INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The term ‘psychology’ comes from two Greek Words namely ‘psyche’ which means ‘mind’ or
‘soul’ and ‘Logos’ which means ‘the study of’. This means that originally psychology was defined
as ‘the study of mind or soul’.

According to earlier psychologists, the function of psychology was to study the nature, origin and
destiny of the human soul. But soul is something metaphysical. It cannot be seen, observed and
touched and we cannot make scientific experiments on soul.

However, in present days psychology is defined as the ‘scientific study of behavior and mental
processes. In defining psychology there are three key words or concepts namely:

(i) Scientific study (science).

(ii) Behavior.
(iii) Mental processes.

(i) Psychology is considered to be a science because of the following reasons:

(a) Psychology uses scientific methods to collect data.

(b)Psychology attempts to find new truth.
(c) Psychology deals with observable behavior and establishes facts by objective proof or
evidences.
(d)Psychology research attempts to know about the variables that affect behavior.
(e) Psychological research uses scientific methods to study human behavior and examine it.
(f) Psychological research findings are applicable to future researches and practical life.
(g)Psychology, as a science, helps to understand control and predict behavior, it uses the
experimental methods by controlling variables, checking and re – checking findings and
stating its results in objective terms these can then be verified and understood by anyone.
(ii) BEHAVIOUR
Behavior is defined as an action that can be seen or observed in an objective way. These are
actions or responses that come unconsciously or in a conscious way.
Behavior also refers to actions or responses that are observable in humans and animals.
In some other ways behavior could be said to be actions or responses of an organism (person
or animal) in response to external or internal stimuli. The behavior of an organism or

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 individual would be said to be anything that an individual does.
Behavior can farther be said to be what an individual knows (knowledge) what she/ he can do
(skill – mental or physical), what she/he thinks (attitudes) and what she/he actually does.
Behavior may simple or complex, short or enduring.
TYPES OF BEHAVIOUR

(a) COVERT (INTERNAL) BEHAVIOUR

This is the type of behavior that occurs within the organism that is not readily observable
or detectable and is private. This would include feelings, thoughts, emotions, motives.

(b)OVERT (EXTERNAL) BEHAVIOUR

It is observable, detectable and public, outwardly seen or sensed by observers.

(c) MENTAL PROCESSES

Mental processes refer to a wide range of complex mental processes such as thinking,
imagining, studying, dreaming, problem – solving, decision – making, remembering.
These are usually seen as private and cognitive process.

ORIGIN OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology did not start as an abstract field. It has history as well as pioneers. The origin of
psychology can be traced far back in time to the great Greek philosophy called Aristotle. Aristotle
was interested in learning everything he could about the nature of life itself. Therefore he used the
term ‘psyche’ to refer to the ‘essence of life.’ Psyche is a Greek word equivalent to ‘mind’ or ‘soul’
in English. This means that Aristotle was the first philosopher to have Launched the study of life that
later evolved into the modern psychology.

Then there came Wilhelm Wundt (say voont) who carried/ conducted the first psychology research
in Leipzig, Germany. In 1879 , He was a physician by training, but developed an interest in studying
human behavior. He established the first university department of psychology, and the first
professional journal in the field. However, much of his Laboratory work would not be considered
true experiment by present day standards. This is because his main research technique was still
introspection, reflecting on his own private mental activities. Wundt’s school was known as German

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Structuralism because he maintained that structure of the mind could be inferred from observing the
structure of its thought Wundt influenced the first generation of scientific psychologists in Europe
and abroad. Wundt, (1832 – 1920) is considered to be the father of psychology as his vision
included studies of social and cultural influences on human thought.

William James was another great pioneer in the origin of psychology. He was and
American physician who offered the first courses in psychology in the United States. He developed a
demonstration Laboratory of Harvard and studied the contents of his own ‘stream of consciousness’
but acknowledge some of the Limitation of introspection. His school become known as
American functionalism because he emphasized on how organisms function with respect to their
environment. Although James recognized the power of habits, he championed the doctrine of
free will:- that people are not mere billiard balls who reacted to their environment, but conscious
organisms with the power of deciding how to respond more than anyone else it was William James
who put together the modern field of psychology in his definitive book called
principles of psychology in 1890.

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN PSYCHOLOGY

A school of thought refers to the intellectual tradition collectively drawn by a group of people who
share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social
movement, economics, culture or art. In other words it may be called a paradigm.

(1)STRUCTURALISM
Structuralism is a school of thought in psychology that can be defined as the study of the
elements of consciousness. The idea is that conscious experience can be broken down into
basic conscious elements. Consciousness (mind) can be broken into three elements namely:
(a) Sensation’s (elements of perceptions).
(b)Images (elements of ideas).
(c) Affections (elements of emotions).
These elements could only be known by their attributes and there are five attributes of
sensation and images:

i) Quality.

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 ii) Intensity.
iii) Duration.
iv) Clearness.
v) Ex tensity.
On the other hand affections (emotions) could have the attributes of only quality, intensity and
duration.

This school of thought in psychology was developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his students
Edward Bradford Titchener.

 Structuralism as a school of psychology seek to analyse the adult mind (the total sum
of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components
and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences
as well as how they correlated to physical events. To do this psychologists employ
introspects, self – reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions etc. introspection is a
research method that involves looking inward to examine me’s own conscious
experiences and then reporting those experiences.
 Consciousness is the state or quality of awareness or being aware of an external object
or something within oneself.

(2)FUNCTIONALISM
This is a school of thought in psychology that considers mental life and behavior in terms of
active adaption to the person’s environment. The school of thought is attributed to the famous
American psychologist called William James (1842 – 1910). James taught that mental
processes are fluid and have continuity rather than rigid or fixed structure that the structuralists
suggested. He spoke of “streams of consciousness” which he said function to help humans
adapt to their environment.
Functionalism broadened the scope of psychology to include the study of behavior as well as
mental processes. It also allowed the study of children, animals and the mentally impaired
groups that could not be studied by structuralists.
Functionalism also focused on an applied, more practical use of psychology by encouraging
the study of educational practices, individual differences and adaption in the work place

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(3)BEHAVIORISM
Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that view observable measurable behavior as
the appropriate subject matter for psychology and emphasizes the key role of environment as
determinant of behavior. Behaviorism becomes the dominant school of thought during the
1950 based on the work of John B. Watson, (1878 – 1958). In this new school of thought
psychology was defined as the “science of behaviors”. According to behaviorism, behavior can
be explained by analyzing the conditions that are presents before a behavior occurs and
analyzing the consequences that follows the behavior. Reinforcement in learning and shaping
and maintaining behavior are important in behaviorism. B.F Skinner popularized this school of
thought and agreed with Watson that concepts such as mind, consciousness and feelings are
neither objective nor measurable and therefore not appropriate subject matter for psychology.

(4)PSYCHOANALYSIS
The term used for both personality and therapy for the treatment of psychological disorders, the
unconscious is the primary focus of psychoanalytic theory. The school of thought was
developed by Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1936). Freud’s theory maintains that human mental life
is like an iceberg. The smallest visible parts of the iceberg represent the conscious mental
experience of the individual. But under water, hidden from view, floats a vast store of
unconscious impulses, wishes and desires. Freud insisted that individuals do not consciously
control their thought, feelings and behavior; these are instead determined by unconscious
forces.

(5)HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
The school of thought in psychology that focuses on the uniqueness of human beings and their
capacity for choice, growth and psychological health. Humanistic psychologists reject with
equal vigor:-
vi) The behaviorist view that behavior is determined by factors in the environment.
vii) The view of the psychoanalytic approach stating that human behavior is determined
primary by unconscious farces. Humanistic psychology focuses on the uniqueness of
human beings and their capacity for choices, growth and psychological health.
Humanistic psychologist emphasizes much more positive view of human nature. They
maintain that people are innately good and posses free will. The humanistic school of thought

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 believed that people are capable of making conscious, rational choices, which can lead to
personal growth and psychological health.

(6)COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
The school of thoughts in psychology that sees human beings as active participants in their
environment. This school of thought focuses in mental process such as memory, problem –
solving, reasoning decision – making, perception, language and other forms of cognition.
Cognitive psychology grew and developed partly in response to strict behaviorism, especially
in the United States. Cognitive psychology sees human not as passive recipients who are pas-
hod and pulled by environmental forces but as active participants who seek out experiences
who active and shape those experiences, and who use mental processes to transform
information in the course of their own cognition development.

(7)GESTALY PSYCHOLOGY
The school of psychology that emphasizes that individuals perceive object and patterns as
whole units and that the perceive objects and patterns as whole units and that they whole is
more than the sun of its parts. The school made its appearance in 1912 in Germany. Rather
than breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements gestalt psychologists
believed that you must look of the whole of experience.
(8)INFORMATION – PROCESSING
This approach to the study of mental structures and processes that uses the computer as a
model for human thinking. According to the view, the brain processes information in
sequential steps in much the same way as a computer does serial processing – that is, one step
at a time.

(9)EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
The school of psychology that studies how human behaviors required for survival have adopted
in the face of environmental pressures over the long course of evolution.
BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

There are many branches of psychology that have developed since psychology is a growing and
broad . Some of the branches of psychology include:

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1. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
This is a branch of psychology that looks studies the way in which the behavior of one affects
others. It is the study of social behavior and how they are influenced by the conditions in the
society. Social psychology is about group pr collective behavior.
Social psychology is significant to the teaching and learning process because:
viii) Teaching and learning are fundamentally social enterprises. Teachers teach by
interacting with learners and learners learn by interacting with their teachers and
working with one another.
ix) Social psychology helps the teacher to understand and manage may aspects of the
classroom, since a classroom is a equally a social institution e.g. discipline, self –
efficacy, stereotype threats etc.
x) Social psychology help in boasting the motivation of teachers and learners.
xi) It also lead to increased student understanding of concepts.

(10) CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

This is the applied psychology that tries to use principles of knowledge in psychology to
diagnose and treat emotional and behavioral problems. It uses the experiences gathered from
developmental and abnormal psychology to determine the causative factors of a perceived
problem. Psychologist in this field try to develop programmes of intervention that may assist
the individual to overcome their emotional illness.
(11) COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
This is the field of psychology typically used in the schools to give the learners advice on
problems of social adjustment, vocational/ career or educational goals. The psychologists assist
the individual to discover his/ her hidden or untapped talent in order to make use of his talent
or resource effectively in solving personal problems. The counselor changes the behavior of
his/ her clients through behavior modification, modeling sanitation and rational thinking.

(12) DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

This branch of psychology studies the process of human growth and the factors that are
responsible for human behavior from birth to the old age. This field of psychology seeks to
find out the changes that takes place during the individual’s cognitive, physical, emotional,

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 motor personality and social development. The major focuses of the developmental
psychologist are children and adolescents.

(13) INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY/ ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

This psychology is a sub – field of general psychology that applies psychological knowledge to
the areas like personal policies, working conditions, production efficiency and decision –
making. The psychologists in this field are concerned with the labour enhancement. They help
industries or other establishments in personal section, training, Leadership and management.

Other branches of general include:-

i. Experimental psychology. vi. Abnormal psychology.
ii. Human psychology. vii. Customer psychology.
iii. Child psychology. viii. Military psychology.
iv. Neuro psychology. ix. Police psychology.
v. Educational psychology. x. Physiological psychological.

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Educational psychology is a branch of psychology that specializes in understanding teaching and

learning in education settings. It is the study of how human learns in educational settings, the
effectiveness of educational innervations and the psychology of teaching and the social psychology
of schools as

-Educational psychology is that branch of psychology in which the findings of psychology are
applied in the field of education. It is the scientific study of human behaviour in educational setting.

- According to Charles. E. Skinner, “Educational psychology deals with the behaviour of human
beings in educational situations”.

Educational Psychology concerned primarily with understanding the processes of teaching and
learning that take place within formal environments and developing ways of improving those
methods. It covers important topics like learning theories; teaching methods; motivation; cognitive,
emotional, and moral development; and parent-child relationships etc.

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In short, it is the scientific discipline that addresses the questions: “Why do some students learn
more than others?” and “What can be done to improve that learning?”

Educational psychology is a distinct discipline with its own theories, research methods, problems
and techniques. Educational psychology studies what people think and do as they teach and learn a
particular curriculum in a particular environments where education and training are intended to take
place. Educational psychologists help in developing instructional methods and materials used to train
people in both educational and working setting.

Educational psychology is a combination or over lapping of two separate fields of study namely:

(iii) Education.
(iv) Psychology.
The word education is derived from Latin word ‘educare’ which means to ‘bring – up’ it is also
derived from another Latin word ‘educare’ which means to lead out. Education as edcare is more
acceptable as it means leading an individual from ignorance to knowledge.

PURPOSES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

i. To give a knowledge of the nature of the child

ii. To give understanding of the nature, aims and purposes of education

iii. To give understanding of the scientific methods and procedures which have been used in
arriving at the facts and principles of educational psychology

iv. To present the principles and techniques of learning and teaching

v. To give training in methods of measuring abilities and achievement in school subjects

vi. To give a knowledge of the growth and development of children

vii. To assist in the better adjustment of children and to help them to prevent maladjustment

viii. To study the educational significance and control of emotions and

ix. To give an understanding of the principles and techniques of correct training.

x. Develops in teachers the skills and knowledge in research.

