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Social Development Chapter 9

Terms in this set (44)

Role of School in Social Development
Children today spend more time in school than ever before.
U.S. children now go to school an average of five hours a day, 180 days a year.
Children are also beginning school at younger ages and staying until older ages.
Informal School Agenda
Teaching the rules, norms, and values children need to get along in society
Helping children develop the skills they need to interact with their peers
Big School; Small School
Large and small schools do not differ much in the variety of activities they offer

Participation in extracurricular activities is actually higher in smaller schools
In small schools, more positions than students to fill them and greater sense of obligation to participate
Age Grouplings in Schools
School Transitions in different age based school organizations : 8-4 vs.6-3-3

Students transitioning to junior high in 7th grade (6-3-3 transition) experience more social and academic problems than children who stay in their familiar elementary school setting (8-4 transition)
Coeducational versus Same-Gender Schools
In 1972, a law was passed in the United States making coeducation in public schools obligatory
However, research demonstrates that boys and girls learn differently and that girls, especially, often fail to reach their potential in coeducational schools
In 2002, the law mandating coeducation was revoked and single-gender schools became a legal option
Are there benefits to single-gender schools?
Achievement and career aspirations are higher, especially for girls
Girls more likely to enroll in traditionally "masculine" classes and boys more likely to enroll in traditionally "feminine" classes
Children are less distracted by opposite-sex classmates, participate more actively in class discussions, and develop more self-confidence and self-esteem
Advantages of Small Classes
Teacher-child contacts are more frequent and personalized
Children are better behaved, interact more with their peers, and are less likely to be victimized
Open classroom
A relatively unstructured organization in which different areas of the room are devoted to particular activities and children work either alone or in small groups under the teacher's supervision
Benefits of Open Classrooms
Offer social benefits
Children in open classrooms have more varied social contacts, develop more positive attitudes toward school, and show more self-reliant and cooperative behavior in learning situations
High school students in open classrooms participate more in school activities, have more varied social relationships, and create fewer disciplinary problems
Cooperative Learning
A teaching technique in which small groups of students work together
Goal is to maximize the learning of all students and create relationships among diverse children
This technique has a positive effect on children's self-esteem and increases their concern about peers and their willingness to help each other
Peer tutoring
A method of instruction in which an older, more experienced student tutors a younger, less experienced child
Teacher-student conflict
child dislike of school; less helpful and cooperative; more aggressive
Dependency on teacher
low school engagement; aggressive or socially withdrawn
Close, warm relationship
higher school adjustment, self-esteem, and peer acceptance
Keeping Control: Classroom Discipline and Management
Discipline techniques can affect social behavior
Techniques that rely on operant reinforcement principles are successful in managing behavior
However, reward may decrease intrinsic interest and negatively impact learning
Pygmalion effect
A phenomenon in which teachers' expectations that students will do well are realized
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Positive or negative expectations that affect a person's behavior in a manner that he or she (unknowingly) creates situations in which those expectations are fulfilled
Teacher Expectations and Children's Success
Variations in teacher expectations may contribute to the differential success rates of minority and majority students
Teachers hold the highest expectations for Asian American students, the lowest expectations for Latino and African American students
The performance of students in different ethnic groups mirrors these expectations
School Culture; Home Culture
Children from lower social socioeconomic levels and minority ethnic groups generally have a more difficult time in school than White middle-class children
Parents' Involvement in Schools
Parental involvement associated with children doing better academically and socially
But, it depends on the type of involvement
Best if parents are involved in school decision making and allowed to communicate their expectations to teachers and show their children that they value education
Parents are usually less involved if they are busy, stressed, or marginalized or single parent household
Parents are more involved when schools welcome all parents and provide information about how they can become involved
School recognition of parental ethnic/cultural values increases parental involvement
Schools as a Buffer for Children
When children are exposed to deficiencies at home, the school environment can buffer them against failure (i.e., insecure attachment to parent is offset by close teacher-child relationship)
A supportive classroom environment (clear rules, well organized) can buffer children from the negative effects of an unsupportive/uninvolved family
Latchkey children
Youngsters who must let themselves into their homes after school and stay by themselves because their parents are working outside the home
After-School Programs
Self-care places demands on children for responsibility and maturity
But, latchkey children are at higher risk for problems such as antisocial behavior, poor grades, heightened stress, and substance abuse
May be due to lack of adult monitoring
After-school programs provide an alternative to self-care
Offer activities that help children learn new social and academic skills
Children enrolled in such programs have better social and emotional adjustment and are less likely to use drugs or engage in delinquent behavior
Mentors
Natural mentors include extended family members, family friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, after-school program staff, and religious group leaders
Children with frequent, good-quality contact with a natural mentor have fewer behavior problems, higher self-esteem, more positive attitudes toward school, and higher educational attainment
Formal mentors include mentors associated with programs such as Big Brothers /Big Sisters
Mentoring programs lead to modest gains in social, emotional, behavioral, and academic development from early childhood to adolescence
Especially when youth have preexisting difficulties or are from disadvantaged backgrounds and mentors and mentees "click"
Media and Children's Social Lives
By age 16 most U.S. children have spent more time watching TV than attending school or sleeping
