Research Korner: Children Case Studies

Paul's Case Story

Paul’s Case Study   People especially teenagers are caught in the middle of different things. Many of these young adults may have a tendency to feel that no one really cares about their thoughts, opinions and feelings. Essentially, teenagers are experiencing many complexities in their teenage lives. These complexities sometimes become the reason why teenagers are able to do things intensely without even thinking of the output of their behavior. When a person is out of control and drowned in too many problems, challenged and dilemmas, the tendency is to find the easiest way to leave these problems behind and one of these ways is through suicide. The portrait of Paul that emerges from pages is that of a young man torn by conflicts, ill-adapted to his environment and its people, but desperately practicing an imposture that allows him to survive. In his various spheres of activity, Paul is more an observer than a participant, aggressively working to deceive both himself and the world regarding his lack of integration. His sole pleasures are rooted in his "artistic" endeavors, but even these are counterfeit, for he lacks the depth to comprehend his experiences on anything but a superficial level and contents himself with form rather than substanceThe case study is about a young boy who has isolated himself from his environment. In the story, Paul has learned to leave alone and do inappropriate things as his defense in his environment. It can be seen in the beginning of the story how Paul’s teacher dislikes him. They thought Paul as a boy who is temperamental, troublemaker and someone who cannot be trusted. With the behaviour of the teachers towards Paul vice versa, more problems occurred.  Paul is not only experiencing problems at school but also inside their house. Thee are instances that his father do not gave him the money he needs for going to his classmates house to study geometry. It seems that the story described Paul as a boy with so much depression, misery and sadness. Some young people can feel so bad about what is happening inside them, like what has happened to Paul.  Paul is in pain and feels so alone with his fantasies, hatred, envy, and consequent anxiety that he consciously or unconsciously find a way of ending their lives. In the time that one has known this, for instance, Paul’s parents or teachers, this individual may show many signs some very small of their self-destructive wishes.  The difficulty can be noticing these messages, thinking about them, and acting appropriately. What is seen in the case study is a collapse of the earlier ways of meeting various situations of Paul’s stress. Herein Paul aced with the fact that he is alone, and that his development is out of normal compared to his peers in terms of social context. An additional disappointment for him is that his parents' approval or reassurance is no longer as effective as it was when he was a child. Now, he seeks approval and recognition from his contemporaries -- but in order to get this, he has to perform or behave in a way that is acceptable to them (Paul’s teachers. Their standards may be different from those of his parents. Paul's intensity of contempt, reserved for those who inhabit the mundane world of reality, signals a pathological defensiveness; his alienation from and rejection of the universe that defines his true identity may be interpreted as a classic psychological defense mechanism, that of projection. As he repudiates the undistinguished middle class he belongs to, Paul vilifies his own ordinariness, an intolerable condition that must be altered through redefinition of reality. Thus, this perceptual reframing requires an all-encompassing denial of his connection to his first world and a subsequent displacement of his self-hatred onto those living out their lives in that niche into which he was accidentally born. In the story, it shows also that Paul do not have companions and friends whom he could share his sadness or even happiness. He has been able to live for himself and by himself. Paul has done things, even bad things to get attention from his peers, teachers and even his parents but no one was able to understand the real meaning of his actions. They judge Paul as a boy who lacks attention but never realized that the people whom should provide his needed attention are the ones who is rejecting and neglecting him. If one views "Paul's Case" as a kind of psychological autopsy, Paul's ultimate fate can be traced to the lack of genuine interaction between himself and his worlds. Although it is true that he maintains a formidable shield, this defense is a self-protective mechanism that is perpetuated by a lack of knowledge of alternative methods of survival. That no one breaks through Paul's armor plate is testimony not only to the effectiveness of that barrier, but also to the dehumanizing tendencies of authority, institutions, and social groups. As a teenager, Paul has been misunderstood by the people whom he think should be the one helping or understands him, like the teachers and his parents. And being a teenager, Paul felt that he doesn’t have the right to control over his life as he like. Because of this, Paul thought that killing himself is the best way to show the people that he can control his own live even in death.

Paul's Case Story

Paul’s Case Study People especially teenagers are caught in the middle of different things. Many of these young adults may have ...