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 Xi. To equip teachers with knowledge and skills in guidance and counseling.

NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The following are the important characteristics of the nature of educational psychology.

1. Educational Psychology is a science. (Science is a branch of study concerned with observation

of facts and establishment of verifiable general laws. Science employs certain objective methods for
the collection of data. It has its objectives of understanding, explaining, predicting and control of
facts.) Like any other science, educational psychology has also developed objective methods of
collection of data. It also aims at understanding, predicting and controlling human behaviour.

2. Educational Psychology is a natural science. An educational psychologist conducts his

investigations, gathers his data and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same manner as physicist
or the biologist.

3. Educational psychology is a social science. Like the sociologist, anthropologist, economist or

political scientist, the educational psychologist studies human beings and their sociability.

4. Educational psychology is a positive science. Normative science like Logic or Ethics deals with
facts as they ought to be. A positive science deals with facts as they are or as they operate.
Educational psychology studies the child‟s behaviour as it is, not, as it ought to be. So it is a positive
science.

5. Educational psychology is an applied science. It is the application of psychological principles in

the field of education. By applying the principles and techniques of psychology, it tries to study the
behaviour and experiences of the pupils. As a branch of psychology it is parallel to any other applied
psychology. For example, educational psychology draws heavily facts from such areas as
developmental psychology, clinical psychology, abnormal psychology and social psychology.

6. Educational psychology is a developing or growing science. It is concerned with new and ever
new researches. As research findings accumulate, educational psychologists get better insight into
the child‟s nature and behaviour.

THE SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

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The scope of educational psychology is ever-growing due to constantly researches in this field. The
following factors will indicate the scope of educational psychology:

1. The Learner. The subject-matter of educational psychology is knitted around the learner.
Therefore, the need of knowing the learner and the techniques of knowing the abilities and
capacities of the individuals, individual differences and their measurements, the overt, covert,
conscious as well as unconscious behaviour of the learner, the characteristics of his growth and
development and each stage beginning from childhood to adulthood.
2. The Learning Experiences. Educational Psychology helps in deciding what learning
experiences are desirable, at what stage of the growth and development of the learner, so that
these experiences can be acquired with a greater ease and satisfaction.
3. Learning process: After knowing the learner and deciding what learning experiences are to
be provided, Educational Psychology moves on to the laws, principles and theories of learning.
Other items in the learning process are remembering and forgetting, perceiving, concept
formation, thinking and reasoning, problem solving, transfer of learning, ways and means of
effective learning etc.
4. Learning Situation or Environment. Here we deal with the environmental factors and
learning situations which come midway between the learner and the teacher. Topics like
classroom climate and group dynamics, techniques and aids that facilitate learning and
evaluation, techniques and practices, guidance and counselling etc. for the smooth functioning of
the teaching-learning process.
5. The Teacher: The teacher is a potent force is any scheme of teaching and learning process. It
discusses the role of the teacher. It emphasizes the need of ‘knowing thyself’ for a teacher to play
his role properly in the process of education. It throws light on the essential personality traits,
interests, aptitudes, the characteristics of effective teaching etc., so as to inspire him for
becoming a successful teacher.
Though the entire scope of Educational Psychology is included in the above mentioned five key-
factors, it may be further expanded by adding the following:
(a). It studies Human Behaviour in educational situations. Psychology is the study of
behaviour, and education deals with the modification of behaviour; hence, educational
psychology pervades the whole field of education.
(b). It studies the Growth and Development of the child. How a child passes through the

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 various stages of growth and what are the characteristics of each stage are included in the study
of educational psychology.
(c).To what extent Heredity and Environment contribute towards the growth of the individual,
and how this knowledge can be made use of for bringing about the optimum development of the
child; form a salient feature of the scope of educational psychology.
(d). Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Development of the Personality of an
individual. In fact, education has been defined as the all-round development of the personality of
an individual; personality development also implies a well-adjusted personality.
(e).It studies Individual Difference: Every individual differs from every other individual. It is
one of the fundamental facts of human nature which have been brought to light by educational
psychology. This one fact has revolutionalised the concept and process of education.
(f). It studies the nature Intelligence and its Measurement. This is of utmost importance for a
teacher.
(h).It Provides Guidance and Counselling: Education is nothing but providing guidance to the
growing child.
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Educational psychology is important because of the following reasons:
a. it enables the teacher to understand the developmental characteristics of children.children undergo
several developmental stages. If the prospective teachers know this characteristics that
accompany every stage of development she/ he can utilise this knowledge in imparting
instruction and moulding the learners' behaviour according to the specified goals of education.

b. it enables the teacher understand the nature and process of classroom learning. In order to bring
about effective learning, the teacher must have good understanding of the principles of learning,
of various approaches to the learning process and of the problems of learning and their remedial
measures. In addition to this the teacher must understand the children in his class, thier
developmental characteristics and contribution of heredity and environment to the learning
process.
c. Educational psychology is important because it enables teachers understand individual differences
among learners. In psychology each student is unique and an individual. In a given classroom,
the teacher has to face between 30-40 children with wide range of individual differences. With
the knowledge of educational psychology the teacher can adjust his/her teaching to meet the
individual needs of his /her learners. This knowledge also helps the teacher to plan and organise
education fir the exceptional children.
d. Educational psychology is important because it enables the teacher to have the knowledge and

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 understanding of the problems and challenges that children experience. Modern society is
undergoing a rapid change install spheres of life in which children are faced with diverse
problems and challenges. By studying educational psychology the teacher may understand the
causes of common problems that are faced by children at different levels of development. The
teacher is also equipped with sufficient knowledge to help children deal with these problems
and challenges.
e. Educational psychology provides teachers with knowledge of different approaches to effective
teaching and learning. Lack of proper methods of teaching often result in failure of
communication in the classroom and subsequently poor results in the acquisition of knowledge.
It also eqio the teacher with knowledge and skills in the audio-visual and production of teaching
materials. It also equip teachers with knowledge in new innovation and how to be adapted so as
to fit a specific classroom situation.
f. psychological principles are used in the formulation of the curriculum. In order to development a
relevant curriculum, special attention has to be focussed on the needs of the learners , their
developmental characteristics, the learning process, the need of the society and the nature or
mode of assessment of the outcome of learning.
g. Educational psychology helps the teacher to acquire knowledge and skills on the developmental
tools and devices for measurement of various variables which influences the behaviour and
performance of the learners. This teacher can use educational research findings to control , direct
and predict the behaviour of the learners in the classroom.
h. Educational psychology is important because it provides the teacher with knowledge and skills on
effective classroom management and control. Teachers tackle discipline problems by examining
the cause factors and assisting the learners to deal with the causes rather than just treating the
symptoms of indiscipline.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY.
General psychology is mainly the study of mental processes and behavioural patterns of human
beings where as educational psychology is the study of human learning processes.This means
general psychology explores generally all human activities throughout the life span which goes
beyond the learning process . General psychology as a field of study , is very comprehensive, in
terms of various concepts while educational psychology is a specialised field of study which aims at
understanding the psyche of people in the ecosystem of an educational institution.

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 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
THE NATURE VERSUS NURTURE CONTROVERSY
One of the longest running debates in psychology is the nature versus nurture debate. This relates to
the question of whether behaviour is best explained by reference to genetic or to environment
factors. The nature versus nurture controversy usually divides the academic world with proponents
of both schools of thought providing evidence supporting their own viewpoint and challenging that
of their opponents.
Nature
Nature means the processes within an organism that guide organism to develop according to its
genetic code. Every human being comes into this world with a genetic make-up. Note that this is the
blueprint for the individual 'passage through life and as organiting from his or her parents. When a
baby is first born relatives often look to see whether the child looks more like the mother or the
father. Each new child results from the combination of elements from both the mother and the father.
The human reproduction system ensures that with exception of identical twins, there are no two
genetically identical twins in the world.
If you think about a large family with a number of brothers and sisters, each family member may
share common characteristics but there will also be identifiable differences between each individual.
This may be partly due to the different genetic make-up of each individual, but also partly because
each child will have slightly different experiences as he/she grow-up.
Those who wish to agree for the importance of genetic factors often look to the study of twins for
evidence to support their viewpoints. If genetics is important, then it is excepted that identical twins
to be more similar than non-identical twins. Research has shown that identical twins do often end up
more similar than non-identical pairs even when they have been raised in different environments.

NURTURE
Nurture means the processes external to an organism that nourish it as it develops according to its
genetical codes or cause it to swerve from its genetically programmed course. Environmental factors
that influence development. From the moment of conceptions, the developing child is subject to all
sort of environmental influences. Even in the womb, the child may develop differently if the mother
smokes, takes drugs or is I'll while pregnant. Once born, the baby will be subject to a vast array of
environmental influences that will help to shape him/her environment is the aggregate of all external
and internal conditions affecting the existence, growth and welfare of organisation in general and the
child in particular. A child experiences a social environment, physical environment, an economic
environment and in fact a political environment of cause the cultural environment is all embracing.

It is obvious that the environment can exert powerful influence on behaviour but when it comes to
explaining our own behaviour, human are not always willing to accept this fact. If you were asked
whether you are a independent sort of person, or whether you simply go along with the crowd, you

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would probably say that while you are influenced by others to some extent, you are still capable of
independent thought and decision-making.

In present days, psychologist have come to agree that both nature and nurture play an important role
in every aspect of the child's growth and development. Consider the development of language.
Language is based in structures found in certain areas of the brain. Thus biology (nature) plays an
indispensable role in language development. But children also come to speak the language spoken
by the caregivers. parents-child similarities in accent and vocabulary provide additional evidence for
an indispensable role for learning (nurture) in language development. Other examples are
intelligence, behaviour and height.

Nature What is it? Example In the "nature vs nurture" debate, nature refers to an individual's
innate qualities (nativism). Nature is your genes. The physical and personality traits determined
by your genes stay the same irrespective of where you were born and raised.
Nurture In the "nature vs nurture" debate, nurture refers to personal experiences (i.e. empiricism
or behaviorism). Nurture refers to your childhood, or how you were brought up. Someone could
be born with genes to give them a normal height, but be malnourished in childhood, resulting
in stunted growth and a failure to develop as expected. Factors Biological and family factors
Contents: Nature vs Nurture 1 Nature vs. Nurture in the IQ debate Social and environmental
factors

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

CONTROVERSY
a. In the classroom, the teacher should understand the nature mechanism of behaviour so as to
diagnose and guide the growth and development of children.
b. To enrich learning, teachers should always stimulate the environment to the maximum. Without
stimulation no modification or differentiation of behaviour is possible.
c. Teachers should develop realistic attitudes in children. Further , teachers should also develop a fair
and impartial attitude towards the potency of the organic and environmental forces in education.
d. Teachers need to realise the tremendous significance of the environmental, heredity and cultural
factors for the child's development. Attitudes , adjustments and behaviour patterns have to bday
structural to suit the child's ability and development.

STAGES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT.

Child development is defined as the change in structure, form and organisation that brings about

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change and refinement of inborn abilities and characteristics of children that are present at birth.
Child development is the field of inquiry that attempts to understand the processes that govern the
appearance and growth of children's physical structure , psychological traits , behaviour patterns,
understanding and ways of adapting to the demands of life.

Stages of child development

A. PRE-NATAL STAGE
The pre-natal stage of human existence extends from conception to birth (normally 280 days). This
period may be divided into the following successive stages:
l The germinal: first two weeks following fertilisation of ovum
l The embryonic: extending from implantation of the fertilised ovum in the uterus until about sixth
weeks of development.
l the fetal from 10th until birth.
During the entire pre-natal period the developing organism is dependent upon the mother from
digestion of food , the excretion of waste product, external respiration and the maintenance of
requisite body temperature.
The two important reasons for studying pre-natal stage is that:
ü it is a foundation stage. What the child ultimately be is largely determined by what happens to him
or her before he or she is born.
ü knowing what happens to a child before he or she is born is essential to complete understanding of
the born of human development.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PRE-NATAL STAGE

Ø Maternal nutrition
Pregnant mothers should eat enough food as malnutrition during pregnancy has been associated with
skills, birth prematurity and low birth weight babies. Affected babies are associated with
susceptibility to disease. The most important food stuff as far as mental health is concerned is
protein.

Ø Infection during pregnancy

Infection and diseases such as German measles (Rubella), small pox, polio, mumps , diabetes may
affect the normal development of the baby in the womb e.g viral diseases like small pox, polio and
measles can cause foetal damage. Maternal syphilis and gonorrhea may be attack the nervous system
of the system of the foetus and cause genital weakness , still, birth etc.
Ø Drugs and medication
Pregnant women should not take drugs except where their healthy is really threatened. If medicine
has been taken all it has to be prescribed by an authorised physician, say a gynecologist especially

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during the first three months of pregnancy the period when the embryo is most vulnerable. Drugs
diabetic drugs and oral contraceptive among others.
Ø Radiation
Radiation can damage the genetic material leading to physical or mental retardation. It can bring
about hazardous effects on zygote, embryo or foetus whose cells divide rapidly. Some congenital
problems that can be brought about by being exposed to x-ray include, heart problems, mental
retardation, malformation of the eyes and spontaneous abortions.
Ø Smoking
Smoking is unhealthy habit if practiced by the pregnant mother. When she smokes all she is doing is
exposing the unborn baby/child to carbon monoxide and nicotine. Consequently, as the foetus lacks
pure oxygen this will interfere with intellectual functioning. Baby may be born with low birth weight
and is associated with infant mortality because low birth weight babies are prone to sickness.
Ø Age of the mother
The age of the mother at the time she gives birth seems to have some bearing on:
u The ease of the birth process
u The mental ability level of the child
u The physical well being of the child.

