Total Human Development Approach

Total Human Development Approach

- Prenatal stage ( Conception to birth)

- Infancy and toddlerhood ( birth to age 3 )

- New born is dependent but competent.

- All senses operate at birth.

- Physical growth and development of motor skills are rapid.

- Ability to learn and remember is present , even in early weeks of life.

- Comprehension develop rapidly.

- Self- awareness develops in second year.

- Attachments to parents and others from toward end of first year.

- Interest in other children

Period of life span

Major Development

Age

basic body structures and organs form.

Physical growth is most rapid in life span.

Vulnerability to environmental influences is great

Late Adulthood

( 65 years and over )

`Most people are healthy and active, although health and physical abilities decline somewhat.

Slowing of reaction time effects many aspects of functioning.

Most are mentally alert. Although intelligence and memory may deteriorate in some areas, most of them finds ways to compensate.

Retirement from work force.

Loss of ones own faculties and loved ones.

Middle Childhood

( 6 to 12 years)

- Physical growth slow

strength and athletic skills improve.

- Egocentrism diminishes - Children begin to think logically, although largely concretely.

- Memory and language skills increase.

- Cognitive gains enable children to benefit from formal schooling.

- Self- concept develops, affecting self- esteem.

Early chilhood

(3 to 6 years

- Fine and gross motor skills and strength improve.

- behavior is largely egocentric, but understanding of other - peoples perspectives grows.

- Cognitive immaturity leads to some illogical ideas about the world.

- Play, creatively and imagination become more elaborate.

- Independence, self-control and self care increase.

Middle age

( 40 to 65 years )

-Some deterioration of physical health, stamina and prowess take place.

- Women experience menopause.

- Wisdom and practical problem-solving skills are high, ability to solve novel problems.

-Sense of identity continues develop

-Double responsibilities of caring for children elderly parents may cause stress.

-Launching of children typically leaves empty.

-For some, career success and earning powers; for others burnout occurs

-Search for meaning in life assumes central importance.

"Human Development"

- Focuses on the scientific study of ways in which people change, as well as ways in which they stay the same, from conception to death.

- Change is most obvious in childhood, but occurs throughout life. Indeed, the change in a human being over the course of a lifetime are too numerous, too diverse, and often too random to study usefully.

"Developmental Change"

- is systematic in that it is coherent and organized.

- it is adaptive in that is aimed at dealing with the ever-changing internal and external conditions of existence

According to -Jerome Kagan- ( Psychologist)- Human development became a scientific discipline, its goals evolve to include description, explanation, prediction and modification of behavior.

Piaget’s approach to human development has to do with stages in our life. These include the sensory motor stage (birth to about age 2), preoperational stage (begins about the time the child starts to talk to about age 7), concrete stage (about first grade to early adolescence) and formal operations stage (adolescence). The sensory motor stage states that thechild learns about himself and his environment through motor and reflex actions. The preoperational stage states that the child begins to use symbols to represent objects through language learnt over time. In this stage the child has little to no sense of time and is oriented in the present. Children in this stage also think about things they way they want it be; sort of like a fantasy.

Young adulthood

( 20 to 40 years )

- Physical Changes are rapid profound.

- Reproductive maturity arrives.

- ability to think abstractly and use scientific reasoning develops.

- Adolescent egocentrism persists in some behavior.

- Search for identity become crisis.

- Peer groups help develop and test self concept.

- Relationships with parents are generally good.

Adolescence

( 12 to about 20 years)

- Physical health peaks, then declines slightly.

- Cognitive abilities assume more complexity.

- Decision are made about intimate relationships.

- Most people marry, most become parents

- Career choices are made.

"Human development, as an approach, is concerned with what I take to be the basic development idea: namely, advancing the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the economy in which human beings live, which is only a part of it." - Amartya Sen,

The human development approach is as relevant as ever to making sense of our changing world and finding ways to improve people’s well-being. Human development is an evolving idea, not a fixed, static set of precepts. And as the world changes, analytical tools and concepts will also continue to evolve. Yet the core insight at the center of the human development approach remains constant and as valid today as it was two decades ago: Development is ultimately best measured by its impact on individual lives.

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jonathan