Physical, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood 4
School is an important and common experience where socioemotional and moral development play out. For this assignment, Compose a written analysis of a case study on Angela, who is in late childhood.
Angela is a 10-year-old child who identifies as mixed race. Her father of Jamaican and Trinidadian descent and mother of Irish descent divorced when she was about 8 months old. Because her father moved out of state and her mother worked long hours, Angela spent a substantial amount of time with her grandmother until she was about 5 years old. Her mother, who was employed as a server, sometimes worked 10- and 12-hour shifts. Her father worked as a manager of a grocery
store seafood department and was sometimes relocated to new stores.
Angela has recently moved to a new location with her mom, farther from her grandma, about 30 minutes away, and into an entirely new school district. Imagine that you are Angelas guidance counselor. Her teacher came to you recently and said, Angela is really quite intelligent and super creative, but I have noticed she is having a difficult time making friends. Do you
think you could help her? Of course, you are willing to help one of your students, and you begin by observing Angela on the playground.
You have decided to have a couple of meetings with Angela to get to know her and then hope to bring her mom into the conversation.
Part I
Using your developmental psychology background (e.g., attachment, temperament, self-esteem), determine the following
items:
1. What type of attachment would you predict that Angela has with her caregivers? How would you predict that this has affected her adjustment? Explain how Angelas cognitive and physical changes come into play.
2. In psychology, we know that labels can be dangerous. How would you have a conversation with Angelas mother about how Angelas temperament and peer status might be affecting her adjustment at her new school without giving Angela a negative label?
3. You have the impression after meeting with Angela and her mother that they are on board with being proactive in creating positive change for Angela. What three steps would you suggest Angela and her mother take that would improve Angelas self-esteem and emotional maturity? Describe the changes that take place in the adolescents relationship with her parents that come into play in these three steps you suggest.
Part II
Thanks to your work as her guidance counselor, Angela has made a successful transition and has friends at her new school. Furthermore, she has been asked to participate in a program as a peer mentor. Angelas school has a great deal of socioeconomic, racial, and cultural diversity.
Unfortunately, there has been a significant amount of bullying due to perceptions regarding differences. Angelas role is to help other kids in her elementary school make prosocial decisions
around the issue of bullying.
Once you’re done with the case study, answer the questions below in a single document. Your total response (for Parts I and II combined) must be at least two pages in length.
1. How may the role of Angelas peers in her life be changing because she is in middle childhood?
2. What important factors have researchers discovered that increase the likelihood of bullying?
3. Given what you have learned about moral development in this unit, how would Lawrence Kohlberg approach Angela and her peers given his theory of moral development? What would a plan for much younger students, such as kindergarteners, look like if it were created by Angela?
4. If Angela was working with her female peers, would you recommend a different strategy? Would that align with Carol Gilligans perspective?