Mothers under 18 and those over 40 years of age tend to have a higher proportion of retarded
children than those who are between these ages. At the same time women who have their first baby
when they are 35 years and above are more likely to experience more difficult labour than younger
women. The optimum age for child bearing appears to be between 20 and 28.
Ø Emotional experiences of the mother
If the pre-natal period is predominantly a happy one for the mother, the disposition of the baby will
be made cheerful and happy. A pre-natal period on the other hand marked by emotional morbid , sad
, disturbances, fears and worries will, results in a morbid, sad, introverted personality for the baby.
Severe and prolonged emotional stress in early pregnancy may result in physical abnormalities
including weaknesses and disease in weight. Excessive stress in the seventh month of pregnancy
bring about cleft palate and have lip this means that means chemicals produces during the stressful
state interfered with proper development of upper jam bone and palate formation. Stress may bring
about undesirable behaviour in the new born e.g. excessive crying , irritability, difficulty in breathing
diarrhoea and vomitting.
B.. NEO-NATAL STAGE
This period is the first two weeks of post-natal existence and js characterised by:
Ø visual sensetivity
Ø respiratory and circulatory changes
Ø lid reflexes
Ø thermal sensitivity

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Ø alteration and cessation of sucking movements

C. IINFANCY
Infancy refers technically to the first two years of life. These two years of life are of great
importance in the individual. It is at this time that adjustments to the totally new environment outside
the mother's body is being made and thus the infant learns to be self-dependent.
Generally, speaking infancy period is described as spatial and social orientation. Sense organ
movements are an integral part of the spatial orientations of the child and play an important role in
attention and perceptual development. In this period children attains and maintains an erect posture
which plays an important role in the spatial orientations of the child. Child also indulges in
manipulators activities like movement of arms, hands, fingers, lips, tongues, feet and toes.
D. CHILDHOOD
Childhood years include the years from age of two to puberty, though the entire period of immaturity
from birth to maturity is often called childhood. Development at this stage is characterised by growth
of control over the environment. The child who as a baby, learned to control his body, now seeks to
gain control over his environment so that he can make himself a part of it. During this period the
child learns to make social adjustments at this age. From approximately in the sixth year
socialisation is of paramount importance.
E. ADOLESCENCE
The adolescent years extend from the onset of puberty, between the age of 11 and 13 in the average
child, to the age of maturity, 21 years. The most important forms of the development which occurs
are adjustment to the mature form of life, in which the child learns to be independent of adults and
plans his life according to his /her own wishes. Generally, speaking adolescence may be looked upon
as the last step in the long period of development which begins at the time of conception. By the end
of adolescence, development has reached a point where the individual is legally and socially
regarded as mature and thus capable of living an independent life.

Factors affecting post-natal growth and development

A. GENETICAL CONTROL
The control of the body size is certainly a complicated affair involving many genes, yet a
disturbance in a single gene or group of genes may produce a widespread and drastic effects.
Heredity influences the rate of growth of early matures. Genetical factors play the leading role in the
differences between male and female pattern of growth.

B. ENVIRONMENTAL
There is a well-marked seasonal effect on velocity of growth visible in most human growth data.
Growth in height is on average fast in spring and growth in weight fastest in Autumn. This is true at
all ages, including adolescence. The mechanism of the seasonal effect is not known probably

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variations in hormone secretion are involved.
C. ENDOCRINE REGULATION
The most important hormone controlling growth from birth up to adolescence is growth hormone or
somatotrophin. This is infant a polypeptide secreted by the pituitary. It helps growth of bones and
thereby increases the height of persons. Growth hormones controls the rate at which growth takes
place up to the time of steroid-induced adolescent spurt.

D. NUTRITIONAL
Growth is closely related with nutrition. A sufficiency of food is essential for normal growth. An
adequate supply of calories is naturally essential for the normal growth of humans and the need
varies with the phase of development. Nine different amino acids have claimed to
E. CULTURAL
The physical development of human beings is also affected by cultural factors. Culture differs from
ethnic group to ethnic group. The body growth differences correlate with varied cultural groups. The
physical growth of the body follows some adoptions in different geographical areas of distribution of
the groups.
F. SOCIO-ECONOMIC
Socio-economic influence on human growth is a well known factor. Children from different socio-
economic levels differ in average body size at all ages that have been investigated. The upper group
being always more advanced along the course of maturity.
G. POSITION IN THE FAMILY
The position of the child within the family may influence the growth and development of the child.
The second, third and fourth child within a family generally develops more quickly than the first
born, because of the fact that the younger children learn from imitating their elder brothers and
sisters.
H. EMOTIONAL FACTORS
Children from broken homes and orphanages do not grow and develop to an optimum level.
Emotional disturbances, insecurity, sibling rivalry, jealous, loss of parents, inadequate schooling etc.
have a negative effect on growth and development.
CLASSROOM IMPLICATIONS
Our communities generally consider teachers to be sources of information. Sometimes, teachers are
considered to be knowledgeable advisors. As a teacher, you may be asked to participate in
workshops relating to prenatal or child-related problems. Your science lessons may require you to
have some knowledge about child development. You may meet pupils who have permanent physical
damage.

The information gained will help you to understand and accommodate pupils who show signs of
retarded development. As you now know, their behaviour may be due to factors that they could

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 not and cannot control.

Children like to learn something new. They like to acquire new skills. In the classroom, you need
to help them acquire new skills by acknowledging their efforts. If you provide opportunities for
practice, they will be better able to learn new skills.

Since you are now aware that what and how much a child eats affects his or her development, you
should encourage parents to provide balanced meals to their children. Also, you should encourage
parents to feed their children before they come to school. Notice that you should encourage rather
than demand that parents feed their children appropriately. The local environment may not have the
capacity to provide all that is needed.

Now that you know that sexual drive begins before the adolescence stage, you can offer guidance
to your pupils when they are young and provide suggestions to parents. You also need to ensure
that your lessons include a lot of sporting or physical activity in order to minimise free time when
children may explore what may be regarded as ‘dangerous activities’ during the early stages of
development

During adolescence, the children’s bodies begin to approximate those of adults. The children may
have difficulty coping with all the changes happening to them. You need to appreciate why the
children may look shy, why they may be offended by your poor choice of words when you talk to
them, or why they may be withdrawn. You will need to help these children cope with the changes
taking place in their bodies. You will also need to learn how to give advice when they ask you,
“What is happening to me?” This is an interesting topic. Look for more books and magazines about
this subject. dangerous activities’ during the early stages of development.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

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Welcome to this unit on cognitive development of the child. In this unit we shall look at the concept of cognitive
development. Later in the unit we shall look at one of the leading psychologists in cognitive development .we
shall look at the stages a person pass as he grows.

OBJECTIVES

Having gone through the unit you should be able to:

 Define the concept of cognitive development

 Discuss the basic assumptions of piaget’s theory of cognitive development
 Distinguish the major characteristics of each stage
 Apply piaget’s theory of cognitive development in the classroom

What is cognitive development?

In order for us to understand the meaning of cognitive development there is need for us to look at the meaning of
cognitive and later development. Stop for some minutes and think of the meaning of cognitive. Write it on the
piece of paper and then look at this one given to you from Longman dictionary of contemporary English.
Cognitive means the process of “knowing, understanding and learning.”On the other hand development means
“gradual growth.” When these two are combined cognitive development means gradual growth of the mind in
terms of having the abilities to learn and understand the environment.

PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget a biologist and psychologist was born in 1896n in Switzerland and died in 1980. He is acknowledged
as one of the leading and influential psychologist in child psychology. Piaget developed a four stage model on
how the mind of the child develops or processes information it comes across. In developing this theory Piaget
observed his own children.

What were the basic assumptions of Piaget in developing his theory on cognitive development?

 Piaget assumed that children are active beings and freely engaged in activities that made them
discover the world. Children willingly explored the world through touching, watching and listening. These
processes are very important as they make children adapt to the environment and this process of adapting is
called adaption.

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 When the child has a second encounter of the object, the child would remember or recognise the
object because it has been represented in the child’s mind. The process is called assimilation. This means that
the child has mental pictures or cognitive maps or schemas for the object. Each object that is presented to the
child will have its own mental picture or cognitive map. However these mental pictures would change when the
child is presented with the some object for the second time. For example a child sees a blue car for the first time
and asks you what that it is. You would tell the child that it is a car. The child would therefore have an idea of a
car and would associate a car to blue. When this time the child sees a car of the same make but red in colour the
child’s idea of a car been only blue would change. This means that the child would add to his idea of a car that it
is an object that comes in different colour.
Here is another example, imagine that a child at home is used to seeing a cat and sees a dog for the first time,
how would he classify the dog? The child would classify the dog as a big cat. However with explanation from
you or others the child would learn that it is not a big cat but a dog. This means that the child would have
developed a schema or cognitive map or mental picture of a dog as a dog. When the child reaches this state
where he is able to differentiate between a dog and a cat then he has reach a state of equilibration.

 Piaget also assumed that children develop through the processes of assimilation, accommodation and
equilibration.
 Piaget assumed that the cognitive system of children is unified. As children explore the world
through touching, watching and listening they are understanding the world better and this make them have a
unified cognitive system.

Self-assessment
1) What is cognitive development?
2) Discuss the basic assumption of Piaget’s theory on cognitive development of children.
3) With examples discuss the processes of assimilation, accommodation, adaption and equilibration.
4) Show how the teacher can use the knowledge of schema or mental pictures in the classroom
situation?
5) A pupil in grade one sees the letter “S” for the first time and tells you that it is “5.” Explain why the
pupil associated “S” to “5” in terms of mental picture or schema and how you would help the pupil recognise it
as letter “S.”

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PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Sensorimotor stage:

 This stage begins at birth and ends at the age of 2 years.

 The child at this stage starts to perform sensory activities after a long period of observation.
 At this stage children begin to use of imitation, memory and thought
 At this the child gains motor activities such as sucking and kicking.
 The child at this stage receives information through the senses. These senses include hearing, seeing,
feeling.
 Children learn to make the difference between themselves and other objects that are within the
environment.
 At this stage object permanence starts to develop but at a slow pace. Object permanence means that
objects continue to exist even when out of sight. Therefore a child who has achieved object permanence knows
that objects continue to exist even out of sight.
 As the stage progresses children move from reflexes actions to goal-directed activity.

Pre-operational stage
 This is the second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. It begins at the age of 2 years
and ends at the age of 6 years.
 At this stage children are egocentric. Egocentric mean that children see and think of the world from
their own point of view.
 Children’s view is self-centred meaning that everything that you do belong to them. When for
example you buy something like clothes a child at this stage would think as if the clothes are his or her and
would be annoyed when given to other members of the family.
 Children at this stage do not consider their parents point of view and would be annoyed if their point
of view is not considered by their parents.
 At this stage children can use one object to represent another symbolically.
 At this stage children acquire cognitive ability to pretend things that are not present physically e.g.
they would swing their hand to represent a plane. Another example is that children would sound the vehicle from
their mouth.
 Children at this stage have difficulties in understanding the differences that are there in quantities
and measurements. For example put the same amount of water in two cups of different length and width as

23
shown below and ask a child in this stage which cup has more water.

Level of water

From the above two cups which one would the child choose as the one containing more water? The child would
go for the tall cup thinking that it has more water than the other cup. The child would not understand that the
water in both cups is of the same amount. At this stage have problems with conservation.

 Additionally children at this stage are preoccupied with language thought processes.
 They also develop the ability to think in symbolic form.

Concrete operational stage

 This stage begins at the age of seven (7) years and ends at eleven years.
 At this stage children are capable thinkers who can use most of adults’ concepts apart from those
that are abstract.
 At this stage children can order objects (seriation) according to size, weight and other dimensions.
 They also understand the concept of reversibility of logical operations e.g. they can add 7+5=12 and
have little difficulties in conducting reverse operations such as 9-2=7.
 At this stage the child masters the art of conservation. When children below the age of seven (7) are
shown two wide cups containing same amount of water, children have no problem in seeing that these two wide
cups have the same amount of water. However when water from one wide cup is poured in a tall and narrow cup
in front of children and asked which have more water they would choose the tall and narrow cup as having more
water. Children who are above the age of seven would not be troubled by this conservation this is because
children above seven years are able to deal with conservation problems because they thought are more
decentred. By decentred we mean thinking more than one thing at a time.
 However children at this stage have difficulties in figuring out relationships among objects that are
not present. Logical thinking is limited to things that are present or physically there.

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Formal operational stage

 This stage begins at the age of 12 years and goes on. At the age of 12 years there is a shift from
concrete operational to formal operational in adolescents.
 The formal operational is characterised by the ability to use abstract concepts. The ability to use
abstract concepts means that at this stage children do not need concrete objects to solve problems.
 At this stage children become more scientific in their thinking (Hypothetical thinking).
 They also develop concern in social issues and identity
 They develop deductive reasoning abilities.

