Session 10

• Mathematics
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Element 7 - Child Development 

Session 10 

[e-mail] 

T - Level in Education and Early Years 

ZE30801

Learning objectives 

By the end of the session all learners will be able to:

1. Explain how children and young people develop friendships and their impact on well being.
2. Understand and explore the theory of Robert Selman's 5 - level framework. 
3. Understand and explore the theory of Henri Tajfel's and John Turner's social identity theory.

The Human Knot !

Everyone stand in a circle. 

Take your right hand and hold hands with the person on your left hand side. 

Then take your left hand and hold hands with the person on your right hand side. 

 UNRAVEL YOURSELF without letting go.

Mindmap 

In small groups mind map:

"The importance of developing friendships in early years"

Henri Tajfel's and John Turner's social identity theory.

In group vs out group

Tajfel & Turner focused on exploring how children perceive and see their own self identity, they stated groups of a certain social class, family or status had a different level of self - esteem. 

In schools you have 'the popular group', 'sporty group', the social identity theory looks at why this occurs in young people.

There research stated that being part of an 'in group' raises self - esteem in comparison to being in an 'out group'.

Social identity groups can give a sense of belonging, purpose, self - worth & identity.

Henri Tajfel's and John Turner's 3 stages of social identity theory.

1. Social Categorization   

In early childhood children begin to develop 'schema's this is an example of how children begin to categorise objects, this is a normal part of cognitive development. The process of categorisation can help children in understanding their own identity, it helps us understand who we are. A 3 year old who does not wear nappies may say "I am not a baby".

2. Social Identification 

In this stage children and young people begin to categorise key characteristics and behaviours. If a child socialises with one group the behaviours often reflect those of the group. "Jimmy has nice shoes, he is so cool"

3. Social Comparison

Once children and young people have identified themselves as part of a group they begin to compare themselves with others. 

A child in the more able group at school may receive their test results and be happy their group got the highest scores. 

This is an example of favoritism and competitiveness. 

Stranded !!!

 Your team has been stranded in the classroom. The doors are locked, and knocking down the doors or breaking the windows is not an option. You have 10 minutes to decide on ten items in the office they need for survival and rank them in order of importance. The goal of the game is to have everyone agree on the ten items and their rankings in 10 minutes.

Robert Selman's five - level framework of friendships 

Selman create 5 stages of friendship to describe the different social and cognitive development stages of children as they develop and make friendships.

Selman created these stages to highlight how children's play can change depending on on what level of friendship they may be at.

His work was based on interviews with children and young people, he noted that there are significant differences between children and young people depending on their understanding on friendships. This is why some of his age bands overlap.

What are the 5 stages?

Level 0 - Momentary physical interaction (3-6years)

Children will play with others depending on the circumstance, for example if someone is near them. At this stage they view friends as momentary playmates, and their friendships are all about having fun together. 

Children at this stage have very limited ability to see other perspectives (ego centric - Piaget). They assume that other children think the same way they do, so they tend to get very upset when they find out that a playmate has a different opinion.

Kids this age typically make comments like “she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore” when their friend wants to do something different to them.

What are the 5 stages?

Level 1 - One - way assistance (5 - 9 years)

An understanding that a friend does nice things for them but maybe not understanding that friendship works two ways.

The desire to have friends at this age does not mean they are always nice to one another.

They define friends as children who do nice things for them—such as sharing a treat, saving them a seat, or giving them nice presents—but they don’t really think about what they themselves contribute to the friendship.

"I'l be your friend, if you do this for this"

What are the 5 stages?

Level 2 - Two way fair weather cooperation (7 - 12 years)

Expectations that friends will always repay a favour. So, if they do something nice for a friend, they expect that friend to do something nice for them at the next opportunity. If this doesn’t happen, the friendship may fall apart.

They tend to be jealous, and they’re very concerned with fitting in by being exactly the same as everyone else.

Children at this stage often form small friendship groups based on similar interests. Sometimes these are known as “secret clubs” which involve elaborate rules and lots of discussion about who is or isn’t included as a member.

What are the 5 stages?

Level 3 - Intimate mutual sharing (8 - 15 years)

Young children begin to demonstrate some acts of kindness, helping each other problem solve.

There are high levels of trust and loyalty but betrayal is considered if an individual has more than one friendship.

 For some children, this is also the “Joined at the Hip” stage.

Level 4 - Mature friendship (autonomous interdependence) - 12+ years

At this stage, children place a high value on emotional closeness with friends. They can accept and even appreciate differences between themselves and their friends.

Young people who develop mature friendships are not as possessive as they might once have been, so they’re less likely to feel threatened if their friends have other relationships.

Learning Task 

Design a story board that you can read to children to promote good and healthy friendship. 

Attempt to design a story board that has a moral or an underlying meaning that may influence how children form friendships.

Be creative and use pictures and vibrant colours.