Final Child Study Paper 1

Final Child Study Paper

Background
For my Final Child Study Paper this semester in EDPS 250 I observed a
preschooler at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Childrens Center. This daycare
opened in August of 2009 and has full-time care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years of
age. Being also an employee there as well, I have learned that there is a great amount of
diversity in Lincoln and that it is key that the children learn to come together as one to
learn. It is also very important that the child learns its own independence throughout the
early years of their lifetime. I will be using many examples from my ten observation
sessions and I will be referring to my child as Jeffrey for confidentiality.
The Child
Jeffrey is a child that attends the UNL Childrens Center every day, and is whom I
have observed for the past ten weeks. He is a four-year-old boy, with very black, short
hair and is of the Asian race so his skin tone is a medium brown. He has big brown eyes
that are very wide and dark brown eyebrows. As for his ears and mouth they are normal
size, not extremely big or small. He is much taller than many of the other children in his
classroom. He dresses very maturely, always wearing some sort of khaki pants or sweater
vests of some kind. When he is not dressed as such, it is normally a nice pair of jeans or a
typical t-shirt.
After observing Jeffrey for this long, I have noticed very specific social
developmental examples that relate to what we talk about in class. Our book Child
Development and Education by Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod describes
temperament as A childs characteristic way of responding to emotional events, novel

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stimuli, and personal impulses. (page 6) The way he acts in emotional situations is
something that truly stuck out to me. He is usually acting out towards the teachers and
other children in the classroom many times throughout the day. It seems as if he is trying
to act out just to receive much attention from whomever he seeks it from. For example,
my observing time is always during Spanish class, and whenever the teacher is asking a
questions, he always tends to blurt the answer out loud rather than raising his hand
politely. As far as emotional control is concerned, it is evident that it is there and he has
control over it. An example that makes me conclude with this is one day another girl was
getting very upset for some reason and he seemed genuinely sorry for her, showing
empathy, which is the capacity to experience the same feelings as another person,
especially when the feeling is pain or distress. (page 438) As she sat there crying, he had
such a sad look in his eyes, and that is how I got the impression of empathy. From the ten
weeks of observing, I never once saw him cry or scream at another child in a babyish
way, therefore giving me the conclusion of him having great emotional control.
Jeffreys peer relationships with the other children in his classroom seem very
important to him at times and then at other times he just seems like he is in his own little
world. With the relationships that he does have with his peers he seems to have a bossy
stature towards them, almost as if he would rather be in charge of them rather than
actually play with them. He also tries to help out more than Ive noticed for any other
child. For example when another child was getting upset about something he could not
figure out, Jeffrey came over immediately and helped him out. This type of behavior is
something that shows how truly mature he is as compared to some of the other children
of that age.

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According to the Observation Guidelines for social aspects of young childrens
play on page 573, Jeffrey would be categorized in the Associative play because this is
when the child has some talking and sharing of objects with another child and they also
comment about what another child is doing. Although, he does comment about others
doing something, he also comments about himself, in a more reassuring way. Also
noticing the type of peer acceptance that he has, as according to what I have observed, he
is categorized in the popular child category. Jeffrey is very talkative towards his peers
and is not afraid to say exactly what he is thinking. Another reason I would consider him
to be in this category is because he does have a leadership role that he acts out upon many
times. (page 579)
The relationship he has with adults is much different than that of the peers in the
classroom. When talking with a teacher in the classroom, I often find him speaking very
loudly so that the teachers know he is talking to him and understand him as well.
Especially during Spanish does this occurs because he tends to sit directly in front of the
teacher so she finds it often difficult to teach while he is right there, asking him to move.
When speaking to the teacher he is normally asking questions because of his curiosity as
a preschooler, sometimes his questions make sense and other times I tend to think he
actually knows the answer but just enjoys asking the question. For example, they were
learning the letter J, and when the teacher was asking if anyone knew of a word that
started with that letter he shouted out Jake! The teacher congratulated him and he had the
biggest smile on his face, the smile of a job well done. Then there are other questions that
show that he is reassuring himself of something, for example one day he asked the
teacher, Youre my friend, right?

