Psychology Of Early Childhood Up To The Sixth Year Of Age

"This book is the third edition of the book in which the author set out to discuss the most essential sides of the child's psychic life as far as they develop up to his sixth year. The new literature considered and used in this book is rather concerned with the following subjects : (1) The general theory of psychic life in childhood; here arose the possibility of more closely connecting the theories of mental psychology (B¿hler) and of form-psychology (Koffka) with the theory of the personality, which has become even more decisively than before the foundation of my own attitude. (2) Experimental examination of little children for purposes of enquiry and test. (3 and 4) Psychoanalysis and the Montessori method. We have also added a small number of further extracts from our own diaries, the contents of which, being mainly unpublished so far, give promise of a rich yield in the future. To give facilities for the comparison of the present arrangement and compass of the book with the earlier editions, the most important differences are given as follows : Part I--The survey of the development of child psychology has been brought up to the present time and the general consideration of methods enlarged. Part II (Before Speech)--The first signs of intelligence have been discussed in more detail with reference to B¿hler's and Kohler's theories; the origin of sense-perception has received a different treatment which has some points of contact with form-psychology and which emphasises more strongly than before the inadequacy of "element" and "association" psychology; a critical attitude is assumed towards the theory of "infantile sexuality." Part III--The treatment of speech-development remains unchanged, but a new chapter has been added on the test enquiry into childish proficiency in speech (Descoeudres). Part IV (Looking at Pictures)--Here also there has been especial enlargement of the experimental part (Lotto method-Grade method). Part V (Memory)--Includes mention of the Montessori exercises. Part VI (Imagination and Play)--The play-theory is dealt with from the personality point of view; closer consideration is given to the views of the psychoanalysts (symbolism of imagination, dream-interpretation, sexual theory of play). On the other hand, discussion of confabulation and drawing have been deleted, to be included in a new Part VII--This treats under the title of "Enjoyment and Creative Power" the introductory stages and first initial forms of æsthetic feeling; the paragraphs dealing with fairy-tale imagination, the child and music, drawing from copies, are new, and the treatment of spontaneous drawing has been partly altered. Part VIII, dealing with "Thought and Intelligence," has a new experimental chapter, which treats of enquiries into power of abstraction and number as well as of the application of intelligence-tests to early childhood"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).

Originally published in 1924, this sixth edition published in 1930 is thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the important advances in the field of child psychology at the time. In this new edition the personal standpoint is emphasized, while at the same time other psychological theories such as mental psychology, form psychology, psychoanalysis and individual psychology have been exhaustively treated, criticized and discussed in contradistinction to the theory of personality. Much fuller treatment has been given to the experimental examination of young children for purposes of research and tests, since it is in this form of investigation that major advances had been made. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

"The scope of this volume is indicated by the subtitle. The basic data furnish an outline of the psychology of infancy, by bringing into systematic view cross-section behavior pictures of the ascending stages of development. The emphasis throughout is on the normal aspects of behavior. The application of norms of development to problems of developmental diagnosis and supervision is treated in the concluding sections. The investigation on which this book is based was begun some six years ago and has put the writer under an increasing sense of indebtedness to many persons who have lent their assistance. The study is one which has required a considerable degree of cooperation. We have been particularly fortunate in the amount and kind of cooperation which we have received from numerous mothers--to say nothing of the several hundred children, whose contribution we hope is not altogether lost in the pages of this book. The main body of this volume is devoted to a descriptive and normative treatment of data derived from a first-hand study of normal children. This part of the study has been supplied with illustrations and is so concrete that it may, perhaps, be of interest to the general reader, as well as to the parent or to the special worker who is directly concerned with the mental health and development of early childhood. Current tendencies in child hygiene and education are bringing the pre-school years into a new perspective. There are scientific as well as practical reasons for giving special consideration to this foundational period of childhood. Our aim in the present volume is to give a systematic view of the entire pre-school period of development. We are conscious of the preliminary character and of the limitations of our data; but we probably have not over-emphasized the basic importance of the pre-school years of development"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).