Criticism against Piaget’s theory

 Piaget has been criticised by others for limiting cognitive development that children have at any
stage.
 Piaget has been criticised for not taking a study to see if the proposed stages of cognitive
development are similar in all cultures.
 Other psychologists believe that cognitive development can be accelerated with proper and
appropriate environment.
 Piaget has been criticised because individuals are unique and learn at different levels.

How can teachers apply Piaget’s theory in their classrooms?

 Teachers need to know and establish the level of development of their pupils. For example if your
pupils are in the pre-operational stage you will plan and design classroom activities that would promote learning
and resources may not be wasted.
 Teachers need to provide concrete examples or objects for children who are in the concrete
operational stage as this would enable them learn more easily.
 The teacher need to provide simple and clear instructions for pupils to understand as their language
and thought processes are not yet fully developed.
 The teacher needs to use a lot of illustrations so as to increase and sustain the interest of the learners.
 The teacher needs to give or ask questions during the lesson delivery so that pupils’ understanding is

25
assessed. This would enable the teacher to find out were pupils are not understanding. The teacher also needs to
correct wrong answers.
 The teacher needs to be very careful when presenting the lesson as he or she needs not to rush in
delivering the lesson because some pupils may be above or below the stage of cognitive development.
 Teachers need to encourage interactions between pupils through group work or project. These
projects would help in overcoming the egocentrism in children. Through interaction pupils may fully understand
concepts or operations.
 Teachers need to establish situations were pupils can exchange ideas. This would enable pupils
know that others think differently from themselves.
 Teachers need to provide situations that would allow pupils to solve their own problems and make
decisions.
 Teachers need to provide pupils with more time that would enable them explore freely and engage in
play activities. This would enable pupils test their own ideas and find out what is true and what is not.
 Teachers need to plan activities that are age- appropriate for the ability level of most member of
class.

Self-assessment
1) Explain the following concepts found in piaget’s theory
a) Schema
b) Assimilation
c) Accommodation
d) Adaption
e) Equilibration
f) Conservation
g) Organisation
2) Critically discuss why Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is a necessary foundational
framework for teaching?

PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

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You have just finished learning about Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. You have understood the basic
assumption of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. You have also understood the stages that Piaget’s
proposed on cognitive development, the short coming and how you as a teacher can apply the theory of Piaget in
you classroom situation. This section will introduce you to psychoanalytical theory of child development as
proposed by Sigmund Freud.

Objectives

By the end of this section you will be able to:

 Define the major concepts of psychoanalytical theory

 Discuss the major stages of psychoanalytical as proposed by Sigmund Freud
 Apply the theory in the classroom situation

Background

Sigmund Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now part of Czechoslovakia). He was a developmentalist who
believed that the changes that occur physiologically were ruled or controlled by inner forces, more especially
biological maturation. According to Freud when a child matures there are unruly sexual and aggressive energies
which society need to harness.

Sigmund Freud’s stages of psychoanalytical or psychosexual theory

Freud calls one’s general sexual energy as Libido. The area where the sexual energy becomes focussed is called
the erogenous zone. Any part of the body can be an area of high sexual energy concentration. In children the
erogenous zones are:

 The mouth
 The anus
 The genital area

The Oral stage

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 This stage starts at birth to about 18 months and is the first stage according to Sigmund Freud.
 At this stage the area of high sexual concentration or the where sexual energy or pleasure is felt is
the mouth. However child can suck anything that comes in contact with their mouth- breast, bottle, blanket and
fingers.

 As the child is sucking from the mother’s breast it is satisfying hunger and oral sexual drives.

 During teething the child may be biting its mother’s nappies. The mother may feel the pain and
would act so harshly towards the child and the child may be weaned. This process causes a lot of frustrations to
the child as he or she considers it as punishment.
 When the child fails to cope up with these frustrations and when the frustrations take a long period
of time the child become fixated and this leads to serious personality problems in the child.
 Fixation is arrested development; attachment to objects of an earlier stage. At this stage early
weaning can lead or cause fixation.
 Fixation that is caused by early weaning leads to the development of oral passive personality. A
child with oral passive personality would develop personalities such as selfish, dependant on others and many
others.
 Sometimes early weaning can cause oral aggressive personality. People with oral aggressive
personality retain a life of long desire to bite on things, have a tendency to be verbally aggressive, sarcastic,
pessimistic, and suspicious, early frustrated and may demand things impatiently.
 Adults with oral fixation may develop inflated dependence on oral activities such as smoking,
overeating, alcohol abuse and nail biting.

The anal stage

 The stage begins at the age of second and third year of life.
 During this stage sexual gratification is obtained from the contraction and relaxation of the sphincter
muscles that controls the elimination of the waste products.
 When the child is a year old the elimination of waste product is usually through reflexive but as the
child enters the anal stage the elimination of waste products is done by voluntary muscular control.
 At this stage children become interested holding or letting the faeces.
 Toilet training and how it is done by parents is very important at this stage as this would influence
the child’s personality in adulthood. During toilet training parents encourage their children to delay the pleasure

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or gratification of elimination. This means that the parent would want his or her child to have self-control. The
increase demand by the parents for a child to have self-control can be a source of conflict between the parent and
the child. This would lead to fixation and at this stage fixation can occur in two ways namely: anal retentive and
anal expulsive.
 Some parents allow their children to defecate anyhow, anywhere without any restrictions,
intimidation and control. According to Freud a child brought in this manner develops anal expulsive
personality. In adulthood such people become cruel, sloppy, disorganised, generous, reckless, careless and
destructive and are usually victims of vandalism and graffiti.
 Some parents are too strict at toilet training that they would not want they children defecate
anywhere and anyhow. When a child defecates anyhow and anywhere, the child become humaniliated and
punished. The child develops anal retentive personality. In adulthood such people are clean, orderly and
stingy, have pleasure in storage, are dictatorial, perfectionalist, stubborn and stick rigidly to rules.

The Phallic stage

 This stage begins at three years and ends at six years.
 In this stage the genital become the focus of pleasure or gratification. Additionally children become
aware of the physical differences that exist between boys and girls. The penis becomes the erogenous zone for
the boys and the absence of the penis in girls signals the beginning of psychosexual development in girls.
 It is during this stage that children develop sexual attachments to the parent of the opposite sex; boys
develop strong sexual attachment to the mother and girls develop strong sexual attachment to the father. Boys
develop what is called Oedipus complex and girls the Electra complex.
 The boys Oedipus complex begins with an interest in his penis. The penis triggers the boy’s curiosity
due to its easy accessibility, excitability and changeability. The boys would also compare his penis to those of
his friends and would imagine his role as an adult. The boy would also take keen interest in seeing if girls have a
penis. The boy develops strong sexual feelings towards his mother and would imagine marrying her. When the
boy observes that he cannot do what he sees his father do to his mother, he develops rivalry for his father.
However, the boy resolves his rivalrous and incestuous wishes at six and become driven underground.
 The girl on the other hand becomes disappointed with her mother. This ignites the electra complex in
girls. The girl would feel that she has been neglected by the mother more especially when there is a new born
baby. The girl would therefore act so jealously towards the new baby. Later the girl would discover that she does
not have a penis and she would blame her mother for bring her in the world less equipped. When the girl is
appreciated by the father, she would direct her sexual feelings towards the father and wishes she could have a

29
child with her father. She soon discovers that she could not have a child with her father because of her mother,
therefore the girl become an enemy to her mother. When the girl resolves this stage successfully she enters the
latency stage.

The Latency stage

 This stage begins at seven years and ends at puberty. Latency period means a period of quiet
feelings. Latency also means hidden and sexual feelings become unconscious. The sexual energies are directed
towards school activities and sports.
 At this stage children would focus playing with friends of the same sex and would not be interested
in the opposite sex.
 It is a relatively calm stage.
 During this stage children develop competencies and refine their self-images.

The genital stage

 This stage begins at puberty and goes on to death. The sexual energy is renewed because of the
physical changes that are taking place in the body of the girl or boy.
 During this stage sexual gratification is sort through sexual intercourse with the opposite sex.
 Adolescents again become interest in people like their parents of the opposite sex, but they displace
these sexual feeling by directing them onto other adolescents or adults of the opposite sex.
 According to Sigmund Freud, People who become interested in oral sex, anal sex, male-male or
female-female sexual activities, stimulation, and masturbation are said to have been fixated because such are
immature forms sexual conduct.

Self- assessment

1) Discuss the stages of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of child development?

2) Explain how the Oedipus and electra complex develop in boys and girls.
3) Discuss the roles the teacher can play in the resolution of the Oedipus and electra complex.

THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY ACCORDING TO SIGMUND FREUD OR THE AGENCIES

OF THE MIND

Introduction

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You have looked at the stages of psychoanalytical theory according to Sigmund Freud. Now you have to
understand and examine the structure of personality according to Sigmund Freud.

Objectives

By the end of this section you will be able to:

 Define the concept of personality

 Identify the structure of personality according to Freud.

What is personality?

Personality is defined as “whatever it is that makes a person who he or she is” or “things that make us make
predictions about a given behaviour,” (Meyer, Moore and Viljoe, 1977).

Freud divided the mind of a person in three different but related parts. The three parts of the mind according to
Sigmund Freud are the id, ego and superego.

The id: The selfish beast

 When the infant is born the mind has only one part, the id. The id has only two set of instincts- the
life instinct and death instinct. The life instinct is termed as libido by Freud and gives rise to motives that
sustain and promote life and would include things like hunger, self-protection and sexual desire.
 Freud proposed that in each and every individual there is a selfish and cruel beast that lives in us.
This he called the id.
 The id is the inborn part of the unconscious mind that uses the primary process to satisfy its needs
and that acts according to the pleasure principle.
 The id operates according to the pleasure principle. By pleasure principle it entails that the id seeks
immediate pleasure and avoid pain, regardless of how harmful it would be to others.
 The id tries to satisfy its desire according to ways that are out of touch with reality. This means that
the id has no idea that reality exist.
 The id satisfies its desires using what Freud termed as primary process thinking. Primary process
thinking simply entails the formation of a wish-fulfilling mental image of the desired item. For example we can
use primary process thinking when we are daydreaming of having sex, eating a cake or when we angrily plan to
revenge on the person who insulted us. This further entails that the primary process thinking is all about
imagination rather than reality.

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 It should be noted that we cannot survive only on the id otherwise we would be hurt each time. The
infant is usually luck because there always adults who make sure that their needs are met realistically and safe.
But as people grow from infancy the interaction between the parents and other adults and peers enable to convert
the id in two parts of the mind – the ego and superego.

The Ego: Executive personality

 The ego develops from the id when there is a realisation that trouble can occur when selfish and
aggressive behaviour is used to meet the needs of an individual. In order to avoid such trouble there is a search
for more realistic ways of meeting these needs.
 The ego is formed when an individual comes with contact with the outside world. Through
interaction with others in the world the child develops realistic ways of meeting his or her needs.
 This means that the ego operates on the realistic principle. The realistic principle according to
Freud is the attempt by the ego to find safe realistic ways of meeting the needs of the id. The ego holds the id in
check until a safe and more realistically way of meeting the needs or motives has been found. The main function
of the ego is to help the id satisfy its needs.
 The ego is said to be the executive of personality because it uses the cognitive abilities when
managing and controlling the id. Additionally it keeps a balance between the desires and the restrictions of
reality and the superego. This means that it does consider the result of its action by weighing up the drives and
then make considerations whether or not they should be met.

The Superego: The conscience and Ego ideal

 The superego develops out of the id.

 It acts according to the moral principle. The id and ego do not have the moral part as they try to
satisfy the needs of the id. The id and ego tries to satisfy the needs of the id without regardless of what other
would say. The ego would try to satisfy the motives in a more realistic way as long as it is safe to do that and
does not care even if the rules are broken, lies are told or people are wronged.
 When the superego develops restrictions are placed on the id and ego. The superego is that part of
the mind that opposes the motives of the id by putting moral restrictions and striving to achieve a goal of “ideal”
perfection. Therefore the superego operates according to the moral principle.
 The superego is created through the process of socialisation. Usually parents are the main agents in
the development of the superego of children. Parents teach moral principles to their children through punishment
and rewards. When parents punish their children they create a set of moral inhabitations called conscience and

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rewards create a standard of perfect conduct called “ego ideal.”
 The conscience and ego ideal function together to punish behaviour that is involved in the breakage
of moral codes by feeling guilt and reward behaviour that follows moral codes through feeling pride.
 According to Freud most of us we do not steal, rape, murder, insult and defecate anywhere not that
we do not want to or our egos do not find safe places to do that but because our superegos are in control and hold
our motives in check.

Application of Freud’s theory in classroom situations

 Teachers should allow their pupils to freely express themselves (free association) in order to reveal
the unconscious content that can help the child.
 As teachers we need to learn and appreciate different personality and handle them appropriately.
 Teachers need to help pupils understand what is happening at each stage of personality development
 Teacher need to provide safe and inclusive learning environments and avoid unnecessary frustrations
of pupils.
 Teachers should be therapist and educators. They should have and take time in resolving pupils’
problems.

