Core Chronicles Volume 2

Social and Behavioral Development in Correlation with Educational Approach Alexandra Buchlmayer Introduction For my Child and Adolescent Development class, we had to write an observation paper based on our choice of observation on children. I chose to do the four- to six-year-old age range, which meant I was to go to either a daycare center or school. Instead of focusing on children at one school, I wanted to compare the social skills and behaviors of students in two different learning environments. As an ardent Catholic, I decided to choose Catholic schools as my observation ground. I compared students from a child-centered learning program, meaning the students have more authority over what they learn and interact with during each class period, and students from a typical academic program where the teacher has primary instruction on what is learned. My goal was to determine whether children develop better socially and behaviorally under one educational approach versus another.

Participants I observed students from The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (COGS) at St. Matthew Cathedral Parish and School and students from Our Lady of Hungary Catholic School (OLH), both in South Bend, Indiana. The children in both schools were between the ages of five and six. There were four males and five females at COGS, most of which were Caucasian, while a few were Hispanic.

There were four males and six females at OLH, all of which were Hispanic except one African American female. The students observed at OLH all seemed to be of a lower socio-economic status than those of COGS. Overview of the Day The teacher at COGS reviewed practical-life lessons for a majority of the day. These included teaching all the students how to pour with big creamer cups and beads, instructing them on how to scoop rocks into bowls using a large spoon, and having them practice grabbing liquid-filled balls with large tongs. She then split the class into two sections: those who had learned the upcoming theology lesson and those who had not. Once the class 80