18 Unit 1 Children and Families in Today’s World
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Theories of Growth and
Development
Several researchers who studied children exten-
sively have developed theories. A theory is a set of
statements offered as a possible explanation for a
phenomenon, such as child growth and develop-
ment. Child development theories
• describe changes (may also be called
stages) over time within one or more areas
of development
• show changes among areas (domains) of
development
• explain why the changes occur
No one theory has been adequate to describe
the complexity of child development. Still, theo-
ries help to set goals and give direction to more
research. Other research, done by the theorists or
other researchers, may confi rm (prove accurate)
or disprove (show to be wrong or false) parts of
the theory.
Theories of child development can be
divided into categories. Some deal mainly with
biology while others deal with the environment.
Still others deal with combinations of biol-
ogy and environment and the extent to which
each affects development. Several major child
development theory categories are described in
Figure 1.9.
Why are there so many theories? Why cannot
just one theory be validated by research? Theorists
experience the following problems:
• Development is too broad and complex
for one theorist to study all aspects of
development.
• Research is not completely objective.
Theorists begin with their personal
knowledge, interests, and hunches. Their
hunches determine what questions they
ask and how they set up their research.
• New research has to begin with what is
known based on theory.
• New research relies on available research
tools. Most of the child development
theorists were doing their work before
the time of computers or even calculators.
often discussed in separate chapters. This is so you
can better understand each aspect. In reality, how-
ever, all aspects are interrelated, or they interact in
complex ways.
People who work with children must under-
stand how areas of growth and development
affect one another. For instance, a teacher’s job is
to improve children’s intellectual growth. If chil-
dren come to school hungry or sleepy, however,
they will not do well in learning activities. Stud-
ies have shown that unless children have posi-
tive feelings about themselves (social-emotional
domain), they cannot devote the attention and
energy needed for learning. Understanding these
interrelationships improves the way people work
with children.
Figure 1.8 Motivation is a person’s desire to achieve or
progress. What are some qualities of a motivated person?