Theories and Myths in Childhood Development
Instructions
From the 1800s to today, the education of young children in the U.S. has changed dramatically and has been influenced by social, economic, and political events and trends. Many psychologists and educators have formulated theories based on scientific evidence and research to help you better understand how children development. Unfortunately, there have been many popular myths that have also influenced current educational practices.
- Choose at least four events from the history of the field that you believe have had the greatest impact on early childhood education. Examples may include the Montessori movement, the founding of the National Association for the Education of Young (NAEYC), Froebel, No Child Left Behind.
- Find one source showing positive impacts of this ‘event’ and one that shows a negative impact of the event.
- Find one source showing positive impacts of this ‘event’ and one that shows a negative impact of the event.
- Then, choose at least four myths in early childhood or early childhood education that you feel affect current teaching practices. Use the resource book for this course: Great myths of child development. Skim the title page and choose myths that sound interesting to you or that you feel have interfered with your work in early childhood education.
- Compare an article in a scholarly journal that debunks each myth with an article on the same myth in a popular magazine (either perpetuating or debunking the myth).
- Make a table or chart identifying all of your comparison points (summarize your writing in the table/chart).
- For example, possible column headings may be: MYTH, EVENT, CURRENT TEACHING PRACTICE, EVIDENCE, SUPPORTING/DEBUNKING.
Length: 4-6 pages, not including title and reference pages