Ecology of the Human Experience - EDU 2365

There were four units of study in this course, using Martin Herbert's book, Typical and Atypical Development, as our main text.

In the first unit, we studied typical development in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. We also studied Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory as it relates to development and the ways in which different systems in a child's life interact and work together to affect development.

Some of the key ideas of typical development are as follows:

• Infancy:

1. Most gross motor skills acquired by age 1 or 1.5
2. First word spoken by age 1
3. Most rapid period of brain growth
4. Form first relationships
5. The ecological framework:

• Individual: age, milestones, health
• Microsystem: family, caretakers, health services
• Mesosystem: family <=> health services
• Exosystem: social services (healthcare, childcare)

• Childhood:

1. Social understanding which progresses through stages
2. Gender identity
3. Moral development
4. Toilet training
5. Refined motor skills
6. Increased vocabulary
7. The ecological framework:

• Individual: gender, age health
• Microsystem: family, school, health services, etc
• Mesosystem: microsystem interaction
• Exosystem: mass  media, local politics, neighbors

• Adolescence:

1. Stages of puberty
2. Strengthening sense of individuality
3. Planning for the future
4. Realizing unique talents and interests
5. Increased responsibility
6. The ecological framework:

• Individual: gender, age health
• Microsystem: family, school, health services, peers, etc
• Mesosystem: microsystem interaction
• Exosystem: mass  media, local politics, neighbors

In the second unit of the course, we studied atypical development. Some of the key things that can cause atypical development are as follows:

• Infancy:

1. Genetics
2. Physical abnormalities
3. Hearing/vision trouble
4. Birth-related injuries
5. Low APGAR scores
6. Low birth weight
7. Mother's stress
8. Insecure attachment
9. The ecological framework:

• Individual: age, milestones, health (teratogens such as lead, etc.)
• Microsystem: poor maternal health, advanced maternal age, caretakers, access to health care, low SES (socioeconomic status), maternal drug use
• Mesosystem: family <=> health services
• Exosystem: social services (healthcare, childcare)

• Childhood:

1. Genetics
2. Speech/language delays
3. Learning disabilities
4. Behavioral issues
5. Parenting styles
6. Shaming
7. Siblings/peer relationships
8. The ecological framework:

• Individual: gender, age, health
• Microsystem: geographically mobile family, school refusal, truancy, health services, etc
• Mesosystem: microsystem interaction
• Exosystem: mass media, local politics, neighbors

• Adolescence:

1. Genetics
2. Moral development (or lack of)/personal values
3. Risky sexual behavior
4. Other risky behavior
5. Bullying/Suicide risk
6. Physical and mental health
7. The ecological framework:

• Individual: gender, age, health, genetics, behavioral disorder, poor mental health, eating disorders
• Microsystem: lack of family support, school refusal or dropout, health services, peers, gender norms
• Mesosystem: microsystem interaction
• Exosystem: mass media/imposed cultural norms, local politics, neighbors

Children who develop atypically may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Parents have traditionally been the strongest advocates for people with disabilities. Because of these active, involved parents, the overall approach to special education has been evolving.

The ADA protects disabled people in public places. Because of the ADA, we have accessible public places (ramps, elevators, special parking spaces, etc.)

The IDEA protects students in grades Kindergarten through 12th grade, in general. Students who qualify may receive an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) in school. To get on an IEP, a student must pass three gates: they must have a disability, it must show adverse effect, and they must need services.

A student who does not meet the requirements for an IEP may still be able to get a 504 plan if he or she has a documented disability. Kids who have a 504 are covered under the ADA, which says they cannot be discriminated against because of a disability. Students with chronic health conditions, or behavioral issues, for instance, may be on a 504 plan. RTI (Response to Intervention) is an early intervention program designed to keep kids from falling through the cracks. It may help prevent kids from needing a special education referral.

The third unit we studied covered additional factors that impact development.

30 Million Word Gap: a longitudinal study which revealed a gap in development for kids coming from a low SES background. A summary of this study can be found here: http://centerforeducation.rice.edu/slc/LS/30MillionWordGap.html Excerpts of note:

• "Observers found that 86% to 98% of the words used by each child by the age of three were derived from their parents’ vocabularies."
• "On average, children from families on welfare were provided half as much experience as children from working class families, and less than a third of the experience given to children from high-income families. In other words, children from families on welfare heard about 616 words per hour, while those from working class families heard around 1,251 words per hour, and those from professional families heard roughly 2,153 words per hour."
• "Children from families with professional backgrounds experienced a ratio of six encouragements for every discouragement. For children from working-class families this ratio was two encouragements to one discouragement. Finally, children from families on welfare received on average two discouragements for every encouragement."

More than half of the families in the study were in a follow-up study when the kids were in third grade. Researchers found that the children's development at age 3 was highly indicative of their level of success in third grade.

This information provides a segway into another troubling trend in the United States. It's been called the "school to prison pipeline," and it's the tendency for children with disabilities and/or those who've experienced poverty or abuse to act out and be punished by the school system. Eventually, these students will come up against "zero tolerance" policies, whereby schools criminalize and expel students for often misunderstood and minor infractions. Students who are pushed out of school in this way are more often than not minorities. The ACLU offers more insight on this: https://www.aclu.org/school-prison-pipeline. From their site: "The ACLU believes that children should be educated, not incarcerated. We are working to challenge numerous policies and practices within public school systems and the juvenile justice system that contribute to the school to prison pipeline."

Prison officials use third and fourth grade literacy rates to predict future prison populations. This is sobering, particularly when we take the 30 Million Word Gap into account. What are we doing to keep these kids from falling through the cracks? How do we bridge the gap?

In the fourth unit, we studied further the role of culture in development; in particular, how cultural norms affect the laws and expectations we have in the United States as parents and educators.

Some open-ended questions we discussed were:

• "What does childcare mean?"
• "What is work?"
• "What is safe for children?"

Different cultures have different norms for all of these things. What seems perfectly acceptable and safe for one culture may look like neglect to another.

We watched the documentary Babies, in which filmmakers follow four babies from four parts of the world in their first year of life. The film illustrates that regardless of how different cultures can be, there are certain aspects of development that look remarkably similar.

If I had to distill my learnings from this course into one final takeaway, it would be this. Educators must remain open and thoughtful and always committed to helping each student succeed regardless of what context they are coming from. Uniqueness and diversity should be celebrated and utilized as a learning opportunity in ways that are sensitive and respectful to all cultures.

Going into the course, I felt that my understanding of cultural perspectives was broad. Happily, this course only deepened my understanding and made me more excited for my future role as teacher of all kinds of kids.