human development:

Describe what picture
do these belong?
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
 Refers to the biological and psychological and emotional changes that occur in
human beings between birth and the end of adolescence then through adulthood,
as the individual progress from dependency to increasing autonomy.
 Biologically, a child (plural children) is a human being between the stages of
birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty.
The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a
person under the age of 18.
 The state or time of being a child; especially, the period from infancy to puberty.
 The time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident
with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of
caring adults. It is a precious time in which children should live free from fear, safe
from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. (www.unicef.org)
ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
 Etymological meaning from the Latin word: adolescere which means “to grow up”
 The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescents as those people
between 10 and 19 years of age. The great majority of adolescents are, therefore,
included in the age-based definition of “child”, adopted by the Convention on
Rights of the Child, as a person under the age of 18 years.
 Adolescence education – UNESCO Digital (Libraryunesdoc.unesco.org)
Adolescents struggle to define themselves and what they want to accomplish.
They are answering the questions: “Who am I?”, “What can I be?”
 The period following the onset of puberty during which a young person develops
from a child into being an adult. (ages 13-19 years old).
The period of adolescence is most closely associated with the teenage years
though its physical, psychological and cultural expression can begin earlier and
end late.
GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT
GROWTH (quantitative) DEVELOPMENT (qualitative)
 Refers to physical increase in  Changes in a person’s
the size of the body. (increase physical and behavioral traits
in weight, height, etc.) that emerge in orderly ways
 Refers and last for a reasonable
to a quantitative period of time.
change (can be measured)
there is a change in form and  Changes are PROGRESSIVE
increase in the complexity of (results in acquisition of skills
body parts and their and abilities that are complex,
functioning, thinking abilities finer and more efficient.)
and social skills.  IN ORDER (there is an order in
 Growth is only one aspect of a development.) LONG LASTING
larger process of
CHARACTERISTIC OF LIFE-
SPAN DEVELOPMENT
(SANTROCK, 2002)
1. Development is LIFELONG. It does not end in adulthood. No
developmental stage dominates development.
2. Development is PLASTIC. Development is possible throughout
the lifespan.
3. Development is MULTIDIMENSIONAL. Development consists of
biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions.
4. Development is CONTEXTUAL. Individuals are changing beings
in a changing world.
5. Development involves GROWTH, MAINTENANCE, and
REGULATION. These are the three goals of human
development.
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Learning to walk
EDUCATION  Learning to take solid foods
(ROBERT  Learning to talk
HAVIGHURST
1. Infancy and early )  Learning to control the
childhood (birth to 5 years elimination of body wastes
old).
 Learning sex differences and
- In this stage, the child
sexual modesty
begins to learn different
physical activities like,  Forming concepts and learning
walking, crawling as well as language to describe social and
starting to read and forming physical reality
concepts.  Getting ready to read
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Learning physical skills necessary for
EDUCATION ordinary games
 Building wholesome attitudes
(ROBERT oneself as a growing organism
towards

HAVIGHURST )
2. Middle childhood (6 – 12
 Learning to get along with age-mates
 Learning an appropriate masculine or
years old).
feminine social role
- Middle childhood is then  Developing fundamental skills in reading,
where the child learns writing, and calculating
different physical skills for  Developing concepts necessary for
simple games; as well as everyday living
developing concepts for  Developing conscience, morality, and a
everyday living. scale of values
 Achieving personal independence
 Developing attitudes toward social groups
and institutions
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Achieving new and more mature
EDUCATION relations with age-mates of both sexes

(ROBERT  Achieving a
social role
masculine or feminine

HAVIGHURST )
3. Adolescence (13 – 18 years  Accepting one’s physique and using the
old). body effectively
 Achieving emotional independence of
- During adolescence period,
parents and other adults
the child achieves more
mature relations with others.  Preparing for marriage and family life.
The child gets to know Preparing for an economic career
oneself and prepares himself  Acquiring a set of values and an ethical
for the coming years. system as a guide to behavior;
developing an ideology
 Desiring and achieving socially
responsible behavior
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Selecting mate
EDUCATION  Achieving a masculine or
(ROBERT feminine role
HAVIGHURST )
4. Early Adulthood (19 – 29
 Learning to live with a marriage
years old). partner
- Here one is now ready to  Starting a family
settle down and begin a  Rearing children
family as well as a new life.
One looks for a career to help  Managing a home
in raising himself and his  Getting started in an occupation
family; practicing as well
socially.  Taking on civic responsibility
 Finding a congenial social group
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Achieving adult civic and social
EDUCATION responsibility
(ROBERT  Establishing and maintaining an
HAVIGHURST )–
5. Middle age/ adulthood (30
economic standard of living
60 years old).  Assisting teenage children to
- The middle age, is where one
become responsible and happy
is able to see clearly to his adults
future, here one then able to  Developing adult leisure-time
help his children as well as activities
other teenagers to become
more responsible. Here one is  Relating oneself to one’s spouse
able to adapt to everything that as a person
is happening to him physically,
emotionally, even socially.
 Accepting and adjusting to the
physiologic changes or middle
age
 Adjusting to aging parents
DEVELOPMENT
AL TASK AND  Adjusting to decreasing physical
EDUCATION strength and health
(ROBERT  Adjusting to retirement and
HAVIGHURST
6. Later Maturity/Old Age)
reduced income

(61+)
 Adjusting to death of a spouse
- In this stage, one is  Establishing an explicit affiliation
adjusting to the happenings with one’s age group
of his life. Here one needs to  Meeting social and civil
adjust to understand
obligations
everything especially in
death.  Establishing satisfactory physical
living arrangement
DOMAINS IN HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
I. BIOLOGICAL – The physical domain covers the development of
physical changes, which includes growing in size and strength,
as well as the development of both gross motor skills and fine
motor.
II. COGNITIVE – The cognitive domain includes intellectual
development and creativity. Kids gain the ability to process
thoughts, pay attention, develop memories, understand their
surroundings, express creativity, as well as to make, implement,
and accomplish plans.
III. SOCIO-EMOTIONAL – The social-emotional domain includes a
child’s growing understanding and control of their emotions.
They also begin to identify what others are feeling, developing
the ability to cooperate, show empathy, and use moral
reasoning.
ISSUES ON HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
Each of us has his/her own informal way of
looking at out own and other people’s
development. These paradigms of human
development while obviously lacking in scholastic
vigor, provide us with a conceptual framework
for understanding ourselves and others. Scholars
have come up with their own models of human
development. Back up by solid research, they
take stand on issues on human development.
NATURE AND NURTURE
NATURE NURTURE
 Is what we think as pre-wiring  Is generally taken as influence
and is influenced by genetic of external factors after
inheritance and other conception, e.g. the product
biological factors. of exposure, life experiences
 Refers and learning on an individual.
to the biological,
heredity and genetic  Environmental factors that
predispositions inherited by influence an individual’s
individuals from their parents development.
at birth.  This includes a variety of
 This includes physical influences such as parenting
characteristics such as eye style, and cultural
color, facial features, background.
CONTINUITY AND
DISCONTINUITY
CONTINUITY DISCONTINUITY
 Gradual  Distinct changes
 Cumulative

Like a seedling Like that of a

gradually growing into caterpillar becoming a
a acacia tree butterfly
STABILITY AND CHANGE
(EARLY AND LATER
EXPERIENCE)
Are we what our first
experiences have made of us
or do we develop into someone
different from who we were at
an earlier point in
development?a