Childhood Development and Socialization

This assignment delves into the multifaceted aspects of childhood development and socialization. It examines various theoretical perspectives on how children learn and develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally. The assignment also analyzes the influence of social structures, cultural norms, and educational practices on children's socialization. Additionally, it considers the role of government policies and support systems in shaping children's well-being and opportunities.

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDIES
Early childhood studies
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
Culture and the society have a major role to play in the shaping of the
personality of a child. This particular essay aims at showing the importance of the culture in
developing the personality of a child. The essay is the analysis of a case study where the
manifestation of the culture on the child who has immigrated to other region. It has been
observed in the case study that the child was facing a problem in adapting to the new
environment because of continuous change of place. This had a huge impact on the condition
of the child. This is the reason the essay analyses a post-modern perspective addressing the
social and the cultural effect on the pedagogical practices. To enhance the analysis the
challenges related to the classic as well as the contemporary theories related to the early
childhood has been discussed in the essay. The culture makes a child behave in a desired
manner. Therefore it is necessary to keep the children in such environment where they can
learn good things. The repeated change of place acts as a negative point in the life of the
children. In this particular case study the stability of the child was disturbed as he
experienced a change in his political, social and cultural change. There is a need to
understand the way culture shapes the development of child in order to improve the lives of
children in a way that respects their cultural backgrounds.
Discussion
The boy named Jarid is a five year old boy and he was a refugee. He and his family
seek for asylum and his family is struggling for some amount of work. In this process he had
to change many schools. This made him go through a traumatic stress. The child was finding
it difficult to develop his community and language skills. In a small age he was going through
a Diasporic predicament. The development of the children is an important factor that should
be considered in every field. It is extremely important in the education life of a child. In this

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case the child felt left out from the society and was not being able to belong to any particular
society. This affects the mind of the child badly (Kolb 2014).
The way the social and the cultural factors influence the development and learning
of the child is essential to consider in this context. Culture is usually defined as the set of
attitudes, values, behaviors and beliefs that is shared by a group of people. The culture
represents the thoughts of certain set of people and their background. The form that behaviors
take may appear is the identical culture present across the world. The schools act as a major
agent of communicating an existing culture to the children (Newman and Newman 2017).
The change of different schools acted as a barrier in the cultural development of Jarid. It is a
fact that any kind of behavior that is witnessed within a culture as adaptive will lead to the
encouragement by significant others that include the peers and parents. The means by which
the given behavior is encouraged or discouraged can be determined culturally. There are
other significant constructs that are addressed in the light of culture. It has been found that the
researchers typically discuss two cultural phenomena: the first and foremost phenomena are
the independent, collectivistic or western cultures and there is another concept on the other
hand that is the interdependent, collectivistic, or eastern and southern cultures. There is
difference between the eastern culture and the western culture. The eastern and the southern
cultures are described as those cultures which is responsible for the harmony of the group and
the cooperation between them (Bjorklund and Causey 2017). On the contrary to that the
western cultures include that culture for which the members consider factors like
assertiveness, expressiveness and competitiveness as important factors. In this case the child
had to go both the types of culture. He was at his early stage of life. He was just five years
old and at this age before he could extract any particular culture he had to learn another
culture. The child had to adapt between the eastern and the western culture and a repeated

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change and a shift made it difficult for the child to adapt any particular culture. This is how
cultural factor is responsible in child development (Bryman 2015).
Apart from this the society has another major role to play in the development of the
personality of a child. The society includes the parents, teachers and the surrounding people
where someone lives. It can be the locality where the person stays in. The teachers in schools
impart proper knowledge about culture to the students. The parents at home reflect the culture
in the life of a child (Kostelnik et al. 2014). The community and the people where the student
stays have a great influence on the child. In the case that is being analyzed, the child went
through changing social nature. It was a stress and trauma for him. He had witnessed the
worst times faced by his family and had to go through the harsh environment that is given to
the refugees. This was an undesirable incident in his life. This always remained as a trauma in
his life. The child could not learn any particular skill as he went to many school and the
teachers of every schools taught different language and different culture. It took time for him
to get used to one particular language and skill. The most important factor because of this is
was the war that took place in his country. His family went in many parts of Europe. They
had to move in order to seek shelter and because of some family reasons. The child went
through the consequences of the war that was a horrifying one. The consequences of the war
are the social factor that acted as a barrier in the social progress of the child (Bornstein and
Bradley 2014).
Enhancing the quality of the lives of the young children has become an international
issue in the present world. It has been expressed through the contemporary research that has
been conducted. There were many researchers who came up with some new post-modern
theory on the pedagogical practices that are addressing social, cultural and political changes.
This can be considered as a discourse (Grande 2015). In the appropriations of the cultural
studies according to the post-modern world, the importance of the cultural studies should be