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO ERIK ERICKSON

Introduction

Erik Erickson (1963) developed his theory of personality by using Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalytical.
Instead of paying much attention on the biological drives, Erik Erickson focussed on instinctual drives as
modified by society. According to Erik Erickson people develop/grow because of the series of psychological
cries that shape personality. Erikson accepted Freud’s theory of psychosexual developmentbut
believed that, for several reasons, it was incomplete:

 It gave too little recognition to social and cultural influences.

 It failed to recognize developmental changes beyond adolescence.
 It did not give enough emphasis to ego development.
 It focused primarily on the development of neurotic and maladaptive behavior
and did not give enough consideration to healthy development.

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Objectives

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

 Discuss the stages of Erik Erickson’s psychosocial theory of personality.

 Compare and contrast Freud’s theory and Erik Erickson’s theory of personality development.
 Apply Erik Erickson’s theory of psychosocial in the classroom situation.

Stages of personality development according to Erik Erickson

Trust Vs Mistrust

 This stage begins at birth and ends at the first year of birth.
 When a child is born he/she should how to trust the world. Trusting is the psychological attitude that
needs to be developed in the child.
 When the child becomes satisfied with the basic needs that the parents are providing for him/her,
she/he learns to trust the parents and in return he/she learns to trust the world.
 When the child is not well fed, clothed, left with faeces and several other needs are not consistently
given to the child, he/she feels discomfort and have fear. The baby would develop or learn to mistrust his/her
parents and the world at large.
 The most important factors are sensitivity to infant’s needs and the love and warmth that parents
show to their children. When the relationship between the infant and the parents is warm and loving then the
child develops trust in the parents and world. When the relationship between the parent and the child is cold and
not gratifying then there is the development of mistrust.

Autonomy Vs shame and doubt

 This stage begins at the age of one year and ends at three years.
 The central task is the development of self-control and independence. The child at this stage should
gain independence of controlling bodily functions such as feeding, toilet training, walking and talking.
 The psychological attitude to be learnt during this stage is autonomy. When children have learnt to
trust the world, they would need to have some autonomy or independence. When children are given time to work
on their own pace they would gain autonomy but when they are restricted or beat by their teachers and parents,

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they develop shame in doing activities and may doubt their abilities in dealing with the environment.
 It is important that teachers and parents to realise that too much control can led to a situation where
our children and pupils start feeling been inadequate in dealing with the activities given and this would led to the
development of shame and doubt.
 It should also be noted that during this stage children become to mobile and inquisitive, therefore the
way we as adults react to our children is significant as this would led to the development of autonomy or shame
and doubt.E.g. When the child asks a lot of questions and gets warm answers from the parents this would allow
the children develop autonomy unlike when the child is shouted at and put off.

Initiative Vs Guilt

 This stage begins at 3 years and ends at six years.

 The central focus of this stage is to test new language, motor and social skills, initiate activities and
become more independent from parents.
 When the child is well supported, encouraged and guided by the parents, the child would develop a
sense of initiative. The sense of initiative is the main psychological attitude that the child need to learn at this
stage.
 Initiative refers to the child’s goal directed in one’s action. For initiative to develop the child need
to be given a lot of time to discover and do a lot of experiment at their pace. Parents and teachers therefore need
to answer the questions children ask them.
 However, if children are given restriction in what they want to do and are always rebuked by adults,
they would develop tendencies of guilt about doing things on their own.
 When the child resolves this crisis the child would develop behaviours that are approved socially by
society.

Industry Vs inferiority

 This is the fourth stage that begins at seven years and end at eleven years.
 The basic developmental task during this stage is to acquire the basic academic and cultural skills.
Therefore at this stage the energies of the child is to acquire skills and learning.
 At this stage the child identifies himself or herself with peers.
 When the child is given opportunities that will enable them finish tasks and they are praised when
they try to answer, the child develops tendencies that led to industry.

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 However, when the child is rebuked for try and not completing tasks, he or she is given bad names
or his or her efforts are not recognised then the child develops tendencies of inferiority.

Identity Vs Identity confusion (Role confusion)

 This stage begins at the twelve years and ends at eighteen years. This period is characterised by the
individual’s search for identity as an individual in society.
 The basic developmental task here is the sense of who they are and what they stand for- sense of
identity.
 At this stage the child is now approaching young adulthood and his or her physical maturity and
independence become vividly visible for anyone to seen. They become pre-occupied with the kind of person they
would like to be.
 At this stage they start questioning societal norms and values.
 When these children are well supported by others and if they succeed in integrating their roles in
different situations they would experience continuity in the perception of self thus de3veloping identity.
 However if they don’t experience any continuity in the perception of the self they develop identity
confusion or role confusion.

Intimacy Vs isolation (young adulthood)

 At this stage the basic developmental attitude to accomplish is intimacy.

 When the individual has successful developed identity, they would want to interact with others, thus
the individual is searching for social and sexual intimacy with another person.
 When the individual fails to develop sexual and social intimacy they would develop tendencies of
isolation.

Generativity Vs stagnation (Middle adulthood)

 The basic psychological task to be complete at this stage is Generativity. Generativity looks at the
ability to establish and guide the next generation.
 During this stage the adult population is busy helping their children so that they could develop
careers and contribute to society.
 When an individual fail to resolve the psychological crises in their early life, they become pre-
occupied with themselves.

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Integrity Vs despair (old adulthood)

 The basic psychological attitude to accomplish at this stage is integrity. By integrity we are looking
at the acceptance of one’s and only life cycle.
 Success is viewed as the occurrence of practical wisdom, a belief in the meaning of life and
acceptance of one’s life cycle. The individual who have achieved success in life is happy to die.
 Despair looks at time being short and that an individual would want to start another life so that he or
she can try out alternative routes to integrity.

Self -assessment

1. Discuss Erickson’s psychosocial stages of personality development.

2. Compare and contrast Erickson’s psychosocial theory and that one for Freud.
3. Why is it important for the teacher to have knowledge of Erickson’s psychosocial theory of
personality development?

Application of Erickson’s psychosocial theory of personality development

 When teaching children who are young, as a teacher you need to give them a lot of time or room for
them for free play and experimentation. Children need to be given more time so that they could develop a sense
of autonomy and independence. It is important however that the teacher should exercise minimum supervision.
 Teachers need to give pupils tasks or exercises that they could complete as this can led to the
development of a sense of industry in pupils.
 Teachers need to encourage cooperation among pupils though group projects and avoid comparing
pupils as this can led to the development of inferiority.
 Teachers should also make it a point to give clear and well defined instructions so as to make the
pupils work well and avoid confusion.
 As teachers we do not need be harass to our pupils in front of others as this would led to the
development of inferiority.
 Teachers need to be praising their pupils whenever they try or answer as this would lead to the
development of self-concept among pupils.
 Let pupils know that their competence and responsibility are valued
 The teacher should involve parents in decisions concerning their children.

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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY ACCORDING TO ALBERT BANDURA

Albert Bandura (1925–present), noted that children learn by watching the consequences that others experience
for their behaviours, through a process called vicarious reinforcement. Vicarious learning or Observational
learning is the type of learning that involves the observation and evaluation of the consequences that accrue to
the model as they go about life. Albert Bandura observed Ian, Todd learns that boys shouldn’t dress up in girls’
clothes. Knowledge of response consequences guides children’s and adults’ future behavioural choices (Bandura,
1977).
Bandura’s social learning theory is based on his idea that individuals are greatly influenced by other people. In
addition to being influenced by vicarious reinforcement, Bandura believes that children and adults imitate, or
model, the behaviour of other people. Through modelling, individuals learn new behaviours, the contexts
appropriate for thosebehaviours, and their consequences. Consider how children often mimic the behaviours of
superheroes from movies and television.

NATURE OF VICARIOUS LEARNING OR OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Four processes are involved in modelling the behaviour of others:
 Attention. A child must pay attention to models to be able to imitate their behaviour. The models
most likely to capture attention are those with power, prestige, or charisma.
 The teacher can use this concept in the classroom by drawing the attention of pupils to various
people in the community that have power, prestige and charisma. The teacher can bring such individual in
classrooms so that they can have a talk with pupils.
 During a practical lesson the teacher can draw the attention of pupils through demonstrations, use of
attractive teaching aids, involving pupils in projects and discussion.
 Retention. To imitate another person’s behaviour later on, a child must have a way to represent the
behaviour in her or his memory so that it can be retrieved when necessary. A person would store the behaviour
that he or she had copied or observed for future usage.
 In the classroom the teacher can facilitate the retention of pupils by: highlighting the major points of
the lesson, repeating and making emphasis.
 Motor reproduction. To successfully reproduce another’s behaviour, a child must have the motor
control or abilities to carry out the action. Imitation provides the pattern for behaviour but not the actual skill to
accomplish it.

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 Reinforcement and motivation. Successful imitation requires that the behaviour have the desired
consequences, causing the child to want to repeat it.

Social learning theory often has been used to explain the impact of television on children’s behaviour. Popular
television characters attract children’s attention, and children may learn to act inappropriately by observing the
behaviours of these powerful models (American Medical Association, 1996).

Application of social cognitive theory of Albert Bandura in classroom setting

 The teacher falls under the category called significant others or knowledgeable others. The way the
teacher carries him or herself in class would influence the pupils as they would like to copy the actions made by
teachers. Pupils usually consider what ever the teacher does as correct and perfect, therefore they would model
the behaviour or actions of their teachers. As teachers we should be mindful of the way we talk, dress as these
have a great impact on pupils.
 Teachers should invite people who are influence in society in their classrooms from time to time so
as to motivate pupils. For example if there is a female doctor in the locality, invite her to have a talk with girls so
that they could have someone they can imitate.
 In observational learning it is important for the teacher to capture the interest of the learners. As
teachers, we need to draw the interest of pupils to those areas in the lesson that are of great importance. This can
be done in several ways such as making clear presentations, clear instructions, and use of colourful teaching aids.
 It of great importance for the teacher to provide guidance and counselling to pupils as the harm of
pupils been if influenced by bad behaviour from other pupils is higher. The teacher needs to be on the alert for
such occurrences.

VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF SOCIAL-CULTURE DEVELOPMENT

Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) was a Russian psychologist whose work with children with disabilities gave him an
interest in issues of development (Rieber & Hall, 1998). He proposed a theory of development based on the idea
that children use psychological tools such as language, numbering systems, and maps to develop higher levels of
thinking. Language is particularly important to development because it allows children to develop new ideas and
to regulate their behavior. Vygotsky argued that people use language to engage in internal dialogues that help

39
them solve difficult tasks. For instance, you may say to yourself that when you finish reading this section you
will take a break. Through the self-direction of your internal dialogue, you continue reading, thereby regulating
your behavior and promoting the learning of the material. Vygotsky regarded this internal, or private, speech as a
critical element in cognitive development and learning.
Vygotsky emphasized the influence of social interaction on development. A 3-year-old boy, for example, may
be unable to discuss a trip he took to the zoo, but, given a series of prompts by his mother, he can describe the
animals he saw and the foods he ate during his trip. The mother acts as a skilled helper in using language to
describe experiences.
Similarly, a teacher may provide the information and support a student needs to carry out long division. The
distance between what a children can do unaided and what a child can do through interaction with skilled helpers
is called the zone of proximal development.
It is within this zone that a person’s potential for new learning is strongest. The idea that children learn through
social interactions with skilled helpers suggests that everyday experiences play a crucial role in children’s
development. Through their routine interactions, caregivers and teachers provide meaningful assistance to
children in developing cognitive, social, and emotional skills (Stringer, 1998). For instance, caregivers often
describe problem-solving strategies to children to help them guide their own behavior. As they grow older,
children repeat these guidance messages to themselves, out loud at first. These messages later become the silent
inner speech that is used to guide behavior (Vygotsky, 1934/1986).

Self-assessment
 Discuss the major concepts in social cognitive development theory of Albert Bandura.
 List the major concepts in social- culture theory of vygosky.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES

Introduction

This unit introduces you to issues of moral development that children undergo as they develop. Moral
development is part of personality development; therefore as we discuss it in this unit we shall see how the two
overlap.

Objectives

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At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

 Define the concept of moral development

 Explain theories of moral development
 Identify factors that influence moral development
 Apply theories of moral development

What is moral development?

Moral can be looked at what is right or wrong behaviour according to societal norms. This means that the
rightness or wrongness of behaviour is determined by society. Society has put measures that could be rules,
norms or regulations in which behaviour is judge to be either right or wrong. Moral development therefore looks
at the development of appropriate behaviour as determined by society. It should however be noted that moral
development in childhood and adolescent is a complex issue as it involves both cognitive and behavioural
aspects. In this unit we shall look at Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg’s contribution to our understanding of
cognitive aspect of moral development.

According to Piaget and Kohlberg when children are developing they go through a moral reasoning that is
universal and invariant cognitive development pattern.

How does Piaget view the development of moral reasoning?

Piaget spent many years observing children playing games and how they made judgements on the seriousness of
the wrongdoing of characters in the stories. It was on this basis that Piaget concluded that moral judgement in
children development in two overlapping ways. These were moral realism and autonomous morality.

