- "Emotional Intelligence is a growing body of research findings that Scientifically demonstrate that emotional intelligence predicts how well we perform at home, in school and in the workplace" (Reuven Bar PHD.)
- Clancy examines the construct of emotionality, developmental relations between cognition and emotion, and neural plasticity and frontal cortical functioning and proposes a developmental neurobiological model of children's school readiness. Direct links are proposed among emotionality, use-dependent synaptic stabilization related to the prefrontal cortex, the development of executive function abilities, and academic and social competence in school settings. He considers research on the efficacy of preschool compensatory education in promoting school readiness and recommends that programs expand to include curricula directly addressing social and emotional competence. Research should focus on the ontogeny of self-regulation and successful adaptation to the socially defined role of student, the development of prevention research programs to reflect this orientation, and interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate scientific methods and questions in the pursuit of comprehensive knowledge of human developmental processes. (Clancy)
- Blair, Clancy
After reading about assessments and viewing children as a whole person I thing it is important to include emotional development. If a child is having difficulties it is important to understand where they are coming from behaviors are a symptom of other issues and we should have the tools to allow us to help these children with the emotional barriers as well.
ASSESMENTS IN AFRICA
A culturally relevant developmental assessment tool, the MDAT, has been created for use in African settings and shows good reliability, validity, and sensitivity for identification of children with neurodisabilities. Babies can do very little when they are first born. But, gradually, over the first few years of life, they learn to walk and run (gross motor skills), they learn to manipulate objects with their hands (fine motor skills), they learn to communicate with words and gestures (language skills), and they learn how to interact with other people (social skills). For each of these skill “domains,” experts have identified “developmental milestones,” skills that are acquired by a specific age if development is proceeding normally. So, for example, by one year, a child should be able crawl, put objects into a container, respond to simple verbal requests, and enjoy imitating people during play. Every child attains the various developmental milestones at a slightly different age but their overall development can be monitored using a series of simple tests (items) covering each of the developmental domains. Clinicians and teachers can use these “developmental assessment tools” to identify children whose development deviates significantly from the norm. It is important to identify these children as young as possible because early intervention can help them reach their full developmental potential.(ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2876049/
http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/assessing-and-monitoring-primary-school-children-south-africa
American Psychologist, Vol 57(2), Feb 2002, 111-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.2.111
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/57/2/111/
I also chose to take a further look into the intelligence of children in Africa. From experience because of my extended family through marriage, I was able to get a further look into the educational system and what is important to people from their culture. In many African families cognitive development is extremely important, but over the year educators have been incorporating holistic approaches into their learning and intelligence programs.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, it makes me want to know more about Africa. Thanks for the great read!!!
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