Preschool Children in a Group Term Paper

Furthermore, Vgotsky's held that the bond between word and meaning is a bond that is associative in nature and is established through the repeated simultaneous perceptions of a certain sound and a certain object.

Most of the children in this class had good motor skills and followed instructions very well. Furthermore the children used "please" and "thank you" in their interactions with teachers. Also observed was the fact that Tarek, a student, acts like group-leader among other students and the children in the class try to please him. Tarek is very considerate and caring. This shows early development on the part of the children, which can be expected, in "advanced curriculum" preschool programs.

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) contended that children and adults both pass through stages of moral development in their reasoning ability via judgments of a moral nature. Kohlberg's theory is called the "cognitive-developmental theory and suggests a tri-level sequence of moral growth, further divided into six sub-stages. The two applicable to this age group of preschoolers are those of:

Preconventional Morality - Lowest level characterized by a child following a strict set of rules based on reward and punishment. Self-interest is kind, yielding only egocentric behavior in certain social situations.

Conventional Morality: is characterized by adherence to rules that is derived from various motivations such as the desire to please others, gain respect, and be perceived in an admirable manner.

Tarek has progressed even further than the children trying to please him as he has moved upward to a new attainment level of development into Stage 3 which is a level of reasoning is characterized by obedience that arises from a variety of motivations: a desire to please others, to gain respect, to be perceived as a moral, lawful and admirable person, and to do what is right as defined by society. This level of reasoning is further divided into Stage 3, which is referred to as the "good boy" orientation where the child demonstrates personal interest in where a child shows interest in maintaining the respect of specific people around him.

Erikson's Theory

Erik Eriksson (1902-1990) theorized that change happens throughout the entirety of a person's entire life, and that change occurs in 8 stages. The stages which characterize the preschool classroom being observed are the two as follows:

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (12 months - 3 years) where independence is learned, or alternately a child learns not to take risks

Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years) where competence and morality is developed

According to CEU Station Child Development Online: "Eriksson contended that people progress through the stages chronologically, but that individuals who do not experience success in a particular stage may find themselves stuck, unable to move on to the next developmental stage.

Summary & Conclusion

Observation of the class of preschool students clearly demonstrates the practicability in the theories of Piaget, Erickson, Kohlberg and Vgotsky in relation to the developmental stages through which a human being progresses.

Appendix "A"

Classroom Schedule

9:00 a.m. To 10:00 A.M. - Review of alphabet

10:45 to 11:00 A.M. -- Class recess

11:00 a.m. To 12:00 P.M. -- Lunch Break

12:00 p.m. -- Nap-time (During this time the students who are not able to nap are read to by the teacher and assistant teacher or they quietly play with play dough, puzzles and cubes.)

1:00 p.m. -- Quran citations for 15 minutes

2:00 p.m. -- Snack time

2:30 -- Math symbol review and artwork.

Bibliography

CEU Station - Child Development - Introduction and Theory Theoretical Framework for Child Development [Online available at: http:/ / www.ceus tation.com / childdeve lopment1.html

Vgotksy: Thinking and Speaking,…