Piaget’s theory of moral development

Moral realism

 This stage begins at the age of 5 years and ends at the age of 8 years.
 This stage is also called objective morality and at this stage children look at correct behaviour as that
which conforms to authority or to the rules of the game. Children at this stage look at rules as being entrenched
in the universe. Rules to children reflect reality. Rules what is right or wrong to children is rigid and absolute.
 Children get these rules from parents; therefore, their perception of morality is based on what is
allowed by adults. Therefore children’s judgement is usually based on the feels held by their parents meaning

41
that children make moral judgement without questioning or understanding the reasons for doing that as this is
influenced by external rules.
 According to Piaget, children at this stage usually view punishment as specifically made or
connected to wrong doing. Therefore punishment is unavoidable. For example when a five years or six years
child steals or lies, he or she believe that they will be found and be punished for the act they did.
 Children at this stage also look at one dimension at a time. For example a child in this stage would
make judgement on the wrongness of behaviour usually basing on the amount of damage done and not on the
intention of the wrong doer.
 Children at this stage do not excuse a person who has done a wrong by accident.

Egalitarianism (9-11 years)

 This stage also called Autonomous morality begins at the age of 9 years and ends 11 years.
 At this stage their moral judgement becomes more self-governing meaning that the tendency of
interpreting the rules so strictly reduces.
 According to Piaget, children at this no long look at obedience to authority as right but that
circumstance can make someone break rules.
 At this stage children show decentration meaning that they can focus on several dimensions at the
same time. This implies that children at this stage are able to focus not only on social rules but also on the
intention of the wrongdoer and the demands of the situation.
 This stage is also a stage of fairness and equal in treatment of all. This means that children are able
to take the point of view of others as they realise that other people’s point of view are also important.
 According to Piaget autonomous morality develops in children due to the cooperative relationships
with peers. Parents’ egalitarian relationship with their children is also very important in the development of
egalitarianism morality in children.

Equity

 This stage begins at the age of 12 years and goes onwards. At this stage children would realise that
the needs of every people are not the same and equal, they develop a sense of equity. For example the children
may realise that same people need more food or support than others because these do not have as much as others.
Those who have little will need to be given more or supported more than those who have.
 When the child is able to make such judgement then it is said to be based on moral correctness and
justice.

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Self- assessment

1. Discuss Piaget’s theory of moral development.

2. Compare the thought of a child in the pre operational stage and the moral judgement of the child
who is in the objective morality.

KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

What is Kohlberg’s theory of moral development?

Lawrence Kohlberg (1969) was influenced by Piaget’s theory of moral development. Kohlberg wanted to find
out if there were universal stages in the development of morals among children. Kohlberg was of the assumption
that the moral development of children developed alongside the cognitive skills of the child meaning that the
change in the cognitive skills of the children also led to the change in moral reasoning of the child. In order to
carry out his experiment he presented hypothetical stories about moral dilemmas to children so that they could
answer whether it was right or wrong.

Stages in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development

The pre-conventional stage or pre-moral stage

 This is level one of moral development which begins at the age of 4 years and ends at the age of 10
years and the emphasis is on punishment and rewards.
 At this stage obedience to rules is considered to be the most important aspect of moral development.
 During the first level of this stage children simply obey rules should as to avoid punishment meaning
that the level of behaviour at this level is said to be good or bad based on the consequences of the actions. For
example a parent would say if go to play with your friend, you will not eat food. The child at this level would
avoid going for playing because he or she fears being punished. Therefore, the child would think might is right
at this level.
 During the later level of this stage the child shift his moral judgement from punishment to good
things that the child would like to have as a reward of obeying the rules. At this level children would think that if
they are good to other than other would be good to them also. For example at this stage the reasoning of the child
would be that “you will ride on my bike if you let me play with you.” The basic idea here is to satisfy your own
needs.

Conventional morality stage

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 This stage begins at the age of 10 years and ends at the age of 13 years and the major emphasis is on
social rules of the individual’s family, group, or nation.
 The moral judgement of the child is based on what is permissive by society meaning that good
behaviour is behaviour that is approved and rewarded by others. Approval is an important aspect of moral
reasoning at this stage. Children would want to establish social order as expected by society.
 During the first level of this stage moral decision or judgement deeply depend on the intention of the
act meaning that when the intention is good than the act is good and that when the intention was bad then the act
is bad. The major principle at this level is interpersonal concordance.
 As the child enters the second level of this stage, the moral judgement is usually based on the
general good. The child would look at what society say on the action meaning that when society looks at an
action to be wrong or dangerous then it is a morally incorrect action.
 The second level of this stage also emphasise on law and order. Right behaviour is seen to be doing
one’s duty, respect for authority and realising the need to have social order.

Post- conventional or Autonomous morality

 At this stage an individual develop an internalised form of moral reasoning meaning that the moral
reasoning of the individual is based on the person’s own moral standards. The individual becomes aware of the
general underlying principles of right and wrong and understand that laws and rules exist to warrant the rights of
individuals. At this level the right action is seen as that one that has been examined and agreed upon by society.
Additionally right action is seen as a matter of person values and opinions. This means that laws can be changed
when there is an agreement by all parties involved.
 The second parts of this stage focus on the universal principles meaning that people’s behaviour is
seen in terms of universal ethical, principles. Usually these principles are abstract and include the basic right for
everyone to be treated equally and with dignity.

Application of the theories of moral development in the classroom situation

1. The teacher can tell stories to pupils and ask pupils to provide judgements through classroom
discussion. In this way the teacher can develop the morals of children in his classroom. Additionally the teacher
will have the insight on the level of moral thought of his pupils.
2. The teacher should provide opportunities that allow the pupils to discuss moral issues or dilemmas
that occur in their everyday experiences. For example the teacher can provide stories from the community or
newspaper for pupils to discuss. Let pupils discuss the possible solutions and consequences of each decision they

44
make. Let the pupils discuss moral issues that are one level above the pupils’ moral reasoning. However these
moral issues should not be too difficult or simple. When the teacher gives pupils moral issues that are above the
moral level of pupils then teacher is helping pupils advance their moral reasoning.
3. The teacher should provide opportunities were pupils interact with people of different age group so
that they become exposed to higher levels of moral reasoning.
4. The teacher needs to provide a platform where pupils are given rules that apply to the larger
community. The idea here is to broaden the minds of pupils so that they can reach a stage where they could have
an insight of abstract and universal principles such as justice.
5. The teacher should model the type of behaviour he would want to see in children or pupils. This can
be done by the teacher when he or she behaves in a fair and just way to all pupils in the classroom rather
imposing rules that have no relation to values.
6. Allow pupils to be involved in forming the language of the classroom rules.

Self-assessment

1. Discuss the major features of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.

2. Compare and contrast Piaget and Kohlberg’s theories of moral development.
3. Discuss how you can apply the theories of moral development in your classroom.
4. Is there a relationship between moral behaviour and moral reasoning? Discuss.

THEORIES OF LEARNING

Introduction

In this unit, you will be equipped with the four major theories of learning namely: behavioural theory, cognitive
theory, social cognitive theory and humanistic theory. Additionally you will have knowledge on how to apply
these theories in you classroom. The objectives of this unit are:

Objectives

 Discuss the concept of learning

 Discuss various theories of learning
 Apply the various theories of learning to teaching and learning situations

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What is learning?

To start with you need to have an understanding of the term “learning.” What makes up learning? Learning can
be defined in many ways by different scholars and authorities and some of the definitions of learning include the
following:

Learning is the experience that occurs and causes a relatively permanent change in an individual’s knowledge or
behaviour. This change can be deliberate or unintended for better or for worse, correct or incorrect and
conscious or unconscious (Hill, 2002).

Learning refers to the processes by which environmental influences and experiences bring about permanent
changes in thinking, feeling and behaviour (Click and Parker, 2002).

In order for the change to qualify as learning there must be:

 Experience – the interaction between an individual with others or the environment.

 It should be permanent. However it should be noted that maturation also bring in permanent change
such as the body become tall or the hair becoming grey. This change is permanent but does not constitute
learning.

Psychologists have different emphasis on the learning. Some view learning as the change in behaviour while
others view learning as the change in knowledge. The difference in the emphasis has led to the emergence of
different theories of learning.

BEHAVIOURAL LEARNING THEORIES

PAVLOV’S BEHAVIOURAL VIEW OF LEARNING

Background

Ivan Petroviah Pavlov (1849-1936) a Russian scholar considered to be the father of behaviourism explained
learning as continuity or association. This idea led to the development of a theory named classical conditioning.

Pavlov discovered classical conditioning in the 1920s during his experiments which focussed on involuntary
emotional or physiological responses that included fear, increased muscle tension, salvation or sweating that
were already conducted by organisms.

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In one of his experiments, Pavlov wanted to teach a dog to salivate when the bell was sounded. The bell is
referred to as a neutral stimulus (NS). A neutral stimulus is a stimulus in which its presence does not trigger
any reaction or response. In his experiment Pavlov used meat powder as unconditioned stimulus (US). Meat
powder is unconditioned stimulus in that when it is presented to the dog, it will naturally make the dog salivate
without the dog been taught to do so. When meat powder is presented to the dog, the dog will automatically or
naturally start to salivate. The dog therefore, responds to the presentation of meat powder by salivating.
Salivation is therefore unconditioned response (UR). Unconditioned response happens when the dog naturally
respond to the stimulus without being taught to do so.

Pavlov in his experiment wanted to teach the dog to start salivating when the bell was sounded. In order to carry
out this experiment, Pavlov started pairing the sounding of the bell and the presentation of the meat powder.
Pavlov would sound the bell and immediately follow with the presentation of the meat powder. Through the
pairing of the sounding of the bell and presentation of meat powder, the dog was eventually taught to salivate to
the sound of the bell- a neutral response that did not trigger any response in the first place. Since the sounding of
the bell now produce a response from a dog it is now called a conditioned stimulus (CS). After several pairing
the dog would start salivating to the sounding of the bell. The response that the dog produces now due to the
sounding of the bell is called Conditioned response (CR). During his experiment Pavlov discovered three major
processes namely: generalisation, discrimination and extinction.

In his experiment, Pavlov discovered that the dog could also salivate to a wide range of other bell sound that
could have been similar to the original bell meaning that the dog could have salivated to the sound of other bells.
The dog had to generalise the sound of the bell and this is called stimulus generalisation. Pavlov also discovered
that the dog could not salivate to the sound of the bell that was different from the original one. He called this as
stimulus discrimination meaning that the dog could only salivate to sounds of the bell that were similar to the
original bell. The third discovery of Pavlov was that when the sound of the bell was not paired with the
presentation of meat powder the salivation of the dog to the sound of the bell would eventually stop. This
according to Pavlov is called extinction. However Pavlov discovered that the salivation of the dog to the sound
of the bell could be resumed when pairing of the ringing of the bell and the presentation of meat powder was
resumed. This was called as spontaneous recovery.

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THE THREE PHASES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Phase one: pre-conditioning phase

Neutral stimulus (ringing the Bell) Leads to No Response

Unconditioned Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Leads to Response (UCR)

(Meat Powder)
Phase 2: Conditioning Phase

Neutral stimulus (Ringing of the Bell)

+ Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) (after several pairing) leads to Salivation of the dog (Meat Powder)

Phase 3: Post conditioning Phase

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) elicits Conditioned Response (CR)

(Ringing of the Bell) Salivation

(Adapted from Borich and Tombari, 1995, p.147).

WATSON’S BEHAVIOURAL VIEW OF LEARNING

John Watson’s behavioural projects had a great had a great impact on the development of psychology in the
United States of America. According to Watson, human beings are capable of learning because of the stimulus
that is present in the environment. Watson replicated Pavlov’s classical conditioning but instead of using dogs,
he used human beings.

Watson’s work involved involuntary responses and neutral stimulus. Watson observed that through continuous
contiguous pairing of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus the neutral stimulus had gained the
power to cause a conditioned response.

Watson’s experiment focussed on conditioning a child to have fear of the neutral stimulus. The child in this
experiment was called little Albert. Little Albert was seen to be suitable for the experiment because he did not
fear rabbits and woollen things but feared loud banging voices. In this experiment the rabbit was taken to be the
neutral stimulus because it did not instil fear in little Albert. Whenever the rabbit was presented to little Albert it

48
was accompanied with a striking a hammer on the metal bar (making a loud bang which little Albert feared
naturally). As the experiment continued little Albert started to fear the rabbit which at first he did not fear. This
means that the rabbit which did not cause any fear in little Albert gained the power to cause fear in little Albert
because of its association with the loud bang which was made by striking the hammer on the metal bar. When
the rabbit was presented alone it could cause fear in little Albert.