THE YOUNG CHILD AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Currently, there are numerous arguments regarding curriculum and teaching methods, but it discovered more than the socio-cultural and political experiments of teaching physical education (: 2001). Children may learn as much from the methods or mode of transmitting knowledge based on the contents of the curriculum. Teaching PE has recommended that girls are more likely, and have more opportunity, to learn independence and problem solving skills in PE than boys because of the frequent maintenance of the pattern of female teachers teaching girls while male teachers teach boys, and then the tendency for female teachers to use child-centered teaching techniques more often than their male counterparts, who routinely subject their students mainly to didactic teaching modes (2002). Students learn from the pedagogical mode as well as or even instead of the content that teachers intend or want them to receive. In essence, there is no such thing as a content-only curriculum. In the act of teaching, teachers socialize students as they skill them. Indeed, there would hardly be the heated debates surrounding the nature of teaching methods in schools. Pedagogic discourse is a ‘rule which embeds two discourses’; a ‘discourse of skills of various kinds and their relation to each other’, which he refers to as ‘instructional discourse’, and a discourse of social order, which he calls ‘regulative discourse’ (:2002).  The Instructional discourse is always embedded in regulative discourse, and the regulative discourse is the dominant discourse. Thus there can be no transmission of skills without the transmission of values.     According to ( 2000 ) physical and psychological health and safety are very important to children’s educations.  The young child sensible knowledge and skills to enhance positive attitudes in children and early childhood professionals by stressing the role of family and culture in child development and their learning environment should help them expands on the underpinning of developmentally suitable physical activity, movement development, physical fitness, nutrition, safety in the early childhood learning environment, and the responsibility of parents and communities in developing healthy attitudes and lifestyles for the young. They also believed that early childhood educators should investigate the range of factors that affect the progress of a physically and psychologically healthy and safe lifestyle for infants, toddlers, and young children."     The school organizational level should define three major aspects of framing the curriculum (:2003) . The first is the curriculum which defines for teachers and students the organization and the content of what is to be taught. The necessities in developing curriculum in physical education have increasingly been set for teachers and students by interest groups and political agendas operating outside schools. The second is the timetable which puts groups of students together with teaching and staff and resources within designated curriculum for specific periods of time. It is this which generates planned diversity in the context of order. It decides the social and physical space of students, subjects and teachers. Time is not evenly distributed amongst subject disciplines or to areas of activity within the curriculum. This necessarily acts as a limit upon the actions of teachers and has implications for how they and their subject are perceived. PE tends to receive significantly less time than other ‘core’ subjects. The third factor, schooling, and reaches out to what we have recently referred to as the discursive frames of schooling and is a more complex phenomenon. It is not synonymous with all that goes on inside schools. Curriculum in PE normally entails having the cognitive, emotional, socio-cultural attributes/ resources and discursive resources that are prerequisite to learning in large classes and the different modes of transmission such as methods of making knowledge available to children and young people within them. Whether there are discursive processes, affective and cognitive skills and attitudes which are constantly required by students to facilitate access to curriculum content whatever their measured ‘ability’ or ‘skill’ should be of primary interest to any study of  teaching and learning in contexts of PE. In essence, educators need to make much more complex our ideas of what it is to be ‘skilled’ and ‘able’, or otherwise, in school and contexts of PE. Decisions taken in policy contexts outside school or in the broader school context concerning the timetable, curriculum and ‘schooling’ can thus be seen as frames forming limits or possibilities for the actions of teachers and students.                 References

THE YOUNG CHILD AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Currently, there are numerous arguments regarding curriculum and teaching methods, but it discovered more than the socio-cultural and pol...

Sample Research Paper about Newborn Observation: The Different Aspects of Growth and Development of an Infant

