The Sociocultural Perspectives of Children Development

The sociocultural approach relates to Lev Vygotsky’s beliefs about the importance of society in cognitive development (Cherry 2017, p.1). The sociocultural approach recognizes that social interactions between children and their spouses contribute to cognitive development (McLeod 2014, p.1). Vygotsky’s approach concentrates on the relationships involved in schooling and fails to recognize learning that occurs outside of the explicit instructional context.

To overcome the gap revealed by Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural development, Rogoff suggested the notion of guided involvement (Rogoff 2003, p.283).The sociocultural approaches are critical considerations because human tend to establish a positive social relationship throughout their life (Petty 2009, p.84). Therefore, this study seeks to focus on the role of play as a sociocultural aspect of childhood development. The rationale of this review is drawn from the fact that play has been under-appreciated in the developmental milestone of children (Stone Bridge 2015, p.1 ). This analysis is structured to have a flow of interrelated ideas in the form of paragraphs which are converged to form a conclusion.

Guided Participation

The notion of guided participation describes as a system of involvement between individuals as they communicate and coordinate their shared endeavours while participating in cultural activities (Hall et al. 2008, p.60). Hall (2008) describes this notion in two broad ways that can be analysed as follows: Guidance in Rogoff concept deals with the directions given or obtained social and cultural values as well as the instructions from the child’s social partner throughout his learning activities (Hall et al. 2008, p.60). “Participation” as portrayed in this context, refers to the observation of cultural activities and personal involvement in an activity (Hall et al. 2008. p,60). Rogoff (2003), therefore in her guided involvement notion develops several key ideas that are critical in understanding learning and development which are: social referencing, children structured choices, and the structuring during interaction (Rogoff, 2003). The ideas included in this analysis from the Rogoff’s concept are the mutual bridging of knowledge, joint structuring of sharing and the structuring during interaction (Rogoff 2003, p.291). In fact, the three connects to the ideas of Vygotsky which includes the concept of zonal of proximal development, the apprenticeship notion and the scaffolding in learning development as well as the view of peers with high competence (Petty 2009, p.83).

The idea of social referencing is critical in learning and development. The notion refers to the aspect of observation presenting a case where children learn from the expressions or nonverbal communication (Rogoff 2003, p.286). In that respect, the participants in the learning process understand the concept through shared ideas or through the verbal and nonverbal passage of information. Scholars argue that guided sharing is an extended notion of the zone of proximal development (Petty 2009, p.81). In that case, therefore, learning will take place when the children are referencing the ideas communicated by their teacher which connects to the notion of social referencing (Petty 2009, p.81). The significance of this notion is that communication of learning activities is an essential factor in the learning environment a child.

Rogoff uses the idea of mutual structuring participation to assert that children may fail to get involved or learn through various activities until the idea is passed to them via observation(Rogoff 2003, p.287), also supported by the notion of the zone of proximal development which acknowledges the role of the caregiver in directing a child in a learning process (Petty 2009, p.82). In such cases, children may be able to appreciate the importance of activity after observation of activities from the caregiver. Furthermore, the apprenticeship notion comes into play where the teacher allows the children to learn through the engagement with the peers of their choice as well as fostering creativity and allowing the child to work independently (Petty 2009, p.83). Lastly, the role of interactive activities is critical in childhood progress as it combines the three notions of the neo-Vygotsky; the apprentice, peer and scaffolding as well as the zone of proximal growth (Petty 2009, p.81). The three puts emphasis on the importance of peer and adult interaction. For instance, child’s ability to socialise and take part in what his peers are doing paves the way for new experiences in his developmental course(Petty 2009, p.83). In a nutshell, the ideas outlined are essential in child advancement, especially in the learning context.

