Dr. Irene Lee, Family and Child Development Specialist University of
Arkansas at Pine Bluff We're concerned about the increase in low birth-weight
babies, families not being able to find affordable child care, the number of
children who experience developmental delays, and the decrease in quality time
families spend together. We need to help teenage parents develop parenting
skills and help their children develop feelings of confidence, self-worth, and
morality. We want to help young parents to understand that their newborn's
remarkable abilities are the foundations for learning. We need to think of
creative ways to get good child development information to those primarily
single parents who can't come to a community setting for information. This could
be done through interactive videos, cassettes, or parenting classes at places of
employment.
Dr. Harold Stevenson University of Michigan, Department of Psychology,
Center for Human Growth New research on infant perception, organization, and
response to stimuli and sensitivity to change of stimulus points out things that
even the best minds of the early parts of this century could not anticipate.
There's much more interest in cross-national and cross-cultural studies than
there was in the past. We contrast how we are influencing the development of our
own children with how parents in other societies are doing the same. In Japan,
for example, there's no interest in formal instruction before the child is six
years old, yet here we have an interest in making classes for four year olds in
pre-reading and pre-math. Why then does is seem we need improving in these
subjects?
Dr. Lillian Katz, Professor of Early Childhood Education Department of
Education, University of Illinois at Champaign One of the new issues in child
development education is the increasing sensitivity to cultural differences in
defining development. Another is the long-term effects of early social
difficulty. I think we're learning a lot more than we did before. We need to
understand how to help children in minority groups to develop so they can
preserve their ethnic identity, but also feel positively toward mainstream
culture. In addition, I think it's important to help children overcome
discrimination and prejudice and to acquire social competence early. I hope
child development studies go in the direction of building intergroup
understanding and toward looking more closely at the long-term effects of early
experience.
Dr. David Elkind, Professor of Child Studies Tufts University Matching
children's abilities with our expectations and demands is important. During the
1950s, education was much more child-centered than it is today. Today teachers
are better trained but not necessarily better equipped because of curriculum
reform. The reform of the 1960s shifted the focus of education away from the
child and toward the curriculum. In terms of the future of child development, I
think we've moved away from the grand theories of education such as Freudian and
Piagetian and toward one that centers more on particular kinds of activities.
They are useful, but we may need the recognition of regular events, the
appreciation of individuality, of individual family styles, and child rearing.
Urie Bronfenbrenner, Professor Emeritus Cornell University, Department
of Human Development and Family Studies, Department of Psychology Children
become motivated to do something because a parent or teacher has shown them how.
We need to remove the hecticness of everyday family life so that there is time
for family activities on a fairly regular basis. That is the kind of interaction
that makes us into human beings. Humans are designed to be great learners, yet
someone has to have time to spend with them. As a society, we are not investing
enough time to train the people who will make the next generation for us.
Finally, there have to be jobs for the family breadwinner. The capacity of
families to function as families depends upon whether the parents are in a
position to do what they know is their job to do.
Maxine Freund, Director of Teacher Preparation and Special Education
The George Washington University One issue in child development is the number of
children living in poverty and what it means for them to grow up in such an
environment. Another is the changing nature of the workforce requiring families
to rely on infant care, childcare, daycare, preschool, and school. We must also
come to understand the necessity for multicultural sensitivity. We must
integrate into our society all families and children who are at risk,
developmentally disabled, or congenitally handicapped. We must prepare to live
together in the next century and to understand the wonderful nature and value of
our own diversity.