The New Born Observation                                                             Abstract   Infant growth moves from the general to the specific. This is an important facet of human development It rests upon the principle of generalized movement by the infant directed toward more specific actions and precision as time passes. This can be seen readily in the infant whose movements are random at first when attempting an act, then becoming more exact and deliberate, from flailing arms to more specific hand control and finally finger coordination as the infant tries to "pick up" from a flat surface; this represents neuro-muscular maturation, reaching first with an entire limb in an awkward manner and then concluding with natural, self devised restrictions imposed on the arms facilitating more finite hand/finger aptitude. Time and genes allow for this kind of growth; external interferences can do little under this organic sequence. This paper explores\d the different aspects of the growth and development of an infant such as physical and brain growth, , motor and perceptual development, cognitive and language and literacy development and social and emotional development                                 Growth and Development of Infants               Brain Growth               A baby is born with approximately 100,000,000,000 brain cells (Lamb: 2002). Long thin fibers called Synapses produce and join the brain cells at the age of five. This forms the neurological; base of trillions of links upon which a child assembles a lifetime of skills. The final number of synapses is largely determined by his or her earliest experiences. Brain development early in the baby’s life is incomparable. Their brain masters numerous skills so intensely in mind. The baby’s first few years learn vocabulary, math and logic skills which significantly affect their emotional stability.   Physical Growth               Physical growth is very fast during the infancy stage it is considered to have directionality as its general principle (Porges: 2002). Physical development continues to be cephalocaudally because of a child’s head to tail physical growth. The visual system of the child matures faster than the legs, his vision matures earlier than the baby’s locomotion, and they do also have controlled visual much earlier in life than they begin to walk. Then the child’s physical development proceeds to what the experts called proximodistally, here, the center of the body outward. During the third stage, mass to specific development occurs, from large muscle groups to fine muscles. While in the fourth stage of development, usually engages hierarchical integration, here, simple skills are enhance separately and then become more compound through shared integration.             Motor Development               Motor development is as remarkable as physical growth (Adolp: 1997). The infant’s capability to synchronize physical progress develops remarkably in the first 21/2 years. Activities seem unrestrained for the first few months, but coordination enhances swiftly subsequently. For instance a newborn baby still cannot roll over from the position in which his/ her mother placed, emerges the toddler who is progressively more skillful. Definitely, these stages of development always depends on the growth of the baby’s limbs and muscles, physically powerful and prepared to act in a corresponding fashion, it is just right to  assume  a instantaneous progress of neural control over muscle movement. The progress and coordination of motor development depend on both physical maturation and experience. There are two related neurological systems that controls motor activity and these are, pyramidal system, which controls the skilled movements of the child’s extremities and the extrapyramidal systems that controls the child’s posture and coordination.               Perceptual Development               Perception is composed of both experiencing and interpreting the world that an infant live in this is according to some philosophers, psychologists, physiologists and physicists (Aiken: 1996). The infant’s daily experiences increase his or her fascinating perceptual questions. Infants are responsive to binocular and kinetic information by 3 to 5 months of age except they may not be sensitive to static information until about 7 months of age. It is significant to point out, though, that infants younger than 3 months of age probably perceive depth.               Cognitive Development               Cognitive development of an infant can be described as both biological and social because they work harmoniously (Richardson: 1998). Therefore, the biological progress of growth and development is a continuous psychological development of a child. Since the human mind is considered to be a product of a developmental biological potential, it is also referred to as a given socio-cultural context. In this perspective, cognitive development is obtaining complex knowledge would not be possible if all humans did not share some a priori limitations that limits the range of learned knowledge.             Language and Literacy Development             Language is based on the accomplishments in the perceptual, cognitive and social growth of an infant, Infants first recognizes words during the 9th month, until 12 months on the average (Aslin et. Al.:1998). Comprehension follows during the 13th month, where an infant understands 50-words.  For instance, a baby can understand his mother saying “yourecandyisonthetabledarling.” The child learns to separate the sound stream into individual word forms. The child must be able to decode at the same time as speech is heard. However, compound, theoretical, and formidable language is, the cognitively undeveloped child quickly becomes superficial in both understanding and speaking.                 