Module 1

Human Development: Meaning, Concepts, and Approaches

Image source: Teacher’s Alley, 2017 June 01

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, you must have:

a. defined human development in your own words; and

b. distinguished between the traditional and life-span approaches of
development.

Introduction

Every living creature is called to become what it is meant to be. The caterpillar
is meant to become a butterfly; a seed into a full-grown herb, bush, or tree; and a
human baby into a mature person, the person “who is fully alive, the glory of God” in
the words of St. Irenaeus. In this module, you will be acquainted with how human
development as a process takes place. You will also appreciate the different
approaches which may enable you to understand better the development of your
future students. That, like you, each of them is also a bundle of possibilities.

Abstraction
 Development is the systematic changes and continuities in the individual that
occur between conception and death or “from womb to tomb”. Changes are
systematic if they are orderly, patterned, and relatively enduring thus, temporary and
unpredictable changes such as mood swings are excluded. We are also interested in
the continuities of development. The systematic changes and continuities of human
development fall into three broad domains:

a. Physical development refers to the growth of the body and its organs during
childhood, the functioning of physiological systems and the appearance of
physical signs of aging during adulthood; there are also gains, losses, and
continuities in motor abilities; and so on.

b. Cognitive development deals on the changes in perception, language, learning,

memory, problem-solving, and other mental processes.

c. Socio-emotional development is a child's ability to understand the feelings of

others, control his or her feelings and behaviors, get along with other children,
and build relationships with adults.

Even though child development experts often specialize in one or

another of these three aspects of development, they appreciate that
humans are whole beings and changes in one area affect the others. The
baby who develops the ability to crawl now has new opportunities to
develop her mind by exploring the contents of shelves and cabinets and
to hone her social skills by accompanying her parents from room to room.

How do you think humans typically change from birth to old age?
Many people picture the life span this way: First, there are tremendous
positive gains in capacity from infancy to young adulthood; then there is
little change at all during young adulthood and middle age; and finally,
there is only loss of capacities – a process of deterioration – in the later
years. This stereotyped view of the life span is large, although not
entirely, false. It has some truth for biological and physical development.
Traditionally, biologists have defined growth as the physical changes that
occur from conception to maturity. We do indeed become biologically
mature and physically competent during the early part of the life span.
Aging, in a biological sense, is the deterioration of organisms (including
human beings) that leads inevitably to their death. Biologically, then,
development does not involve growth in early life, stability in early
adulthood, and the declines associated with aging in later life.
 However, most developmental scholars today have rejected this
simple model of the life span. Development, for them, means more than
positive changes that occur in infancy, childhood, and adolescence. They
believe that developmental change consists of both gains and losses or
may simply represent a difference between earlier and later behavior (as
when a four-year-old who once feared loud noises comes to fear hairy
monsters under the bed instead). Also, child development experts today
use the term aging to refer to a wide range of changes, both positive and
negative, in the mature organism. They maintain that both positive and
negative changes – gains and losses – occur in every phase of the life
span, and so we should not associate aging only with loss.

Consider this:

a. From early childhood to young adulthood, although we certainly do gain

many new abilities, we also experience negative changes such as increased
rates of depression and suicide.

b. From our teenage years to our 40s, when we are supposedly not changing
much, we are typically gaining self-confidence and other psychological
strengths, and we are aging as well.

c. Although many elderly adults do find themselves becoming somewhat slower

mentally, many are also still acquiring knowledge and expertise that young
people lack.

In short, development involves gains, losses, just plain changes, and

sameness in each phase of the life span. Above all, one should abandon
the idea that aging involves only deterioration and loss, such that
maturation and learning are two important processes underlying the
developmental change. The former is the biological unfolding of the individual
according to a plan contained in the genes (the hereditary material passed
from parents to the child at conception); while the latter is the process
through which experience brings about relatively permanent change in thoughts,
feelings, or behavior.

Two Approaches to Human Development

If you believe that children will show extensive change from birth to
adolescence, little or no change in adulthood, and decline in late old age,
your approach to development is traditional. In contrast, if you believe
that even in adulthood developmental change takes place as it does
during childhood, your approach is termed the lifespan approach. Paul
Baltes, an expert in life-span development, gives the following
characteristics:

a. Development is lifelong. It does not end in adulthood.

 b. Development is plastic. Plasticity refers to the potential for change.
Development is possible throughout the lifespan. No one is too old to learn.
There are no such things as “I am too old for that. . .”
c. Development is multidimensional. The development consists of biological,
cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions.

d. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing being in a changing

world. Individuals respond to and act on contexts. These contexts include the
individual’s biological makeup, physical environment, cognitive processes,
and historical, social, and cultural contexts.

e. Development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation.

f. Growth, maintenance, and regulation are three (3) goals of human

development. The goals of individuals vary among developmental stages.
For instance, as individuals reach middle and late adulthood, concern with
growth gets backstage while maintenance and regulation take the center
stage.