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Cognitive processes is described by Piaget as All mental activities in which a
person engages, including: perception, categorization, understanding, and logical
reasoning. (class notes) A great example that Jeffrey had with individual constructivism,
which is when a learner actively constructs of body of knowledge (class notes), is when
in Spanish class, they were gluing on a paper mitten to another piece of paper. He
realized that he had put it on wrong, and the teacher noticed too but asked what he
thought he did wrong. He simply rearranged it in the correct way immediately after he
knew that he had done something wrong.
Jeffrey is in the Preoperational state of cognitive development. This stage is
between the years 2 and 7. According to Piaget in this level of development the child
goes through extensive pretend play. An example of this with Jeffrey is that many times
throughout the day, he tends to randomly jump up and down and act like he is a ninja,
karate chopping the air. He simply acts as if he is a ninja although he knows that he is
not, just as pretend play.
Egocentric speech is when a child is saying things without considering the
perspective of the listener. (page 202) During lunch one of Jeffreys peers was very
excited to tell him about some transformer toys that he had just gotten, but as he was
telling him, Jeffrey continued to talk about another child getting too much milk in his
cup. This type of egocentric speech was evident because either was unaware that they
were talking about two completely different things. This type of speech only occurred a
few times, while at other times he was aware that there was his conversation differing
from his peers. Another example was during reading time and Jeffrey was clearly very
interested in a book that he wanted to read, but it was in the hands of another child. He

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was unaware and confused by the fact that the child started crying when he took it from
him. He had a tough time returning it to that child, only because he wasnt really sure
what was happening other than he really wanted to read this specific book.
The interaction between his cognitive and social development are very
influencing towards each other because social is how he interacts with others and
cognitive is how he understands what is really happening when he interacts with those
others. Social interactions, especially with adults are affecting his cognitive development
in that the teachers are helping him to better understand how to learn things. Scaffolding
is a support mechanism that helps a child successfully perform a task within his or her
zone of proximal development. (page 223) A childs ZPD is their range of tasks that they
cant yet perform independently but they can complete with the help and guidance of
others. (page 219) Without Spanish class for the children at the daycare, there would be
no way of them knowing anything from that language, unless of course it was spoken at
home. The Spanish teacher shows them the word that they are learning and repeats it for
them to replay over and over in their heads. Then it becomes part of their ZPD, when the
teacher asks the next time whether or not they remember the word, they may have
difficulty remembering, and need assistance from the teacher. That specific teaching
would be referred to as scaffolding for the children.
According to the textbook, self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of
executing certain behaviors or reaching certain goals. (page 499) Jeffreys self-efficacy is
very high in that he is confident in the things that he does. An example of this while
observing Jeffrey was when he was asked to help set the tables for lunch time, he was
confident in getting it done and independently as well. He was very mature about wanting

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to get it completed like the teachers had asked. That can also apply to the concept of selfconcept and self-esteem, in that he has the confidence in himself to do it alone and get it
finished in the correct way.
The Family
Ever since the very first observation with Jeffrey, I have noticed his problem with
acting out with his teachers and sometimes having difficulty following directions when
given to them makes me believe that maybe it isnt enforced enough at home. I assumed
that he could possibly have younger siblings so he might not get enough attention as he
wants, but then I found out that he has recently become an older brother. The attention is
mostly on the younger sibling, rather than him, causing him to act out at daycare and not
want to listen when he needs to. This type of behavior is a typical one with preschoolers
but as for respect towards elders I think that it is evident. For example when Jeffrey is
asked to do something, he typically proceeds to do it after only being asked once, of
course with the exception of bad days in which it takes more than one.
I believe the type of parenting style that is evident with the family of Jeffrey is
that of Authoritative, which is high control and high warmth and responsiveness. (class
notes) From my observations for the past ten weeks it seems as if he is very loved at
home while also having the type of parents who are strict with him at the same time. With
my employment at the daycare I have seen children that are more of an authoritarian
parenting style and you can tell that because of this the childs behavior is much more
clingy and needy than others. Because Jeffrey is now an older sibling I can definitely tell
that his matureness is because of that in that his parents are most likely giving him more
responsibilities.