Social Development             The quality of infant-parent attachments is itself influenced by a variety of factors, of which the harmony of infant-parent interaction and the infant’s temperament has been most widely studied (Ainsworth: 2003). The newborn baby is characterized by marked, sudden, unpredictable changes in state and by poor coordination of movements. Behavior becomes more organized over time as internal neural control mechanisms develop. During the first 2 months, caregivers have a major impact on the baby's state of arousal. When babies are distressed, adults intervene to soothe them; even when babies are drowsy they become alert when held erect at the adult's shoulder. Doing so is obviously important, because infants can learn little about their environment—either social or physical—outside these periods of alertness. Relatively long periods of alertness simply do not occur spontaneously during this early phase: It is only through adult intervention that their value can be optimized. Practically, this means that when infants are alert and able to learn about the environment they are often in the arms of their caregivers. Because the caregivers who are close by can be felt, smelled, heard, and seen when infants are alert, babies may come to learn a great deal about them, and rapidly learn to associate their presence with alertness and the relief of distress             Emotional Development              Emotional development and temperamental individuality have been topics of compelling interest to students of infancy because they help shape the child's encounters with the social and object world (Lamb: 2002). Emotional reactions organize how a baby responds to events, and parents devote careful attention to these reactions in their efforts to manage, pacify, accentuate, or redirect them. Over the course of the first 2 years of life, changes in a child's emotional reactions demarcate important transitions in development that are meaningful to caregivers, whether they concern the first elicited smiles, the earliest indications of stranger wariness, or the emergence of nascent expressions of embarrassment. These emotional reactions are significant also because they are viewed by parents as indicators of an emerging individuality—as cues to what the child's behavioral style is like now and will be like in future years. Along with variations in activity level and other dimensions, individual differences in predominant mood, suitability, and emotional intensity define dimensions of temperamental individuality by which infants become behaviorally organized early in life, and by which parents increasingly characterize their children.   Observation of a Newborn and an Interview with the Mother             A newborn baby girl and her mother was observed and interviewed for this study. The baby girl is 2 months and 18 days already, her name is Twanyelle. Physically, Twanyelle is way ahead from other babies same as her age; this is according to her mother. Her weight and height gain is two times greater than other babies. Her limbs are stronger than any other two months old, she can actually lift her head and refuses to be carried lying down. Twanyelle can already control her vision; she is fond of looking at bright colors and can see objects 12 meters away from her. According to her mother, during her pregnancy, Twanyelle is very active inside. She is constantly and very actively moving everyday. She started feeling movements during her 3rd month; usually other pregnant women feel these movements during the fourth month. The social and emotional development of Twanyelle is also rapid. She can now play with her parents and other members of the family. Her mother said that she can now shout and laugh whenever she is having fun talking and playing with her caregivers. Moreover, Twanyelle is already making sounds as her form of response to her caregivers while playing. Her mother believes on the above explanations and theories about the growth and development of infants. She is a teacher and a psychology major that is why she is very knowledgeable about each stages of a child’s development. However, she believes that, each child have different phases of development. A mother should not be alarmed if her daughter’s speech is delayed than the son of her best friend. The physical development of a child is a very important factor in their growth and development.   Activities would Promote Growth and Development of the Newborn             Studies prove that the quality of child care have a great impact to the growth and development of the child. Infants have diverse personalities and temperaments, they develop at different rates (Ainsworth: 2003). Their self-esteem is an important aspect of their development, that is why parents and caregivers should give them constant praise and encouragement. The following points should be considered in order to help boost the development of a child:   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Communicate to your offspring what needs to 	be done at that moment. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Redirect his or her attention or activity 	by using neutral or positive language. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Say no while maintaining love. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Explain the reason for your rule. 	</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Give limited tasks and be specific in your 	request. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Acknowledge children's feelings, but set 	limits. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Help them understand how their actions 	affect others. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Help kids use words to communicate their 	frustrations. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Acknowledge positive behavior. </li> </ul>