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taken into consideration. The cultural studies have been used to transform and enrich critical
pedagogy and to provide new intellectual tools and practices to transform the system of
education. According to the post modern system of pedagogy, the culture, the social and the
political factors play an important role (McLaren 2016).
While analyzing the social factor, this can be said that the society. The world is
changing day by day and the role of the teacher has also changed. In the modern education
system the teacher is not only supposed to be a talented guide apart from being a helper. The
teacher in the traditional time was to be a helper of the subjects inside the classroom and
solve the difficulties in the classrooms (Rhoads and Valadez 2016). The contemporary
teachers are expected to apply new methods of teaching. The traditional method of teaching
followed the process of teaching where the teachers taught the students inside the classroom
with the use of certain traditional method. With the changes new expectations came into the
scenario. According to the modern concept the contemporary teachers should teach their
students to learn using the modern techniques. The teacher not only develops the child inside
the classroom but also teaches the child outside the classroom. It was noticed that some of the
teachers were the survivors of the political wars. This served as a great help to the students.
Their vision helped various societies to gain self-sufficient and financial freedom. In the
pedagogy the role of the teachers is to shape the minds of the younger generation. In this case
Jarid is a child who has witnessed the worst consequences of the war (Kramsch 2014).
According to the modern pedagogy all the teachers should support him by applying modern
forms of teaching and they must support the child in order to develop his skills. The teachers
must act not only as a guide but also as the philosopher who can help the child to tackle with
the trauma that he has experienced because of the war (Fook 2016).
According to the post modernist perspective there are some cultural effects on the
pedagogical practices. The post modern opines the fact that issues related to culture,

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language, cognition, community and socialization are central to learning. In the cultural
perspective language plays a vital role. The language exchanges and language vocabularies
are essential part of the cultural continuity. The theory states that the culture shapes mind
and it provides a person with the tool kit by which they can construct not only their worlds
but also their conceptions of their own selves and the powers. It further states that it is not
possible to understand the mental activity until and unless somebody takes into account the
cultural setting and the resources and those other things that give mind the shape and the
scope. Every child must be encouraged to participate in the cultural change. This is the
modern concept regarding the cultural aspect in the pedagogy. The child in this case was
observed to lack any specific culture. He had to change his place of stay many times and he
had to change his schools. The teacher should have used the modern tools in order to develop
the cultural skills of the child. The culture has a huge impact on the pedagogy. The child in
this particular case came across many schools and as a result he came across many cultures.
The pedagogy played the most vital role in shaping his culture. The child liked to go the
school while he had to attend it but the post-traumatic experience affected his skills. He was
traumatized and this is the reason he suffered from a cultural lag. This avoided him to
participate in good activities that were conducted in his school. The pedagogy had the
opportunity to shape the personality of the child and recover the worst experiences related to
the war. This is was the post modern theory on the way the culture had an impact on the
pedagogy.
The political aspect had a huge effect on the pedagogy. The post modern theory
added that the political condition of the state is having an adverse effect on the situation of
the student. Jarid suffered from the harsh consequences of the war and this was evident from
his poor language skills and the fact that he was traumatized and this was the reason he
lagged behind in his school. He could not perform well. The teachers in this case who had the

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experience of surviving in the war could help the student to overcome the trauma. The post
modern theory opines that the politics is having a lot of influence on the system of pedagogy.
The incidents of the war should be included in the curriculum of the pedagogy systems.
There are some challenges in both the classical as well as the modern forms of
studies. It is because of this challenges that there are huge difference between the classic as
well as the modern form of education. While discussing about the challenges related to the
classic system of early childhood education it can be mentioned that the tools used during the
early education were not well-equipped and they were not up to the mark. The lack of
technological advancement was the biggest challenge. The faculty was not trained according
to the advancement and this served as the biggest challenge. The training centers for the
students were not well equipped. This resulted in a communication gap between the students
and the teachers. The communication gap served as one of the biggest challenges in the
system of pedagogy in the classic time. The communication between the teacher and the child
was limited to the classrooms (Bjorklund and Causey 2017). According to the perspective of
the classic early childhood learning the teachers had no connection with the child after the
classroom. This was a setback in the part of the system. The setback was less on the part of
the teacher but it was more on the part of the system. The concept of early childhood was not
promoted in the classic time. There were no concept of kindergarten or there were no concept
of new type of schooling. These were the biggest challenges of the teaching in the classic age.
It was argued that the traditional system of teaching focused on the individual more and less
on the process of teaching (Barth, Barth and Barth 2017).
On the other hand the contemporary perspective of early education had certain
challenges even after certain advantages. The recent consultation by the NCCA regarding
national frameworks for early childhood learning showed that the questions of assessment in
the early years is one that is of great concern (Wellington 2015). This is a major concern to