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Culture as described by the textbook is the values, traditions, and symbol systems
of a long-standing social group that give purpose and meaning to childrens daily
activities and interpersonal relationships. (page 5) Jeffrey comes from an Asian decent so
there would be family culture values that are evident in that family, but because I only
see the child during the day at the daycare and never the parents it is hard to tell what
those traditions are. Because they are living in Nebraska, the influence of American
culture is clear in the way he dresses and also how he has no accent or accidental
speaking of a different language. An example of how the American culture is evident in
Jeffreys life is that at random times throughout the day he acts as if he were a ninja. This
type of behavior can come from movies or TV shows that he has seen in the past and is
now acting like them. I am very curious to know what type of family traditions are
evident with him and his family because of the way he acts at the daycare every day.
The Teacher(s)
When Jeffrey was acting out or if he was not paying attention to the teachers or
would choose not to listen to them, the teacher would kindly and calmly ask them if they
would pay attention. It seemed that every teacher in this classroom was very kind and
would not take it to offense if the child were acting out, because they know its normal for
this age of kids. Many times if Jeffrey was doing something that he shouldnt be doing,
they would ask him to think about it and see if he thought it was the right thing. If he
decided he wasnt doing the right thing the teacher would agree and if not, the teacher
would calmly tell him why it wasnt right. Being an employer at the Center, I know that
we must specifically tell the child what they are doing wrong and how it would affect
them if they kept on doing it. If I were to address these issues with Jeffrey I would do the

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same thing. I dont believe yelling at the child is necessary unless they totally wont listen
to what I am telling them. But calmly addressing the issue is the right and proper way to
go when working at a daycare or parenting my own child.
Socio-cultural orientation with the child is the theoretical perspective that focuses
on childrens learning of tools, thinking process, and communication systems through
practice in meaningful tasks with other people. (page 16) This type of theoretical
orientation is what I would describe as the kind the teachers at this daycare use. Many
activities are constantly taking place such as in Spanish class when they make a book full
of the phrases they have learned together as a classroom. Also, the fact that they are even
teaching Spanish to the children is another reason I believe this type of orientation takes
place. Another great example of this is at the playground, the teachers are constantly
interacting with the kids and encouraging them to explore. Jeffrey was very interested in
how when sifting the sand, only rocks were left and one of the teachers engaged in the
conversation by asking questions. He was happy to explain how this worked to that
teacher.
Another theoretical orientation that is used by the teachers at the Center is
behavioral orientation. This is the theoretical perspective in which childrens behavior
and emotional responses change as a direct result of a particular environmental stimulus.
(page 13) In other words it can be described as working for rewards in order to avoid
having to punish the child. An example of this that I have observed is that during reading
time before lunch, the ones who were sitting the correct way and that raise their hand to
speak, get to wash their hands first for lunch. This is a great way for them to not get in
trouble but strive to do good for the teachers.

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Reflection
I have learned so many new things from this experience of observing a preschool
child, but one of the most important things is how I will address classroom management
in the future and also discipline with my students and also children.
The idea of Behaviorism (page 13) is something that I will be keeping in mind for
the rest of my career and life with children of my own. I have never really thought of it
before, because I was more worried about what to do as punishment when the child does
wrong, but you can avoid it. The idea of making the children work to achieve something
that is beneficial for them and also avoids them getting in trouble is the perfect idea for
them to feel good about themselves and gain confidence. I know that this might not
always work but when it does it would be very successful for everyone.
Another great thing that I have learned from this experience is how much of an
influence the parents and the style of parenting they have can affect the child and how
they act in other environments. The parenting style of authoritative is something that I
will strive for in the future with my own family because it is giving them love from both
me and my spouse and also setting the boundaries for right and wrong in their lives. I
know that this will not prevent them from getting in trouble or acting out in other
situations but it will provide them with a stable family they can always count on will give
them a sense of independence when they realize that behind the rules, its all for the
childs own good and is what is best for them as well. With this parenting style I will
show my children how to respect other and how to act and react in situations that they
might not enjoy or agree with. This is the parenting style I will strive for in the future.

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A childs ZPD is something that has also stuck with me in what we learned in
class and that I have seen from my observing sessions. It is amazing how much a child
truly looks up to the teachers and adults for guidance, and how I, when I teach in the
future or parent, will be cautious of my actions because of this. I will provide scaffolding
for my child so that they understand I am trying to help them get the best out of any
situation.
Overall, this time that I have had to observe one child for ten weeks has been
outstanding. The outcome that I have received from this is not what I expected, in that I
wasnt planning on learning a lot from just watching a child but it turns out there is so
much that I have learned and still have yet to learn about the ways I affect and influence a
childs life.

References
McDevitt, Teresa M., & Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis (2013). Child Development and Education
(5th Edition). Boston: Pearson. Print.