Sample Research Paper about Newborn Observation: The Different Aspects of Growth and Development of an Infant

The New Born Observation ...

T.M.A. 02 Option 1: RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN

EK310 – Research with children   TMA No 2 – Option No 1   Can power relations ever be equal between adults and children?   The title of my essay is already suggesting that power relations between adults and children are unequal. Obviously adults are older than children and rules and respect play a big part, but underneath these facts isn't it true that children now have more rights than they have ever had, and they are slowly closing  the power relations with adults gap.   The question of power relations and differences between adults and children can depend on a number of factors, not least including the age of the child and the location of the research, but the fact whether the research is on children or with children can make a big difference in how adults treat children and vice versa.   The main part of my essay will be spent looking at examples of whether relationships between adults and children are equal or unequal or both. I will mostly be using the chapter on 's research in Reader A.   I will also touch on the subject of how gender can fit into the matter of power relations, and whether it makes any difference in them, I will use various sources to do this.   Another point I will be looking at will be the ways in which children can play an active role in research and how adults can view them.  and  believed there were four ways that children and childhood have been identified in research: as an object, as a subject, as a social actor and as a participant/co-researcher, (, 2002, , within )   I will look at whether location figures in power relations and whether it makes any differences in them, I will use various sources for this question.   I will broach the subject of ethics in power relations with the  help of  and Dr 's work on the subject.   I will also talk about situations where power relations are minimal.   And finally I will examine what the future of the state of power relations between adults and children may be like.                           EK310 – Research with children     Children as active participants?   Many researcher do try to include the child in their research by using their opinions and ideas to improve it, whilst others may start out with definite theories and methods where they will not include the child in this way but end up changing their minds, including them and bettering their project in the end.   Also although children can be active participants and can play a major role in the research, if they are not fully involved in every aspect and treated equally, then the adult researchers will still hold the power to interpret and write reports, and put in what they choose. (, 2004, ).   It may be true that when doing researching with children, the adults are in charge, they have to do the organising, obtaining permission, finding resources, and designing the questions, they are the guides.   On the other hand without the children's participation in the research, all the planning is for nothing, one needs the other to function, so the question of the adult being in charge and of there being a power imbalance is sometimes questionable when looked at from this angle.   , I believe got the balance right, she treated the children as equals by being one of them and trying not to lead, She took the time to build a good and strong relationship with the children and their families, so that they then treated her as one of them and they took her into their confidence. (, 2004, )   Living with children, in their community for such a length of time, carrying out activities with the children meant  could form a relationship of vital trust for gathering data. Perhaps this put her on a more equal footing with the children and power differences were not as obvious. (,2004, )   In Bolivia, as in many other countries, many children were the the main wage earners, this meant they could have equal or even more power than the adults in some cases. This could mean that family relations of interdependance may have been stronger.                                 EK310 – Research with children     Children hold power too!   Some children had more responsibilities with the household tasks and looking after their siblings, often though children would challenge adult imposed boundaries to try to gain control and assert their autonomy.   They would seize the initiative to do something, try some bargaining with their parents or siblings, so that they could gain access to more time and space that they could call their own, taking action to shape their own life, seizing control and challenging parental rules. Many children seemed to be re-negotiating their boundaries time and time again to try to gain more independence and freedom from their chores, (, 2004, ) .   Indeed children can hold power in other ways too when it comes to asserting their autonomy and re-negotiating their boundaries. They can fake illnesses to get out of a day at school, have temper tantrums when they want an extra sweet and look extra cute when they have done something wrong and want to be treated more leniently. (,1991, , within )   Children can also rebel against adults and authority by gambling, smoking and refusing to do certain tasks. South African children, (, 1991, , within ).   However there are extremes starting from compliance building to rejection, and children's strategies emerge as they manage their responses to adult control. (, 2004, ).    did find that a balance needed to be struck when she was playing the role of adult, friend, researcher, teacher and assistant teacher. She also found when she was in the role of assistant teacher that this tended to reinforce power inequalities between herself and the children, as she was telling them what to do and was 'in charge' of the class. Where possible she let the children decide what role they wanted her to play. (, 2004, ).   One of the methods of research used by  was semi-participant research, she found it useful to learn by doing, giving her a greater understanding of the children's activities. It was time-consuming though because of the time taken to build up the relationship , and for the time taken to trust her, but also because it could only be done with limited numbers. (,2004, ). This might have meant there was a greater power imbalance apparent until everyone started to trust her.                         EK310 – Research with children     Does gender matter?   The gender of the researcher can be important to children, they may have pre-conceived ideas and choose not to fully trust the researcher, thus hampering the research and making the researcher work that bit harder to build up their trust in them.   In a study carried out by frosh et al 2002 some boys interviewed in groups accounted for the rapport they established with the interviewer in terms of their shared gender and their assumed shared distancing from females.(, 2002, , within )   Whereas 's study based in a girls youth club showed how difficult it was for her to fit in with the girls groups and for them to accept her. She said the girls saw her age as a barrier in being one of the girls, and also the girls had constructed her as a figure of authority.   The girls had also developed small groups, these girls  suggested were constructing their femininity and creating spaces for themselves through this kind of opposition.    