The three stages of Watson classical conditioning

Phase 1: Preconditioning Phase

Neutral stimulus Leads to No Response

(Rabbit)

Unconditioned Leads to Unconditioned Response (UCR) (Fear)

Stimulus (UCS)
(Loud noise)

Phase 2: Conditioning Phase

Neutral stimulus
(Rabbit) (After several pairing) Leads to
+ Fear
Unconditioned
Stimulus (UCS)
(Loud noise)

Phase 3: Post conditioning Phase

Conditioned Elicits Conditioned

Stimulus (CS) Response (CR)
(Rabbit) (Fear)

Other Examples

Phase one: Before Conditioning:

(UCS) Seeing Teacher Smile leads to Student Smiles (UR)
(UCS) Seeing Classroom → No response (UR)

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Phase two: During Conditioning:
Seeing Teaching Smile + Seeing Classroom → Student Smiles
Phase three: After Conditioning:
(CS) Seeing Classroom → Student Smiles (CR)

Imagine you want to start studying at night around 02: 00hrs every day. Before your alarm goes there are faint
click sounds. At first these faint click sound would not wake you up but the alarm would wake you up. You will
notice that after one week or two these faint click sounds would start waking you up. This is what happens as
shown below:

Phase one: Pre-conditioning

Neutral stimulus (Clicks from the clock) leads to No Response (you don’t wake up)

(UCS)Alarm leads to (UCR) waking up

Phase two: Conditioning

(NR) Click from the clock +(UCS) Alarm (after several pairing) leads to waking up.

Phase three: Post conditioning

(CS) click from the clock Elicits (CR) waking up

Imagine that you are teaching a grade one class. At first a classroom would not make a grade one pupils cry.

Pre conditioning

Neutral stimulus (Classroom) leads to No Response

(UCS) canning of pupils leads to (UCR) silence

Conditioning

(NS) classroom + (UCS) canning of pupils (after several pairing) leads to silence

Post-conditioning

(CS) Classroom elicits silence

It should be noted that little Albert started fearing the rabbit after several pairing of the rabbit with the striking of

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the hammer on the metal bar so that it could make a loud bang. Watson also noted in his experiment that a
reverse experiment can be done to have little Albert stop fearing the rabbit. Watson paired the presentation of the
rabbit with sweets. As the pairing continued little Albert stopped fearing the rabbit. Watson observed that people
do not need to be involved directly but they can develop or get conditioned through hearing stories. This is called
vicarious conditioning.

SKINNER’ OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING

Introduction

Burhus Fredric Skinner (1904) was a strict behaviourist who believed that behaviour was controlled by the
environment and behaviour is observable and measurable. Skinner wanted to find out the reasons that led to
some behaviour being enacted, persisted and later developed into complex pattern where as other form of
behaviour failed to persist.

In order to find out the answers to his questions Skinner placed a rat in a box which was later called the Skinner
box. The Skinnerian box consisted of a lever which when pressed by the rat, the rat could be rewarded with food
pellets. When the rat was put in the Skinnerian box at first it moved around the box aimlessly. In its aimless
movements in the box the rat finally pressed on the lever accidently and it was rewarded with food pellets. As
time passed by the frequency of pressing the lever by the rat increased. This is referred to as reinforcement by
Skinner because strengthened the behaviour preceding it.

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Operant conditioning

According to Skinner operant conditioning is seen as the type of learning that involves behaviour being
influenced by the consequences that follow them. This type of learning focuses on rewards and punishment.
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a kind of learning in which an animal or human
performs some behavior, and the following consequence (reward or punishment) increases or decreases the
chance that an animal or human will again perform that same behavior.According to this theory of learning an
organism play a critical role in operating on the environment. Through operant conditioning an association is
made between behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. An operant is a response that is produced by an
organism without any particular forcing stimulus. An operant can be looked at as any active behaviour that
operates upon the environment to generate consequences. The major components of operant conditioning are as
follows:

a) Stimulus
b) Response
c) Consequence

Demonstration of operant conditioning

In order to Skinner to demonstrate operant conditioning he devised a box which was later called the Skinnerian

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box. The Skinnerian box contained a lever that allowed food pellets to drop when pressed. When the rat was put
in the Skinnerian box at first it moved around the box aimlessly. In its aimless movements in the box the rat
finally pressed on the lever accidently and it was rewarded with food pellets. As time passed by the frequency of
pressing the lever by the rat increased and each of these times the rat was rewarded with food pellets. The rat
then learnt the association between pressing of the lever and the dropping of food pellets. The rat therefore learnt
the new behaviour of pressing on the lever because of the consequences.

Consequence

A consequence is anything that is given or withdrew or delayed. When a consequence is given or withdrew or
delayed new behaviour is strengthened, strong behaviour is maintained and undesired behaviour is eliminated.
When the consequence is satisfying, the preceding behaviour will be repeated in future but when the
consequence is negative or punishing there is that the preceding behaviour will not be repeated. There are two
types of consequences namely:

a) Reinforcers
b) Punishers

Reinforcers are consequences that would increase the likelihood of behaviour occurring in future. Usually the
reinforcer benefits the person who is receiving it thus increase the type of behaviour.

Punishers: are consequences that would decrease the likelihood of behaviour occurring in future.

Reinforcement

Reinforcement is a procedure or consequence that is more likely to increase the frequency of the behaviour
immediately preceding it. Every aspect of human thought and feeling may be defined in terms of reinforcement.
Reinforcement is in two ways namely:

a) Positive reinforcement
b) Negative reinforcement

Positive reinforcement

In positive reinforcement the response increases due to the fact that it is followed by a rewarding stimulus. When
a stimulus is presented to an organism there is a likelihood that the occurrence of behaviour would increase.
When you give your pupil praise for cleaning his or her teeth, there is likelihood that he or she would continue

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cleaning his or her teeth in future.

Negative reinforcement

This occurs when the stimulus is removed from the situation, thus the frequency of the behaviour reoccurring is
increased or strengthened. For example a child who does not want to sleep his or her bedroom. When the father
refuse to give him or her money for break time at school when he or she does not sleep his or her bedroom. In
negative reinforcement two things are important to note namely:

a) The removal of something from the situation

b) The frequency of a behaviour is strengthened following the removal of something

The difference between positive and negative reinforcement is that positive reinforcement involve the addition of
something to the situation while negative reinforcement involves the removal of something from the situation.

Punishment

Punishment is a stimulus that is meant to diminish the probability or strength of a response preceding it. When
we punish, we are not trying to strengthen behaviour but to eliminate it. Punishment is in two forms namely:

a) Positive punishment
b) Negative punishment

Positive punishment

This decreases the strength of a response when it is presented after that response. This involves the presentation
of an aversive stimulus. Positive punishment therefore, involves addition of something to preceding behaviour.

Negative punishment

This involves the removal of something (stimulus). For example a student’s priviledge of getting money is
removed so as to make him study hard.

The difference between punishment and negative reinforcement is that negative reinforcement is meant to
stimulate behaviour while punishment is meant to stop the behaviour. Negative reinforcement occurs before a

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response while punishment occurs after a response (behaviour).

Shaping

It should be noted that operant conditioning occurs in a gradual way or process. Skinner showed that teaching a
pigeon to peak a spot on the wall is a gradual process that would take many days to achieve. Shaping is called a
method of approximations because reinforcement is made contingent upon better and better approximation of the
desired response. Human beings are taught skills using this procedure.

Application of behavioural theories of learning in classroom situations

Conditioning study behaviour: Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement, which expedite
learning. For effective teaching teacher should arranged effective contingencies of reinforcement. Example: For
Self learning of a student teacher should reinforce student behaviour through variety of incentives such as prize,
medal, smile, praise, affectionate patting on the back or by giving higher marks.

2. Conditioning and classroom behaviour: During learning process child acquire unpleasant experiences also.
This unpleasantness becomes conditioned to the teacher, subject and the classroom and learner dislikes the
subject and a teacher.
Suitable behavioural contingencies, atmosphere of recognition, acceptance, affection and esteem helps child in
approaching teacher and the subject. If student is not serious in study, teacher make use of negative
reinforcement like showing negligence, criticising student etc. but if student is serious in study, teacher make use
of positive reinforcement like prize, medal, praise and smile.
3. Managing Problem Behaviour: Two types of behaviour is seen in the classroom viz undesired behaviour and
problematic behaviour. Operant conditioning is a behaviour therapy technique that shape students behaviour. For
this teacher should admit positive contingencies like praise, encouragement etc. for learning. One should not
admit negative contingencies. Example punishment (student will run away from the dull and dreary classes –
escape stimulation.

4. Dealing with anxieties through conditioning: Through conditioning fear, anxieties, prejudices, attitudes,
perceptual meaning develops. Anxiety is a generalized fear response. To break the habits of fear, a teacher
should use desensitization techniques. Initially teacher should provide very weak form of conditioned stimulus.
Gradually the strength of stimulus should be increased.

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5. Conditioning group behaviour: Conditioning makes entire group learn and complete change in behaviour is
seen due to reinforcement. It breaks undesired and unsocial behaviour too. Example: Putting questions or telling
lie to teachers will make teachers annoyed in such circumstances students learn to keep mum in the class. Asking
questions, active participation in class discussion will make the teacher feel happy – interaction will increase and
teaching learning process becomes more effective.

6. Conditioning and Cognitive Processes: Reinforcement is given in different form, for the progress of
knowledge and in the feedback form. When response is correct, positive reinforcement is given. Example: A
student who stands first in the class in the month of January is rewarded in the month of December. To overcome
this Programme instruction is used. In this subject matter is broken down into steps. Organizing in logical
sequence helps in learning. Each step is built upon the preceding step. Progress is seen in the process of learning.
Immediate reinforcement is given at each step.

7. Shaping Complex Behaviour: Complex behaviour exists in form of a chain of small behaviour. Control is
required for such kind of behaviour. This extended form of learning is shaping technique. Smallest Behaviour is
controlled at initial stage. On behalf of different contingencies, next order of chain of behaviours is controlled.
Example: Vocabulary in English. Teaching spelling is mainly a process of shaping complex form of behaviour.

THE COGNITIVE THEORIES OF LEARNING

Introduction

Cognitive learning theories have their origin in the work of Jean Piaget where he explored the process of
cognitive development. As we saw in the first module where we discussed Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development, Piaget viewed cognitive development as occurring in district stages corresponding to the child’s
age. At each stage, the child exhibits characteristics of thinking that determine how the child deals with the
environment. There are two main approaches used the cognitive theory of learning. These are the Cognitive
Development Model, and the Information Processing Model.

The Cognitive-Developmental Model

This model is directly influenced by the work of Piaget. Piaget viewed children as active explorers and thinkers
who are constantly trying to find ways of adapting to their environment. At infancy, before they develop

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adequate mental tools to enable them to effectively deal with the environment, children depend on the use of
their sense (i.e. senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell). All the adaptive activities of the child at this
stage will depend on their sensory experiences.

As the children develop, they shift their dependency on sensory experience; they begin to deal with the world by
making linkages between their actions andconsequences thereof. At this stage, children come to understand how
the world works through active, physical manipulation of their environment. Later, at about adolescence,
children begin to deal with their environment through the use of internal mental processes. Each time they are
confronted by a situation they do not fully understand, adolescents, like adults, will tap into their knowledge and
use it to comprehend the new phenomena they are confronted with (Thomas, et al., 1997).

Jerome Brunner

Like Piaget, Brunner posits that the learning process varies depending on the age of the learner. Brunner
observed how children of various ages solved problems. He argued that younger children learn by acting upon
the environment, while older children and adults learn by internally (mentally) operating on their environment.
Based on his observations of how children solved problems, Brunner concluded that children can learn or
comprehend and subject matter as long as it can be represented in forms that are appropriate for the age of the
children. In other words, the limitations that children meet as they try to learn things in school are as a result of
teachers failing to teach in a mode which appropriate for children’s level of cognitive development. According
to this argument therefore, children can learn complicated subject matters such as calculus, algebra, philosophy
etc. as long as they can be broken down in appropriate forms.

Brunner (1966) identified three different systems of processing information which all human beings go through
as they move toward cognitive growth. By the term cognitive growth, Brunner was referring to the ability for
people to develop internal systems of representation to organize newly acquired information. In this process of
attaining cognitive growth, Bruner identified three systems of processing information which are used at different
stages.

Bruner’s three systems of processing information

1. Enactive Representation

Here children represent reality through motor activities. Things are understood based on the action taken toward

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them. At this stage, children require physical manipulation of objects to understand the world around.

2. Iconic Representation

At this stage children make sense of their world through the use of pictures. Presentations of pictures about what
is being taught will enhance comprehension.

3. Symbolic Representation

Here children have reached the formal operational level where they can think in symbolic and abstract terms.
They do not need physical representation or pictures, to understand their world – they can internally deal with
their world through deductive and inductive reasoning.

Bruner argues that adults use a combination of these three systems to deal with situations in the world.

Let us now look at Gagne’s view

Robert Gagne

Gagne, like Bruner and Piaget, is one of the ardent proponents of the cognitive theories of learning. He
embraces the information –addition, identifies three important aspects of learning, namely conditions of
learning, events or process of learning, outcomes of learning.

1. Conditions of learning

Gagne refers to internal and external conditions. Internal conditions consist of already existing knowledge
from previous learning which a learner can use to understand new information. The old information, in this case
becomes the anchor upon which new, unfamiliar information is hooked. External conditions, on the other hand,
refer to a variety of motivational factors which encourage learners to pursue their learning.

2. The events or Processes of Learning

As already indicated, Gagne follows the information-processing model and believes that if well linked to the
conditions of learning, the information-processing model can lead to good learning outcomes.

