Discuss Factors and Theories that Influence Children and Young People’s Development and How these Influence Current Practice.

Within this essay I am going to discuss and explain the differences between Personal factor and External factor. As well as discussing and conversing the different factors I am also going to talk about the influence of child development within three theorists, these three theorists are Maria Montessori, Lev Yvgotsky and Jean Piaget. Once I have explained each theorist and their theory, I will then explain and describe how each of the theories link to practice in placement school.
A child’s development is influenced by a large range of factors. This could include their background, health and the environment to which the child is growing up in will also have a vast impact, as each factor will affect all parts of development. There are two main factors which affect a child and young person’s development. The first is Personal which can be linked to a large variety of topics from genetics, health and learning difficulties, disability, family status and health status and personality which is also linked to the environment but is influenced later on in the development.
Children and young people with learning difficulties or have a general learning disability are aware of what goes on around them. However their ability to understand and communicate may be limited for them, as they will find this hard and frustrating as expressing themselves will be more difficult. Whereas a child with a medical condition may be less likely to participate in activities and this will affect their physical development and may restrict their social activities. This will then affect the child’s emotional development depending on their awareness and needs.
The second important factor is External. There are many areas in which external factors cover, here is a range of factors- Education, Poverty and Deprivation, Family Environment and Pupils background.
Many pupils come from a large range of cultures, different family environment and their circumstances. Within family environment and pupils background if a parent had a bad experience within their school years their attitude can have an effect on the child’s development but also influence the child’s attitude against school or education. Poverty and deprivation also plays a big part in people’s life which affects their personal development. Children who come from poorer backgrounds are less likely to thrive and exceed their goal within school. Each factor has its own effect on a child’s development. Some areas are easier to work with and help the child whereas other areas i.e. background-external factor will become difficult to resolve.
Jean Piaget believed in two basic principles relating to moral education that children develop moral ideas in stages and that children create their conceptions of the world. (Gross Richard, Third Edition, Themes, Issues and Debates in Psychology, London, Hodder Education, ISBN: 978-0340-97587-9).
Cognitive development is a theory relating to nature and development of the human intelligence which was first developed by Jean Piaget (1952). According to Piaget, ‘the child is someone who constructs his/her own moral world view, who forms ideas about right and wrong and fair and unfair, that are not direct product of adult teaching and that are often maintained in the face of adult wishes to the contrary’. (Gross Richard, Third Edition, the Science of Mind and Behaviour, London, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN: 0-340-64762-0).
Piaget provides a theory of conceptual change that focuses on the development of schemata from childhood to maturity. There are two main stages which are related to early year’s education, these are Sensorimotor and Preoperational stages.
From infancy, babies start to show signs of a strong need to adapt to the environment that they are in. Piaget also become to notice those children’s thoughts of journey was a