did try to get close to her respondents in order to understand actions from their perspective, but met with resistance from them and others when trying to fit into their groups, the girls saw this as an infringement to their private territory and made this hostility clear. (, 1978, , within )   Why would location matter in power relations?   The location can play quite a big part when looking at power relations between adults and children.   When researching at a school, the environment there is one of structure and routine, adults are respected by children and rules are to be followed during the school day.   Thorne spent a lot of time in schools researching gender play with amongst children, she ate with them, played with them and even became like them when she participated in secret exchanges with them. (, 2004, )   She did find that being so close to them and in a school environment stirred memories. (, 2004, ). This may have meant she could relate to them better and through this gain a clearer understanding of them.                       EK310 – Research with children       Perhaps doing research in a place of the child's choosing, such as at their home, would make the child feel more at ease, and enable the researcher to see a different side to them.   Although some children can hold power over the researcher whatever the location, they may know the information needs to come from them, and choose not to to do what is being asked of them correctly and become withdrawn.    researched children both at home and at school, she saw children in their own time, own space and their own 'natural' environment. She has to get used to different customs, learn new cultures and learn to live in a new environment. She tried to keep her research unstructured and tried as best as she could to fit into the children and their families' worlds, so she wasn't so much of an outsider and any power differences were not noticeable, she became like them.   At school she took on many roles, but perhaps the children viewed her differently when she took on the role of authority, especially where there is a set routine and the adult has to be listened to. (, 2004, ) So perhaps living with them in their own environment was the best location for her research as she was a friend to the children and their parents, and she lived their daily life with them, there was nothing anyone could hide not from  or the children as she saw nearly everything as it is.   Power differences within the ethical status of children in research?   The ethical status of children in research is important when looking at the power relations between adults and children, and how although overall adults do hold the most power in research, things are changing...   The three main levels of involving children in research can show crucial power differences in children's status. They can be unknowing objects of research not aware that they are being researched nor asked for their permission. Aware subjects, where they are asked for their consent, and they have agreed to being questioned or observed, but within projects designed and controlled by adults without much leeway. The third level of involving children in research is featuring them as active participants, where they have given permission and the project is about them, using their views, personal accounts and photos, and they are also involved with the planning, directing and reporting. The advantages of this level of involvement has proven that children not only have greater control over analysing their own data but they also enjoy the process far more.                 EK310 – Research with children       There are ethical risks though, the children may reveal far more about themselves and may later regret it or feel shame, and even if this was the way forward, adults overall still hold the power to interpret and write reports. (, 2004, )   The discussion on ethical issues on Audio Band 3 in the coursework was very interesting. Dr  spoke of how you can still know a lot about a child, and when you are talking to them not reveal this, this can be true when talking to their sibling or friend. When researching this can be a deception, it is holding back information from them and in effect holding some power over them.   All the professionals involved in the discussion admitted they had paid children at some point in their careers to be involved in research, but one researcher did try to justify her actions by saying that everyone's time had a value, and that some children were from poorer families who could have done with the money. (, 2004)   This is holding power over the children but also vice-versa, as again without the children's consent and involvement their research would be futile.   Modern medical ethics have forced medical researchers to change their methods. They now carry out less risky research with children and they inform, respect and protect researched children to greater extent. Children and young people now share in planning, conducting and reporting research, and then meeting policy makers to see how it can be used.   A research information leaflet can be useful when explaining in plain english what the children's rights are in research, at the same time informing and reassuring parents and teachers.   A few examples from the points to ask on a research leaflet may be to mention:   ✔ It is ok to say no ✔You can stop to have a break when you want ✔You can pass on any questions.   This would aid in showing the child they have rights, they will be shown respect and they too have some power in the process. (, 2004, )                             EK310 – Research with children     Moving on to talk about where there can be situations where power relations are minimal and why. I believe the best situation for a child and adult to be in is where one person knows the other well, where they trust each other and feel at ease with each other. The best place to do this would be in a place of the child's choosing, such as at home, loosely structured, where the child feels they have some control and that the adult has to learn or follow.   The future of power relations in research with children?   I believe adult-child power relations are changing, the child is more informed and nowadays have more rights, whether that be at school, home or on the world of research.   They are gaining more respect and equality and are protected by law, whether that be the Childrens Act 1995, or the United Nations European Convention of the Rights of the Child 1989. All adults need to thread more carefully as children are more aware of these rights and the adult could be taken to court if they have broken the law in any way.   Even though children are involved in research a lot more nowadays, I believe there is a bigger role for them to play.   They could not only help design a project, they could ask the other children the questions themselves, and even help in the dissemination. They could evaluate it by making suggestions on how to better it, or by saying what parts could be omitted.   I believe power relations can become more equal between adults and children, if children are involved more, asked of their opinions, informed more about what will happen to them, and kept up to date on their rights and what is expected of them.     WORD COUNT- 2517                                       EK310 – Research with children         REFERENCES

