Explain How Theories Of Development And Frameworks To Support Development Influence Current Practice

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All children are different and come from a wide range of environments, cultures and circumstances. Throughout a child’s development they may go through some significant changes in their life outside of school, such as financial difficulties, death of an immediate family member, parental separation, introduction of step parents/siblings or foster care/adoption. Any of these changes can have a serious effect on the child emotionally and intellectually, causing behavioural/learning difficulties.

It is thought that children who come from poor or deprived backgrounds are less likely to achieve at school. They may suffer from poor health due to the lack of good food or nutrition and have limited means of medical care/attention and medicines.
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The theory of child development is a set of ideas about how children develop. It usually describes a certain behaviour which then leads to predictions of future behaviours and developments.

Since the mid 1800’s psychologists have research and developed different theories of how children learn and develop which has had a great influence on the way the child development is practiced today. Some theorists felt that a child’s ability is innate and others that it depends on the opportunities they are given. This is often called the nature versus nurture debate which is concerned with the extent to which development and learning are primarily to do with the child’s natural maturing process and the extent to which they progress as a result.

It is felt there is no such thing as “the truth” about child development. Some of the theories include ideas and predictions about development from a number of sources, such as, biological, behaviourist/environmental, psychoanalytical and constructive viewpoints a lot of which is what the current practice of child development is based on today. The following is an overview of the theories that have been studied since the mid

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