This chapter presents the relevant theories, related literature and studies containing concepts, ideas and background information that are connected to the studys theme which were reviewed to attain a clearer perspective and to arrive at an adequate background of the study.
Relevant Theory The study will directly anchor into Vygotsky 's socio-constructivist theory (1978) the theory emphasis is in the mental functions that are acquired through social relationship; learning takes when child interacts with peers and adults in a social setting as they act upon the environment; children learn by internalizing activities conducted on the word around them. It suggests that children emulate behaviors and incorporate them into their existing structures of knowledge when they are exposed to new situations in which they can actually interact with others.
Vygotskys theory is one of the foundations of constructivism. It asserts three major themes:
1. Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of coognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piaget 's understanding of child development (in which development necessarily precedes learning), Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. He states:" every function in the child 's cultural development appears twice: first on the social level, and later, on
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Thus, childrens development of language and literacy processes reflects the total cultural milieu in which they are raised (Bodrova & Leong, 1996). Therefore the relationship between social context and literacy development is based firmly on language, as supportive adults help young children reach higher levels of learning through scaffoldingassisting young learners with initial attempts at a
The sociocultural foundation of development is important because the reader and writer considers their daily social and cultural experience's, values and knowledge to contribute to their literacy skills in reading and writing. Researchers believe that learners draw attention to oral language, the aspects of language in serving daily needs, social phenomenon in language literacy, preschool experiences and home engagement language as related to accomplishments in school. The best practices in word recognition, and language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections includes phonics awareness instruction, sight words, Alphabet learning instruction and sound letter instruction. According to Piasta , published programs of instruction in Alphabet learning has become one of the most primary objects for early literacy because it promotes familiar letters forms, sounds and names.
According to Vygotsky, the basis for learning lies within social interaction and communication. It is when a child is able to communicate, either verbally or non-verbally, that they understand the world around them through copying and internalizing new concepts. An example of this is what Vygotsky called cooperative or collaborative dialogue, when a “more knowledgeable other” assists the learner with a task. Although it sounds like a relatively basic idea, other psychologists at the time, notably Piaget, placed the source of learning within the person and not related to the people around them. As Orlando Lourenco illustrated in the article “Piaget and Vygotsky: Many resemblances, and a crucial difference,” the key difference between the two leading psychologists of the early twentieth century was the importance of the surroundings of the child.
Vygotsky also believed that every aspect of a child's cognitive development is dependent on social context. According to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development there are certain activities a child or any person for that matter can only accomplish with the assistance of another individual. In order for a child to master a new skill a mentor must provide scaffolding to help the child. Scaffolding is a temporary support to help the learner master a new task.
There are many factors that can affect a child’s language and communication. Some of these factors can be positive; however, some can be negative. A cultural factor affecting emergent literacy could be children who have English as an additional language (EAL) this is because they know more of their native language than they do English and can be difficult to grasp another language at such a young age. Also some EAL children may have the knowledge of the English language and can speak the language however; their self-esteem, self-confidence and shyness could play a part in this and therefore may not be willing to use the English language. Also, EAL children may find it difficult to grasp the English alphabet.
Social constructivism theory indicates that for cognitive development in human mind, which involves emotions and acquisition of knowledge, there must be interaction with others in the process. It means that children experience a stage wise development before they attain the right attitude to deal with external forces that unfolding during the interaction process. Elders in the community act as guardians to the young generation; hence, provide the necessary advices for a better result. In the film, Judy Hopps illustrates at the beginning that the ancestral land presented to them was necessary for development and interaction between animals from different places. It means that the location has been the place for every member of the society to
Young boy who is determined to see the world. He’s content with shepherding, until he has this reoccurring dream. Through many encounters his view on life changes, he becomes more interested in the spiritual meaning of life.
The theory of zone of proximal development is useful in social work in promoting child development and parenting skills. The theory contributed to the social and cultural influence on thought, however, it does not specify the anchors for the zone of proximal development and did not give more information on social influences on the development of thought (Green & Piel, 2016). The implication of the theories for social
Piaget and Vygotsky provide their distinct differences in their theories; however they share many similarities. These two theorists expanded their beliefs in how they thought a child would progress throughout the years of growing. This brought many different opinions as well as some advantages to each of their theories. Some of the differences between the two theorists are derived from the theoretical experiences and language, culture, and education. Piaget and Vygotsky both shared a common knowledge from either having training or background as biologists.
This is a sign of pragmatic development as has a basic understanding of the functional use of language in social contexts (Alduais, Albassam, AlSantli & Alhazimi, 2012). Contextual Factors that affects childhood development (40%) Living in vastly different circumstances and the difference can have a dramatic influence on a child’s development. Bronfenbrenner (1989) believes child developments takes place in home, schools, neighborhoods and communities. This case study will look into the contextual factors of family and schools that affects Alexander.
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist of the early Twentieth century. He was an intellectual contemporary of Piaget, however a meeting
While Piaget argued for a purely maturational outlook on children’s cognitive development, Vygotsky assigned superior significance of sociocultural influences such as interactions with other people and language (Martin, Carlson & Buskist,
Language development is a critical part of a child’s overall development. Language encourages and supports a child’s ability to communicate. Through language, a child is able to understand and define his or her’s feelings and emotions. It also introduces the steps to thinking critically as well as problem-solving, building and maintaining relationships. Learning a language from a social perspective is important because it gives the child the opportunity to interact with others and the environment.
I saw this happening in the classroom during stations, one station had about four to five students and one teacher teaching more about letters, and writing. This shows the Vygotsky theory by using more individual learning, all while having peers to help. One day while observing that station I saw Bobby help out Abby with what they were doing. It made me smile how at that station the teacher promoted learning along with other peers, although the only praise they got was a good job it made the kids smile. My last Vygotsky theory was his idea of working in groups like tables is better the desks.
“Human social environments encompass the immediate physical surroundings, social relationships, and cultural milieus within which defined groups of people function and interact (Casper & Barnett, 2001, para. 3). The impact of the social environment in the home on early childhood development Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory encompasses the view that values, beliefs, skills and traditions are transmitted from one generation to the next. He, unlike behaviorist theorists, emphasized that family, social interaction, and play are primary influences in a child’s life (Gordon & Browne, 2013). The social environment at home has a profound impact on how children develop.
The development of literacy and language is a continual progress within a person. This development is one that starts from the moment a child is born (Hurst and Joseph, 2000). This development is promoted within the home environment and is extended within the early years’ classroom domain. Literacy and language development is comprised of four strands, which are listening, speaking, reading & writing. These four factors are in constant interaction together and are constantly developing within the person (Saffran, Senghas and Trueswell, 2001).