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3. Outcomes of Learning

By learning outcomes, Gagne referred to the different ways in which learning can be manifested. These are:
cognitive strategies; verbal skills; motor skills; and attitudes. In order for a learning theory to be deemed as
effective, Gagne argued that it should be able to fulfill these learning outcomes, or at least most of them. For this
reason, Gagne believes, unlike Piaget, that development is a result of learning and not determine of learning. In
other words, learning can enhance or diminish cognitive developmental processes, depending on how it is carried
out.

Self-assessment

1. List five ways you can apply the cognitive learning theories in your classroom?

CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY OF LEARNING

Behaviorist models of learning may be helpful in understanding and influencing what students do, but teachers
usually also want to know what students are thinking, and how to enrich what students are thinking. For this goal
of teaching, some of the best help comes from constructivism, which is a perspective on learning focused on
how students actively create (or “construct”) knowledge out of experiences. Constructivist models of learning
differ about how much a learner constructs knowledge independently, compared to how much he or she takes
cues from people who may be more of an expert and who help the learner's efforts (Fosnot, 2005; Rock more,
2005).

Psychological constructivism: the independent investigator

The main idea of psychological constructivism is that a person learns by mentally organizing and reorganizing
new information or experiences. The organization happens partly by relating new experiences to prior
knowledge that is already meaningful and well understood. Stated in this general form, individual constructivism
is sometimes associated with a well-known educational philosopher of the early twentieth century, John Dewey
(1938-1998). Although Dewey himself did not use the term constructivism in most of his writing, his point of
view amounted to a type of constructivism, and he discussed in detail its implications for educators. He argued,
for example, that if students indeed learn primarily by building their own knowledge, then teachers should adjust
the curriculum to fit students’ prior knowledge and interests as fully as possible.

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He also argued that a curriculum could only be justified if it related as fully as possible to the activities and
responsibilities that students will probably have later, after leaving school.
A more recent example of psychological constructivism is the cognitive theory of Jean Piaget (Piaget, 2001;
Gruber & Voneche, 1995). Piaget described learning as interplay between two mental activities that he called
assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the interpretation of new information in terms of pre-existing
concepts, information or ideas. A preschool child who already understands the concept of bird, for example,
might initially label any flying object with this term—even butterflies or mosquitoes. Assimilation is therefore a
bit like the idea of generalization in operant conditioning, or the idea of transfer described at the beginning of
this chapter. In Piaget’s viewpoint, though, what is being transferred to a new setting is not simply a behavior
(Skinner's “operant” in operant conditioning), but a mental representation for an object or experience.
Assimilation operates jointly with accommodation, which is the revision or modification of pre-existing
concepts in terms of new information or experience. The preschooler who initially generalizes the concept of
bird to include any flying object, for example, eventually revises the concept to include only particular kinds of
flying
Objects, such as robins and sparrows, and not others, like mosquitoes or airplanes. For Piaget, assimilation and
accommodation work together to enrich a child’s thinking and to create what Piaget called
cognitiveequilibrium, which is a balance between reliance on prior information and openness to new
information. At any given time, cognitive equilibrium consists of an ever-growing repertoire of mental
representations for objects and experiences. Piaget called each mental representation a schema (all of them
together—the plural—was called schemata). A schema was not merely a concept, but an elaborated mixture of
vocabulary, actions, and experience related to the concept. A child’s schema for bird, for example, includes not
only the relevant verbal knowledge (like knowing how to define the word “bird”), but also the child’s
experiences with birds, pictures of birds, and conversations about birds. As assimilation and accommodation
about birds and other flying objects operate together over time, the child does not just revise and add to his
vocabulary (such as acquiring a new word, “butterfly”), but also adds and remembers relevant new experiences
and actions. From these collective revisionsand additions the child gradually constructs whole new schemata
about birds, butterflies, and other flying objects. In more everyday (but also less precise) terms, Piaget might
then say that “the child has learned more about birds”.

Learning According to Piaget:

Assimilation + Accommodation → Equilibrium → Schemata
Learning According to Vygotsky:

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Novice →Zone of Proximal Development ← Expert
(ZPD)
Social Constructivism: assisted performance
Unlike Piaget’s rather individually oriented version of constructivism, some psychologists and educators have
explicitly focused on the relationships and interactions between a learner and more knowledgeable and
experienced individuals. One early expression of this viewpoint came from the American psychologist Jerome
Bruner (1960, 1966, 1996), who became convinced that students could usually learn more than had been
traditionally expected as long as they were given appropriate guidance and resources. He called such support
instructional scaffolding—literally meaning a temporary framework, like one used in constructing a building
that allows a much stronger structure to be built within it. In a comment that has been quoted widely (and
sometimes disputed), he wrote: “We [constructivist educators] begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be
taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.” (1960, p. 33).
The reason for such a bold assertion was Bruner’s belief in scaffolding—his belief in the importance of
providing guidance in the right way and at the right time. When scaffolding is provided, students seem more
competent and “intelligent,” and they learn more.
Similar ideas were proposed independently by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978), whose writing
focused on how a child’s or novice’s thinking is influenced by relationships with others who are more capable,
knowledgeable, or expert than the learner. Vygotsky proposed that when a child (or any novice) is learning a
new skill or solving a new problem, he or she can perform better if accompanied and helped by an expert than if
performing alone—though still not as well as the expert. Someone who has played very little chess, for example,
will probably compete against an opponent better if helped by an expert chess player than if competing alone
against an opponent. Vygotsky called the difference between solo performance and assisted performance the
zone ofproximal development (or ZPD for short)—meaning the place or area (figuratively speaking) of
immediate change. From this perspective learning is like assisted performance (Tharp & Gallimore, 1991).
Initially during learning, knowledge or skill is found mostly “in” the expert helper. If the expert is skilled and
motivated to help, then the expert arranges experiences that allow the novice to practice crucial skills or to
construct new knowledge. In this regard the expert is a bit like the coach of an athlete—offering help and
suggesting ways of practicing, but never doing the actual athletic work himself or herself. Gradually, by
providing continued experiences matched to the novice learner’s emerging competencies, the expert-coach
makes it possible for the novice or apprentice to appropriate (or make his or her own) the skills or knowledge
that originally resided only with the expert.

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IMPLICATIONS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM FOR TEACHING
Fortunately there are strategies that teachers can use for giving students this kind of help—in fact they constitute
a major portion of this book, and are a major theme throughout the entire preservice teacher education programs.
For now, let me just point briefly to two of them, saving a complete discussion for later. One strategy that
teachers often find helpful is to organize the content to be learned as systematically as possible, because doing
this allows the teacher to select and devise learning activities that are more effective.

HUMANISTIC THEORIES OF LEARNING

In this part of the module we shall look at the humanistic theory of learning. Therefore at the end of this lecture
you will be able to:

 Discuss the concept of humanistic theory

 Discuss the main principles of humanistic theory
 Identify how humanistic theory has influenced teaching and learning.
 Discuss on how to attain meaning learning

What is humanistic theory of learning?

Humanistic theory a third force psychology that gives an explanation on how people become actualised. It
should be noted that humanistic theory was not designed as a theory but a broad explanation on how the
complete person can be achieved from all human beings without consideration of personalities. The founder
father of humanistic psychology is Abraham Maslow.

Main principles of humanistic theory

 Each human is unique. Human beings are made of three inseparable aspects called body, mind and
emotions. You cannot talk of emotions without mentioning aspects of the mind.
 Each human being has the potential to grow and develop. Maslow noted that each human being has
the potential to move towards self-actualisation. Therefore the humanistic theory takes a positive and optimistic
regard of human beings.
 In humanistic theory people’s point of view are usually respected. In this theory human beings are
taken to be unique and one of the aspects of being unique is on the way one interprets and understands reality.
 In humanistic theory the choices that an individual make are given respect because each individual
has got the inner drive to become whatever they what to be.

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How humanistic approach can be applied in education?

 According to the humanistic approach the goal of education should be to equip learners with the
skills enable them to meaningfully change and adapt to their environment. According to Rogers a man who is
educated is one who has learned how to learn; the man who has learned how to adapt and change; the man who
has realised that no knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking knowledge gives a basis for security.
Therefore the goal of education according to Rogers goes beyond cognitive and intellectual level to include the
whole person. This entails that education should also look at the emotion and social needs of learners.

Two kind of learning according to humanistic theorising

 Meaningless or rote learning (ML)

 Significant learning (SL)

Meaningless learning

 This type of learning is difficult and does not last. This is much of what goes in school. The
materials that are used have no personal meaning to the learners as they do not include the feelings or whole
person.

Significant learning

 This is the type of learning that takes place every day such as experimental learning as it have
meaning and is of great significance to the learner. This type of learning is quick and easily retained. It involves
a native environment or familiar environment.

The nature of significant learning

 It involves the whole person

 It brings together the cognitive and affective aspects of the person
 It always put together the mind, heart and feelings.

TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION

This unit focuses on the functions and limitation of labels, idealism and neo scholasticism. At the end of this unit
you will be able to

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 Define the concept labelling
 Discuss the functions and limitations of labels
 Discuss the concept of idealism, realism and neo-scholasticism.

What is labelling?

The pupils we have in the classroom are unique individuals and development differently, therefore the need to be
addressed as they are and by their names. The labels that we give to our pupils can have either a positive or
negative impact on the pupil. Therefore we need to be mindful of the labels that we give to our learners.

Functions of labels

 Labels enables teachers to communicate with one another these labels convey a general idea about
learning characteristics.
 Labels bring the problems into the spotlight for the public to discuss, thus igniting social concern
and aid advocacy efforts.
 Labels may make the majority without disabilities more tolerant of those with disabilities.
 Labelling has led to specialised teaching methodology, assessment approaches and behavioural
interventions that are useful for the teachers of all students.
 Labels help in sorting, tracking and channelling of students along various routes depending upon the
assessment of the institution has made.
 Labels are used to determine the progress and academic success of students in school.

Limitation of labels

The following are the limitations or disadvantages of labels:

 Labels usually shape the teachers’ expectations about the child. Imagine what would be your
reaction when you are informed that the boy in your class is a slow learner. You would start to think that more
problems have come. Your expectation is that the boy would not do well in school.
 Labels usually exaggerate the students’ action. All pupils in our classroom have some disability in
one way or another. Te4achers over react to behaviour portrayed by some pupils. Pupils usually exaggerate their

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reactions in the presence of teachers.

 Teachers may confuse the pupil with the label. Labels reflect categories of disabilities. Categories
are abstract, not real concepts that are generally enough to incorporate many different individuals.

 Labels often put the blame and guilt for a student’s learning problems or behaviour equally on the
parents.
 Labels perpetuate the notion that students with disabilities are different from other in their
development. However, this is not true. All human beings go through the same developmental stage although
sometimes at a slower rate.

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY OF IDEALISM?

Idealism is a philosophical approach that put more emphasis on the senses of human beings to bring about
knowledge about something or the immediate environment. This means that as an individual search for true
reality that is worth knowing, an individual uses the senses of touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell. These senses
send signals to the mind. As an individual search for truth, beauty and justice, that is everlasting and enduring the
focus is on the conscious reasoning in the mind. Idealism stresses the central role of the ideal in interpretation of
experiences.

The two primary types of idealism are metaphysical idealism, which emphasise on the ideality of reality and
epistemological idealism which stresses that in knowledge process, the can grasp only the psychic or its objects
are conditioned to perceptibility.

Basic doctrine and principles of idealism

 The union of individuality and universality. Many idealist philosophers stress the concept of
concrete universal as opposed to abstract universal. Concrete universal is significantly dynamic, organic and
developing opposed to fixed, formal abstract universal. Individuality and universality merge in idealism.
 The contrast between contemponeity and eternity.
 The doctrine of internal reactions and the coherence theory of truth.
 The dialectical method
 The centrality mind in knowledge and being

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 The transmission of evil into good

Idealism and education

In idealism, the purpose of education is to discover and develop each individual’s abilities and full moral
excellence in order to better society. The curriculum emphasise on the mind through literature, history,
philosophy and religion.

Teaching methods used emphasise on handling of ideas through lecture, discussion and Socratic dialogue.

WHAT IS REALISM PHILOSOPHY?

From wikepedia.com reality is defined as:

 Realism is the belief in the reality that is completely ontologically independent of our conceptual
schemes, linguistic practices, belief etc.

From dictionary realism is defined as:

 The doctrine that universals have a real objective existence

 The doctrine that objects of sense perception has an existence independent of the act of perception.

From Encarta.com

 Theory that thing exists objectively: the theory that things such as universals, moral facts and
theoretical scientific entities exist independently of people’s thoughts and perceptions.
 Theories of objectively existing world: the theory that there is an objectively existing world not
independent on our minds and that people are able to understand aspects of the world through perception.

The focus of realism is the body/object and truth is object and truth is objective that which can be observed.

Realism and education

In realism the aim of education focuses on the subject matter of the physical world more importantly on science

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and mathematics. In this philosophical approach the teacher is expected to organise and present content
systematically within a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus on
mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and reaction.

In this approach pupils are expected to demonstrate abilities to think critically and scientifically, using
observation and experiments. The curriculum is usually scientifically driven, standardised and distinct discipline
based character is developed through training in the conduct.

End of module two. Hope you enjoyed the module.

LIKANDO MUNDIA (BED-UNZA, MED Edu.Psychology- UNZA)

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