Hazan and Schaffer’s (1987) Love Quiz supported Bowlby’s theory in concluding that those children who had a secure attachment as infants tended to go on to have lasting loving relationships. However these results cannot be relied on as they were dependant on who replied to the newspaper quiz so therefore did not represent the wider population.
Mary Ainsworth (1967) also supported Bowlby’s theory in particular his sensitivity hypothesis. She stated that children whose parents provided them with a secure base and who nurtured and were consistent carers would grow into emotionally secure adults.
Bowlby found that adults are innately programmed to form attachments with their children although he also stated that it is in fact the child that determines who they choose as their primary attachment. This is not necessarily the main caregiver. Bowlby’s ideas were based on the research of Harlow and Harlow (1962) where experiments on young monkeys showed that food held little importance while the presences of a mother figure offered protection and a secure base. Bowlby believed that attachment is not about physically interaction but very much about the emotional support and interaction shown to the child. Bowlby described this as monotrophy.
“The special significance of monothrophy is that it alone provides the experience of an intense emotional relationship, which forms the basis of the internal working model; the schema a child has for forming future relationships.”
(Bowlby, J, (1907 –1990) Online,
Lorenz (1952) studied the imprinting behaviour in baby geese. This study showed that during the critical period attachments are formed as a result of innate understanding.
In today’s early years setting’s Bowlby’s theory can be linked to good practice.
Early years settings develop inclusive policies and procedures that ensure any child starting their setting are supported emotionally through the settling in period. (Appendix A). Some childcare settings provide home visits prior to a child attending the setting. This is an opportunity for the practitioner to see the child in their own environment with their parents and where they feel safest. This Ainsworth refers to the secure base. It bridges that link from home to school for the child. This forms part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance (2007) and shows the practitioner how important their role is and why. The early learning goal,
“Children feel safe, secure and able to trust the practitioners who work with them”
(DfES, 2007, p28)
cited within the Personal, Social and Emotional Development section prompts practitioners to plan and ask the question how can we support this child so that the child meets this goal. Practitioner’s can also support parents in helping to reduce the separation anxiety by ensuring good forms of communication i.e. telephoning or texting parents to let them know their child has settled. Taking photographs of their child engrossed in a play activity and one to one conversations on how their child has been during the settling in period will reassure parents that their child is happy and secure.
“Separation from an attachment figure is potentially a major trauma for a child and can have serious consequences”
(Oates J, 2007, p 36)
Within the Birth to 3 Maters Framework (2003), practitioners are given guidance on appropriate interaction with children under three years of age. It also demonstrates the importance of attachment and supports both Bowlby’s and Schaffer’s theory of a mother’s attachment and the attachment of other significant people.
“Before birth babies are literally attached to their mothers. After birth this very important attachment mostly continues although they are physically separate. Soon other people become important too – Dads, and perhaps siblings and grandparents.”
(DfES, 2003, Attachment- key – person, CD-Rom)
Every Child Matters (2003), the Government legislation lays down the importance of integrated working and how practitioners play a vital role in the welfare of the child:
“We all share a duty to do everything we can to ensure every child has the chance to fulfil their potential”
(Dept of Health, 2003, p6)
So within early year’s settings practitioners acknowledge the importance of their role in supporting children’s individual needs by ensuring a child is assigned a key person, who meets and greets both the child and their parents, communicates all information and gets to know the child and family. (Appendix B). The practitioner can therefore plan the day accordingly and ensures the practitioner meets the needs of the child, so supporting the child’s emotional needs at this time. For children in full day care under the age of three it is crucial that practitioners endeavour to form attachments with the child by using their own name as often as possible, using eye contact and never being too far away from the child should they need them.
“Early bonding relationships start children off with secure foundations which help them to understand the challenges of life”
(Bruce T, 2004, p33)
All day care providers must adhere to The Ofsted National Standards for Full Day Care these standards reinforce the role of the key person. It states that the key person:
“Provides a vital link with parents and carers and are often crucial in settling children into a setting”
(DfEE, 2001, p.12)
Bowlby’s theory on how important the child’s first secure attachment is in supporting their future development would seem to be accurate. Children with strong attachment figures can be seen to build stronger emotional bonds with significant others. However Bowlby does underestimate the ability of children to form secure attachments later on and also that children can endure periods of separation from their primary carer. Children in day care quickly adapt to new people provided the right emotional support is implemented.
Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation theory was based on the study of juvenile offenders whose evidence was gathered in retrospect so is therefore unreliable and this group is not representative of the normal population.
Jean Piaget (1886 – 1980)
“Piaget is best known and perhaps most influential of the cognitive theorists (Bjorklund, 2000) but he is also the most criticised. Just as Freud, it is easy to find lots of things he did that were methodologically flawed, but nevertheless we are left with interesting and valuable insights that add to our understanding of children”
(Macleod – Brundenell, 2004 p.140)
Jean Piaget believed that children construct their own knowledge through their own experiences of the world around them. They learn from ‘doing’ rather than being told what to do and he focused on what children have and not what they lack. He believed that children’s ability to adapt to their environment was vital if they were to develop cognitively. It is therefore the reason that Piaget’s work is commonly known as a cognitive constructivist approach.
Piaget identified that children’s cognitive development occurs in defined stages that can not only be observed but also measured. These stages are dictated by biological maturity and the child’s interaction with the environment. Through interaction a child builds their own mental framework or schema for understanding and interacting with the world around them. Using the processes of Assimilation and Accommodation the child achieves Equilibrium. The process of disequilibrium tests the child and drives the child to develop further. Lev Vygotsky was one of many cognitive theorists who supported Piaget’s view that children’s cognitive development takes place in stages although both Vygotsky and Bruner agreed that social and cultural influences along with supportive adults play a more important role in children’s cognitive development. Piaget believed that children operated as “lone scientists” learning independently through the exploration of the environment; however Vygotsky also placed an importance on social and cultural interaction with the world and the use of language during children’s learning. This suggests that children learn through watching and listening to adults and how they model behaviour. This would enable the child to develop the skills for thinking and learning.
“ What a child can do with assistance today she will be able to do herself tomorrow”
(Lev Vygotsky cited in Foundations for Independence 2001 p 12)
“Piaget stressed the importance of the physical environment in stimulating them to learn. However Bruner saw language as an important medium for adults to stimulate children to think and understand beyond their current grasp”
(Lindon J, 2005, p41)
Piaget went on to identify four stages of cognitive development.
Piaget proposed that babies under two years of age use physical and sensory skills more than any other, this he called the sensori-motor stage. This is true of most babies this age, as they like to hold objects in their hands and use their mouth to explore how they feel and taste. Practitioners support this stage through sensory activities such as feely bags and objects that make sounds. Practitioners working with under 3’s can use the Birth to 3 Matters Framework to support planning appropriate play activities to support cognitive development.
“ Young babies explore their immediate environment of people, objects and feelings through their senses.”
(DfES, (2002), A competent Leaner, Being Creative)
Piaget also believed that children have a tendency to view the world from their own perspective. This he stated was the Pre Operational Stage, aged two to seven years. He stated that children also find it difficult to see the world from others point of view. This is described as egocentrism. Piaget’s and Inheber (1956) ‘three mountains experiment’ demonstrated egocentrism in four year old children. It concluded that at four children tended to choose their own view whereas at six years of age children were more aware of others view points but still had a tendency to choose the wrong one.
Children then moved on to the Concrete Operation stage, aged seven to eleven years. This linked to how children think and see different perspectives then finally from the ages of eleven moving onto the Formal Operational Stage where children are capable of more formal and abstract thinking. Vygotsky believed that children were born with basic mental capabilities. With support from a more experienced child or adult the child could be taken to a higher level of understanding which is referred to as Zone of Proximal Development.
“Although Vygotsky was critical of Piaget he realized the importance of the information Piaget gathered. In spite of his critisms, Vygotsky built his educational theories on the strengths of Piaget.”
(Vygotsky Analyzes Piaget’s Development Theory. Online)
Bruner (1966) supported both Piagets and Vygotskys theories and adapted and developed these further. He disagreed with the theory of stages but stated that children retain information differently at different ages. He did however support Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and stated that adults needed to “scaffold” children’s learning in order for them to achieve their full potential.
Early years settings across the country take on the work of Piaget’s cognitive development theory. Practitioner support and extend children’s learning through the provision of a stimulating, challenging and rich environment.
“Role play gives children the opportunity to make sense of the world. It is sometimes useful to have two scenarios such as home and the shop, which allows children to make connections in their learning”
(DfES, (2003), p.31)
Role-play areas offer a valuable resource for children to reenact home or family life situations, opportunities for language and number activities, such as play dough making, counting out quantities, cutting out shapes and making cakes. The role of the practitioner is to extend learning with the use of open ended questions, “What would happen if…” Why is the dough…” This provides the child with opportunities for independent thoughts and answers and problem solving.