The typical child lives in a home with an average of four TVs, three VCR/DVD players, two video game consoles, and two computers
Surveys indicate that 50% of children and 97% of youth in the U.S. are connected to the Internet and that 65% of children and 80% of teens have a mobile phone
Hours of Involvement
One study found that 40% of infants under 3 months of age looked at a turned-on TV set for at least 1 hour a day
According to another study, children under 2 years averaged about 2 hours daily
Between ages 2 and 9, the average amount of time children spend watching television daily is about 3 hours
Children watch more TV if they are from poor, African American, or single-parent families
They watch more TV if their parents watch more, if there are more TV sets in the house, and if there is a TV set in their bedroom
Children who spend the most time watching TV are also the most avid users of computers and video games
Content of Television Shows and Video Games
91% of prime-time network programs from 1973 through 1993 contained violence; little change since then
70% of Saturday morning programs contained violence, especially cartoons
More than 85% of video games have violent content
Young people see nearly 14,000 sexual images or messages on TV in a year
Magic window thinking
The tendency of very young children to believe that television images are as real as real-life people and objects
Do children understand what they see?
Three-year-olds walk to the TV screen to wave at their favorite characters or try to touch them
They think that Big Bird and Bugs Bunny are real, that Sesame Street is a place where people actually live, that TV characters can see and hear them when they are watching them, and that everything on the screen actually exists inside the TV set
As children get older and their cognitive skills increase...
Their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality improves
They understand cause-and-effect relations in television shows
Helping children understand that what they see on TV is not reality (even in reality shows) can help reduce the harmful effects of viewing TV violence
Television's Positive Effects
Educational TV programs have been shown to have positive effects on children's cognitive and language development
Shows that depict prosocial behavior increase prosocial behaviors in young children
Especially if parents watch with children and encourage prosocial behavior
Effects endure through adolescence
Television Biases Perceptions
Television's representations of life and society are often inaccurate
People who view TV extensively tend to overestimate the degree of danger and crime in the world and underestimate the trustworthiness and helpfulness of other people
Likely to have a negative impact on child social development
Television and Video Games Displace Other Activities
People who view TV extensively are less likely to participate in organized sports and other activities outside the home and spend less time with friends
Even if TV is only playing in the background, it can be a disruptive and distracting influence
Television Stereotypes Minority Groups
Television characters are overwhelmingly likely to be European American
Minorities are more likely to play criminals than characters with professional jobs
Children's shows, in particular, portray little diversity
Television and Video Game Violence
Leads to Aggression
TV violence can lead children to view violence as an acceptable and effective way to solve interpersonal conflict
Negative Effects of Television and Video Games
Desensitization
Children who watch televised violence may become less emotionally aroused by violent scenes and more tolerant of real-life violence
Television and Sexuality- recreational orientation to sex, sexualization of women, the more peers see it the more they believe others are active, watching sexual content increases likelihood of pregnancy.
Desensitization
The process by which people show diminished emotional reaction to a repeated stimulus or event
Advertising influences children's choices
On average, children are exposed to nearly 40,000 TV commercials every year, and at least 10,000 of them advertise products in which they might take an interest
But, children's attention wanes when commercials appear, and this tendency increases with age
Even so, ads can influence both younger and older children's preferences
How Can Parents and Siblings Modify TV's Negative Effects?
Watch television programs with children
Be active mediators and help children understand and interpret the programs they are watching
Express their disapproval of inappropriate content/behavior they see on TV
Encourage children to empathize with victims and take their perspective
Restrict the children's TV exposure and video game choices
Use the v chip more often
Internet and Cell Phone Connectivity
The Internet is a complex virtual world that children actively participate in rather than something they merely watch - like TV - or use - like a computer program
The most worrisome thing about the Internet is that it exposes children to invasion of privacy, explicit pornography, online harassment and cyber bullying
Internet Access and Use
Children would choose to have a computer with internet access, above any other medium, if deserted on an island
There are few gender differences in Internet use in terms of time or preferred activities
But, boys do play more games and look at more sexually explicit images on the Internet
Children would choose computer with internet over anything.
Internet Identity
Adolescents can express aspects of their identity on the Internet that they do not feel they can express elsewhere
Context for exploring multiple identities
Means of forming identities
One study found that lonely adolescents who used the Internet to experiment with their identities became more socially competent
Effects on Social Relationships
Recent research suggests that Internet use is associated with positive psychological and social outcomes across nearly all measures of individual adjustment and involvement with family, friends, and community
Internet use generally predicts better outcomes for extraverts and those with more social support but worse outcomes for introverts and those with less support
Effects on Mental Health
The Internet may be conducive to aggressive behavior from children and adolescents
Feel freer to express their negative opinions when not monitored and do not have to witness the impact of their words on other people
The Internet may expose children and adolescents to increased harassment
The Internet can increase children's and adolescents' mental health problems by fostering communication between individuals with related problems
Cell Phone Connections
In one recent U.S. survey, about half the teens polled said their cell phone had improved the quality of their lives, improved their communication with friends, and improved their social lives
Cell phones foster social connections with peers across time and space
Cell phones also connect children and parents
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