Application

Name:
Section:
Professor’s name:

1. State five characteristics of human development from a lifespan perspective and

their implications for child care, education, and parenting.

Characteristics of human The educational implication to Child

development from a lifespan Care, Education, and Parenting
perspective
1.

2.
 Characteristics of human The educational implication to Child
development from a lifespan Care, Education, and Parenting
perspective

3.

4.

5.

2. Growth is “evidence of life” or “development is evidence of life”. What does this

mean? What does this imply to a person’s development?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________

3. If your approach to human development is traditional, are the characteristics of

human development from a lifespan perspective acceptable? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________

4. Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of
developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood programs for children
from birth through age 8, which were stated in the position paper of the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (2009). They affirm the
characteristics of the lifespan development approach we just discussed. Find out
which one is a re-statement of the principles of human development by stating the
characteristics of human development from a lifespan perspective in the second
column.

Characteristics of Human
Principles of Human Development
Development from a Lifespan
(NAEYC, 2009)
Perspective
a. All the domains of development and e.g., Development is
learning- physical, social and emotional, multidimensional
and cognitive – are important, and they are
closely interrelated. Children's
development and learning in one domain
are influenced by what takes place in other
domains.

b. Many aspects of children's learning and

development follow well-documented
sequences, with later abilities, skills, and
knowledge building on those already
acquired.
 Characteristics of Human
Principles of Human Development
Development from a Lifespan
(NAEYC, 2009)
Perspective
c. Development and learning proceed at
varying rates from child to child, as well as
at uneven rates across different areas of a
child's functioning.

d. Development and learning result from a

dynamic and continuous, interaction of
biological maturation and experience.

e. Early experiences have profound effects,

both cumulative and delayed, on a child’s
development and learning; and optimal
periods exist for certain types of
development and learning to occur.

f. Development proceeds toward greater

complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or
representational capacities.
 Characteristics of Human
Principles of Human Development
Development from a Lifespan
(NAEYC, 2009)
Perspective
g. Children develop best when they have
secure, consistent relationships with
responsive adults and opportunities for
positive relationships with peers.

h. Development and learning occur in and are

influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.

i. Always mentally active in seeking to

understand the world around them,
children learn in a variety of ways; a wide
range of teaching strategies and
interactions are effective in supporting all
these kinds of learning.

j. Play is an important vehicle for developing

self-regulation as well as for promoting
language, cognition, and social
competence.
 Characteristics of Human
Principles of Human Development
Development from a Lifespan
(NAEYC, 2009)
Perspective
k. Development and learning advance when
children are challenged to achieve at a
level just beyond their current mastery, and
also when they have many opportunities to
practice newly acquired skills.

l. Children's experiences shape their

motivation and approaches to learning,
such as persistence, initiative, and
flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and
behaviors affect their learning and
development.
References

Books

Acero, V., Javier, E., & Castro, H. (2008). Child and Adolescent Development. First Edition.
Manila: Rex Book Store.
Corpuz, B., Lucas, M., Borado, H., Lucas, M. R. & Lucido, P. (2018). Child and Adolescent
Learners and Learning Principles. OBE - and K to 12 – Based. Manila: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.
Lucas, M. R., Borabo, M., Bilbao, P. and Corpuz, B. (2020). Field Study. Observations of
Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment. OBE- and PPST- Based. Manila:
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
Sigelman, C. K. (1999). Life-Span Human Development. 3rd Edition. Brooks/Cole Publishing
Company.

Webpages

Defining human development. (n.d.). Lumen lifespan development.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/defining-human-
development/
What is human development and why is it important. (n.d.). Maryville University.
https://online.maryville.edu/online-bachelors-degrees/human-development-and-family-
studies/resources/stages-of-human-development/

Online video

The Royal Ocean Film Society. (2017, May 2). Some Kind of Connection- the Up Series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVQ96wfbf_0

Image

Teacher’s Alley. (2017, June 01). Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.

[Infographic]. http://myteachersalley.blogspot.com/2017/06/eriksons-theory-of-
psycosocial.html