T.M.A. 02 Option 1: RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN

EK310 – Research with children TMA No 2 – Option No 1 Can power relations ever be equal between adults and children...

A Child’s Profile Based on Observation

A Child’s Profile Based on Observation Introduction In the child’s developing stage, it is better that the mother or both of the parents is guiding their child to achieve the mind and body development. Through the encouragement of the pediatricians, the parents are aware about the conditions of their child. The period where the child is starting to discover his abilities is considered as one of the crucial parts of his full development and developing his other potentials. During the early childhood that usually ranges in the age 18 months and below, there is an early detection of the capability and incapability of the child that is usually seen in the motor skills of the child. Chosen Method: Gross Motor Skills The motor skills are actions that involve the movement of the body. The motor skills are usually divided in to two groups which are the fine motor skills and the gross motor skills. In the first definition, the fine motors can be described as the movement of the body in smaller actions such as the movements of the hands, wrists, fingers, toes, lips, and tongue. Meanwhile, the gross motor skills, which is also the applied method in the observing a child, can be describe as the counterpart of the fine motor skills. Meaning, the gross motor is the movement of the body which includes the large muscles such as the arms, legs, feet, or the entire body. Both of the motor skills are usually develop together because there are many activities that a child alone or with the guidance of the parents can do. The reason on choosing the gross motor skills is for that it creates a big impression on the side of the observer. The gross motor skills are obvious in the child’s actions and it can develop over a relatively short period of time. Because most of the development occurs during childhood, there is a chance or possibility that the gross motor skills my not develop well. Developmental Observation All children develop the gross motor skills at different times. Some children might be advanced in learning those skills. However, the parents should be aware and be on concern when the children as falling significantly below their age level. Therefore, there is a necessary guideline for the parents to determine that their child is going well with the other children. During the observation of a girl in the playschool, there is an obvious gross motor skill that the girl exerted. She is only 16 months old and very active in play. The young complete withdraw herself from the support of the other people like her mother or the playschool teachers. Often, this girl can’t stand too long and wants to sit or roll over for the things within her reach. When she starts to stoop to pick up toys she is very concern on how she will stand. If there is an available table or chair, she will use it as a support. Her favorite play is throwing or rolling the ball and then give that sweet smile whenever she get it back in her grasp. In most of her play, she is very irritable when someone caught her favorite ball. But she never cries if there is some kid that bumps on her. The most significant action she does during her play time is to carry the things while walking to find a good place for her. Based on her actions, the young has her own ideas in judging on finding the suitable place for her to play.     Analysis The study of the young girl’s gross motor skills demonstrated the competence in a variety of the activities she did during her playtime. Most of her movements are coordinated with the use of her large muscles as if it is required in her playing. In an in-depth sense, the young girl is unaware that she combined several motor skills in an organized way just to satisfy the performance in the activities. It is seen whenever the girl picked up her toys, throw the ball and catch it again, and walking while carrying her toys. The physical activity that a child is engaged to is sometimes based on her own observation of the other children or initiated of the teachers. On the behavior of the child, she only acts based on her environment or through her body control. She is very aware about the things in her environment and coordinated every situation on her large-muscle movements. From there, the young girl can deliver the activities well and satisfy her need for play. The behaviors or the way she act only emphasized her age. The young girl, as well as the other children, loves to play and can get mad if the things they want is not in their hand. Therefore, the young girl is using her muscles, bending her knees, and extending her arm to reach for her favorite toy. It is normal for the children to be noisy and play with the other kids, but the 16-month old girl can play alone. This is because her attention is derived on her toy and the young girl doesn’t want to play along with the kids in the place where she feels uncomfortable.     Recommendation and Conclusion Based on the observation of the child’s development, there are equivalent skills that a child of should perform. In this idea, the collaboration of the parents should provide the children with opportunities to engage in a wide variety of gross-motor activities to learn the full control of her body. One of the major tasks in gross motor development is locomotion or the ability to move from one place to another. In the early exposure of the child in the different skills, the needs are recognized especially on those children that really needs a special attention. The gross motor is important for the children that have problems such as in hearing or sight. In the early guidance of these children, they can support themselves even if their family is not in their side to answer their needs.

A Child’s Profile Based on Observation

A Child’s Profile Based on Observation Introduction In the child’s developing stage, it is better that the mother or both of the paren...