Lesson 02: Application of Developmental theories in ECE
Robert J Havighurst
Biographical note
Robert J Havighurst: Robert Havighurst, a professor of Education and Human Development worked on the concept of developmental tasks. His work on developmental tasks has influenced the basic concepts of developmental psychology.
A developmental task is a task which arises at about a certain period in the individual’s life, successful achievement of which leads to his happiness and to success with later tasks while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual, disapproval by the society and difficulty with later tasks. The developmental tasks continue to be achieved throughout one’s life.
Tasks of infancy and early childhood period are as follows:
Physical: Such as learning to walk, learning to take solid foods.
Physiological: Such as learning to control the elimination of body wastes, achieving, physiological stability learning sex differences and sexual modesty.
Intellectual: Such as learning to talk, forming simple concepts of social and Physical reality
Attitudinal: Such as developing attitudes towards institutions such as schools
Moral: Such as learning to distinguish right or wrong and developing a conscience
Social: Such as learning to get along with other children of the same age group.
Emotional: Such as learning to relate himself emotionally to parents, siblings and other people
If the teachers of preschool children organize activities of different types they can fulfill the needs of children as they arise in developmental sequence.
Participants