Benefits of Play

Jona Anderson-McNamee developed some views from his study asserting that play is an essential bond between the caregiver and the children (McNamee 2010, p.1). Secondly, insight developed from this study is that learning in children happens through play. Thirdly, the most interesting concepts Jona acknowledges is the interaction of the child and the caregiver even in early developing stages. Such interactions include smiling back to the child when he smiles, and that creates a series of playing and engagement activity (McNamee 2010, p.1). Additionally, Jona (2010) acknowledges that 75% of the brain development occurs at subsequent stages after birth. Therefore, Jona’s research advocates for the involvement of parents, teachers and caregivers in the daily activities of the children especially by providing playing tools or initiating play. (McNamee 2010, p.1).

This study develops a theme that connects to the Rogoff idea of the guided participation as outlined in the following statement. Firstly, the study acknowledges the role of parent or caregivers in initiating an activity and letting children participate in the initiated activity without further inputs from the parent (McNamee 2010, p.1). This, therefore, means that when children are guided in an activity, they can develop the abilities to engage in the same activity later. Secondly, this study outlines the idea of the interactive segment between children and their peers. This participation provides the role of socialisation in the developmental course which allows for language development McNamee 2010, p.1).

McNamee (2010) in his research on children development acknowledged, that play is an important aspect of fostering the bond between children and their caregivers. In that aspect, therefore, the strengthened bond triggers back to the idea of children choosing who they want to interact with (Rogoff 2003, p.287). Also, these interactions have been valued as important ways by which caregivers appreciate the uniqueness of every child (McNamee 2010, p.1). On the aspect of choices, Jona asserts that associative play which is another example of play makes children develop an interest in some activities and discriminate others. For instance, children above the age of three years will tend to prefer playing with other kids more than they prefer playing with toys (McNamee 2010, p.2).

The sharing of activities between the parent and the teacher makes the child learn self-importance which is significant in psychological and social advancement (McNamee 2010, p.1). The importance of this is to create or foster self-esteem that is essential to interact with other influencers of growth (McNamee 2010, p.1). Play fosters the whole idea developed by Rogoff in guided involvement since it enhances communication between the child and the environment which is essential in their progress (McNamee 2010, p.1). Furthermore, the idea established by Jona about children imitating parent’s manipulation of the toy is significant to guided participation notion since children can learn through emulating (McNamee 2010, p.82). The significance of the concept outlined from this study is that play is key in both verbal and nonverbal communication.

Play in Children Development

The major insight developed from this study is on the importance of peer in childhood developmental stages. The first experience is the initiated play to the children by the siblings and the parents that seek to elicit interest and laughter from the children (Goldstein 2012, p.15). Another insight from this report is that the transitional objects of children’s activities such as toys have demonstrated abilities to foster self-confidence. In that case, therefore, play distinguishes developmental stages especially in the social development concept (Goldstein 2012, p.15).

The insights developed from this case try to connect with the concepts of the guided participation in the earlier stages of child development. The idea indicates that the caregiver sustains children play interests as the children remain passive in the play secession until they learn how to play (Goldstein 2012, p.15). On later stages, the concept of mutual participation starts to develop but in accordance with age advancement. For instance, as noted in this case, that children at the age of six years can initiate a game learned from the caregiver but cannot take turns in the activity (Goldstein 2012, p.15). Furthermore, the later stages of child progress show the involvement of the child in the activities indicating an insight established by Rogoff notion of participation. A good instance is where the children can demonstrate awareness of the activities learned or the rule of the game initiated by the parents or caregiver (Goldstein 2012, p.15). For such instances, the child can shift the role in the playing activity where now the activities are mutually initiated, the parent or the caregiver in such cases may alternate roles to be the recipients of the activities from the children, which is a good indicator of learning and change (Goldstein 2012, p.15).

Another concept analysed indicates that there is a variation of activities performed by children which relates to the learned events. For example, in the second year, children are able to make development in their learned activities by showing variations in the game which shows understanding of activities’ concepts, the basic structure and its limit. For instance, a child playing and rolling back and forth indicates the understanding of the limits of activity (Goldstein 2012, p.15). In relation to the guided notion as portrayed by Rogoff, some of the transition tools such as toys promote progress in the social play. These tools foster social cooperation in isolation of the caregiver. The significant developed in this case is that the roles of children in developmental activities such as play depend on the children’s ability to initiate and play according to the rules, which is a critical concept in learning.