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all the practitioners who consider and who support the development and the learning of the
young children all over the world (Ritzer and Stepnisky 2017). The inclusive education is
lacking in the contemporary system of education. The biggest challenge is the lack of the idea
of kind of structure that the teachers want to put on the child. The present curriculum acts as a
pressure to the children. The basic principles of the curriculum should be improved. It is
difficult to conduct tests in case of the young children (Gauvain and Perez 2015). The
challenge therefore is on which ground the students will be accessed. The effectiveness of the
early teaching program was questioned. The question arises on what is being taught to the
students and what is it helpful for the early children. These were the role of developmentally
appropriate practices that includes the importance and the challenges of the system of
education (James and Prout 2015).
It is to be mentioned that the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 is the
statute governing the legislation related to asylum and immigration since the year 1993
(Legislation.gov.uk 2018). According to section 16 of the act it can be stated that the
secretary of the state may make arrangements for accommodation of persons in compliance
with this Act. It is to be stated that “accommodation center” as referred to in this act can be
defined as a set of premises under this section. Ann asylum seeker in the United Kingdom is
eligible to ask for a place to live and a cash allowance to pay for the basic necessities like
food and clothing. An accommodation which is provided to the asylum seeker can be hostel,
house or bed and breakfast. Asylum seekers are also entitled to cash support of 37.75 pounds
per person (Gov.uk 2018). Monetary allowances are generally loaded onto Aspen card every
week. Asylum seekers are entitled to free National Health Service healthcare. All children
aged 5-17 must attend schools. All state schools are free and children are entitled to get free
school meals.

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The Children Act 1989 governs the duties allocated to parents, court and other
agencies in the United Kingdom in order to ensure welfare of children and safeguard them
(Legislation.gov.uk 2018). It can be stated that this act focuses on the idea that children are
best taken care of by their parents. However, it also discusses the provisions for instances,
when the families of children do not cooperate with the statutory bodies. According to part 1
of the act it can be mentioned that welfare of the children is the primary concern of the
courts. The courts assess the emotional, physical and educational needs of the children, the
factors that are likely to affect the child, the harm suffered by the child and the ability of the
parents of the child to meet the needs of the children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child is another another
authority which governs the rights of children. It consists of 54 articles covering all the major
articles of child rights.
It can be said that OFSTED is the Office for standards in Education, Children’s
Services and skills. The OFSTED regulates and inspects services of care for children. It also
provides education to learners of all stages.
It can be stated that adopting a child centered approach can be beneficial for the
development of a child. Multi agency working can be said to bring together practitioners of
various sectors in order to provide an integrated way to to support young people and children.
This approach puts the child in the center of their learning. Unstructured Style of play
encourages children to feel curious and is instrumental in boosting their confidence and self
esteem. Further it can be stated that the layout of a room or the setting of the room can have a
huge impact on the discoveries made by children and their learning process.

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A speech language and language therapist can assess and treat adults and children
with language, speech and communication problems so that they can communicate with
others to the best f their abilities.
Jean piaget’s cognitive development theory provides explanation for how a child
forms the model of the world in his mind. According to him it can be stated that children
have a mental structure, which is very basic in nature and on which all knowledge and
learning are based. According to Brunner it can be said that thinking is considered to be the
outcome of cognitive development. According to Brunner learning outcomes do not only
include learning concepts but also the ability of children to invent things for themselves.
It can be said according to Montessori that the learning environment of children must
be orderly, beautifully decorated and proper so as engage the senses of the children (Lillard
2016). Children need accessible equipments and real tools in order to develop a better
understanding of tem.
According to Vygotsky it can be said that interaction between the children and
teachers is instrumental and vital for the development of the personality of the children.
Vygotsky has coined the concept of zone of proximal development which is defined as the
difference between what a child can do on her own and what he can do with additional
assistance.
Conclusion
Therefore while concluding this can be mentioned that the new sociology of
childhood is a concept which can be mentioned as a part of analysis of the case that has been
discussed in the essay. This includes the theories of social order, social stability and social
integration that presume a uniform and that is predictable standard of action from the

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members who are participating in the process (Hughes, Del Toro and Rarick 2015).
According to this theory the children are seen as active agents and distinctive groups in their
own right (Mayall 2015). This includes the process of socialization of child in which the child
may well be acculturated in order to acquire the culture of the groupings of the human beings
in which they can belong. In this case study the child was far away from the process of
socialization. The child could experience a set back of his skills. He found it difficult to
communicate with the society and in his school (Ryder 2015).
The case can be better understood with the theory of post structuralism. The boy
experienced the trauma that was because of the war and he gained personal knowledge from
this. He did not gain knowledge about the war from the tales told by someone else but he
gained it through his personal experience (Williams 2014). This justifies the post structural
theory. According to the post structural theory the knowledge could be found either on pure
experience or systematic structures (Peters and Tesar 2015). The essay is therefore the
summation of the critical theories accompanied by different perspectives which helps to
realize the state of the refugee child.

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