“Open ended questions support children in thinking in open ended ways, with the possibility of unexpected and inventive outcomes”
(DfES, (2003), p.31)
Practitioners can further support language and communication skills by demonstrating stragies such as listening and responding to children’s conversations. Providing games, songs or stories that encourage turn taking and sharing will help children to understand and be aware of others points of view.
Play activities such as sand and water are a great means for children to extend their learning with opportunities for sensory play, sinking and floating, weighing and measuring.
Opportunities to extend learning can also be found outdoors. Piaget placed a great importance on the environment and children’s ability to adapt. Practitioners are ever conscious that they provide a stimulating and interesting environment with familiar resources Children enjoy nothing better than to dig in the garden, plant seeds and see how they grow.
“For children to be confident to try new activities and initiate ideas, practitioners will need to provide an environment that allows a wide range of choices and opportunities for self initiated activity.”
(DfES, 2003, p31.)
Practitioners follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Guidance for 3 to 5 years olds in order to plan structured activities that wil extend learning and aid children to meet the early learning goals for their age or development stage. The setting’s planning is built upon detailed observations on what the child can do and where they are within their developmental stage. Through the process of observation practitioners identify key strengths and weakness of development. Practitioners can then prepare the learning environment to support individual needs. This also supports and identifies the role of the practitioner; this can be linked to both Piaget and Vygotsky.
Curriculum planning is evaluated and assessed to ensure that individual needs of the child are met and that practitioners monitor children’s progress. Plans should also be flexible and challenging to extend children’s independence and thinking.
Piaget’s theories have had an important influence on today’s childcare practices. It has changed the way in which children are taught thus making learning more effective and enjoyable.
Piaget’s studies were seen as original and effective procedures however such procedures were believed to lack scientific precision. Another criticism of his experiments was that he did not take into account the child’s social understanding of the tests, which may have led to the child giving the expected answer rather than their true thoughts. It was also widely thought that Piaget also underestimated the role of cultural influences when caring out his experiments. Piaget’s experiments were mainly carried out on his own children so therefore were not representative of the wider population.
This assignment has looked at the work of John Bowlby and his emotional development theories. It has focused on the impact of his work in early years settings.
Children born in 1953 probably had a very different childcare arrangement to children born today. It is probable that children were cared for by their mother, in comparison to today’s children where a high percentage of children are cared for in a day care setting cared for more children. Nevertheless children in day care are supported by professional, caring practitioners who are well qualified in the needs of the child and endeavour to provide children with warm, affectionate and secure relationships.
Bowlby’s theory of attachment is still relevant in today’s understanding of child development.
The assignment has also looked at the work of Jean Piaget and examined his theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s work had influenced the way in which children are taught and how practitioners can “scaffold their learning” Providing rich, stimulating environments where children are encouraged to take a more active part in their own learning with practitioners as positive role models.
This assignment has provided a greater understanding of developmental theorists and has shown the relevance of the theories in early years practice. It has identifies the importance of these theory’s in understanding how children learn and how practitioners can ensure that children achieve their full potential.
Reference List.
Arcus, D, (1998) Encyclopaedia of Childhood and Adolescence, John Bowlby (1907 – 1990) Online, (accessed on 28th April 2008)
Bayley, R, Featherstone, (2001), Foundations for Independence, Lutterworth, Featherstone Education Ltd.
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Bowlby, J, (1907 –1990) Online, . (Accessed 13th May 2008)
Bruce, T, (2004), Developing Learning in Early Childhood. London: Paul Chapman.
Department for Education and Skills, (2002), Birth to 3 Matters: A Framework to Support Children in their Earliest Years: London: DfES.
Department of Health (2003), Every Child Matters. Norwich: The Stationery Office.
Department for Education and Skills, (2007), The Early Years Foundation Stage. London: DfES.
Evan, M, (2005), Free Time, Nursery World, 6th October 2005.
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Lindon J, (2005) Understanding Child Development, London: Hodder Arnold,
Lindon, J (2006) Taking Charge, Nursery World, 12th December 2006.
Macleod – Brundenell, (2004), Advanced Early Years Care and Education, Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers.
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Oates,J , (2007), Early Childhood in Focus 1, Attachment Relationships, Milton Keynes: Open University.
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