Stages of Play

This study has provided key insights through various forms of play in the development. In that case, therefore, several patterns have been established: unoccupied, solitary, onlooker, parallel, associative, and cooperative play (Sussman 2012, p.2). The forms of play from this study have been generalised as major initiatives through which children learn how to collaborate with their peers and gain knowledge on conflict resolution (Sussman 2012, p.1).

The unoccupied play represents a stage where the child is just observing the activity without his inputs. The Unoccupied is also related to onlooker notion where the children just observe as the peer or the adult is playing. The onlooker, therefore, relates to the Rogoff’s idea where the child is structuring participation or deciding to participate in an activity (Sussman 2012, p.2).The solitary form of play as outlined from this study refers to the aspect where the activity is based on what the learner observed from his surroundings. This relates to Rogoff idea of referencing where the previously observed activity is performed by the learner independently or in the absence of the caregiver (Sussman 2012, p.2).

Another notion in relation to the guided participation in the learning activities is the concept of the parallel game. In this, the children play independently, but the activity is initiated by the similar activity in their vicinity. For instant children perform by imitating what their peer is doing next to them without any interaction a concept Rogoff would refer to as side by side learning activity (Sussman 2012, p.2). Associative performance is another important notion developed in relation to the concept of participation. In this form of play, children use shared materials in an initiated joint activity which fosters interactions and coexistence (Sussman 2012, p.2). Lastly, the study outlines another form of play described as the associative activity that focuses on learner or children interactions in development. According to Sussman (2012), this concept involves the engagement of children in an activity with other peers. The significance of these notions in relation to the Rogoff’s ideas is that social interactions are fostered by play and brings child progressive activities to the point of negotiation, problem-solving and goal seeking (Sussman 2012, p.2).

The ideas outlined bring a critical concept on the advancement of children in performing various endeavours. For instance, a mathematical concept is favoured by continuous interaction of children with models in as they play. The aspect also fosters communication which is a key concept established by the ideas in the notion of guided participation (Sussman 2012, p.3).

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the main findings from the above review of the literature are the collaborative aspects and segments of children developmental course. The concept has been related to the cooperation that exists between the caregiver and the children as well as the interaction between the children and their peers which can be either verbal or nonverbal. These forms of communication are relevant to the aspect of play since they allow for the passage of information from the children to objects of interactions. The notion of guided participation values communication as a critical way to foster the engagement of the children to learning and other crucial activities. Therefore, engagement in playing is critical for such establishments. The findings are also relevant for children development since the aspect of play has been used to inspire their engagement in various activities and personal creativity. For instance, an observation made by the child concerning initiated activity by his peers may trigger his interest to join the game or imitate this activity from a distance. Guided participation, therefore, is important in relation to play in childhood development.

References

Cherry, K., 2017. What Is Sociocultural Theory?. [Online] Available at: https://www.verywell.com/what-is-sociocultural-theory-2795088 [Accessed 26 November 2017].

Goldstein, J., 2012. Play in children development, health and well-being, London: Oxford University Press.

Hall, K., Murphy, P. & Soler, J., 2008. Pedagogy and practice: culture and identities. Los Angeles: Sage.

McLeod, S., 2014. Lev Vygotsky. [Online] Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html [Accessed 26 November 2017].

McNamee, J., 2010. The importance of play in early childhood development, Montana: MSU extension.

Petty, K., 2009. Using Guided Participation to Support young children’s Social Development. Young children, pp. 80-85.

Rogoff, B., 2003. The Cultural Nature of Human Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Stone Bridge, 2015 . Play and Child Development. [Online] Available at: https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/blog/early-years-and-child-care/let-the-children-be-children-play-and-child-development [Accessed 26 November 2017].

Sussman, K., 2012. The importance of play in the preschool classroom. Childcare quarterly, 36(3), pp. 1-9.