Some contemporary societal trends (Naisbitt & Auburdene, 1990; Toffler & Toffler, 2006) aff ecting the future of families and children are outlined as follows:
Biotechnology.
■ Genetic engineering can potentially cure inherited diseases by substituting normal genes for defectiv e ones; but what about using such tech- niques to increase intelligence? Will children have “designer” genes? Assisted re- productive techniques (sperm donation, egg donation, in-vitro fertilization, frozen embryos, surrogacy) enable adults who have fertility problems to become parents;
but what about medical, legal, and ethical risks regarding the child’s welfare? For example, if a male and female contribute sperm and egg for conception to take place in a dish, several resulting embryos are frozen, one or two are implanted in a surrogate who is paid to carry through with the pregnancy, and the biologi- cal parents die, what happens to the children—to whom do the babies and em- bryos belong? What makes one a parent—genes, prenatal environment, postnatal environment?
Large businesses, especially electronics and computers, rarely provide on-site per- sonalized service for problems with equipment. Instead, you, the consumer, must consult the manual and try to diagnose the problem before calling the manufacturer.
How will such business practices aff ect how children are educated—will they need to be exposed to more “hands-on” problem solving?
Reconceptualization of Societal and Individual Responsibilities.
■ Government,
too, is shifting from “paternalistic” policies (a strong authority takes care of less able citizens) to “empowerment” policies (any individual can learn to car e for him- or herself ). For example, government welfare support is waning while “workfare” is waxing. Government funding of Social Security plans is yielding to private insurance and investment programs. How will children whose parents must become more eco- nomically responsible be aff ected?
Information Technology.
■ Th e concept of information technology (IT) is broaden- ing to include not only traditional computer hardware and software but also a wide range of communication tools (such as cell phones, smar t phones, and scanners), media (such as television, cameras, and recorders), and data. Wireless networks a llow users to work, play, and shop any time, any place. F or businesses, operations can be streamlined and effi ciency increased by enabling workers to make plans, make decisions, and generate sales r eports without going to the offi ce. For consumers, m obile commerce off ers the ability to shop for tickets, books, or pizza while waiting in line or at the doctor’s offi ce. People can also download music, videos, and games on hand-held devices. For parents, children might require less time in day care due to eliminating the work commute and having more fl exible time available for family matters.
IT enables knowledge creation and capitalization (one can get medical informa- tion from numerous Internet sources and go to the doctor requesting an advertised
What are some societal trends affecting children?
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28 CHAPTER 1
medication rather than allowing the doctor to diagnose and pr escribe). How do i ndividuals cope with even more choices, advertising, and distractions? How do you feel when you need information or assistance and a computer answ ers the phone rather than a live person? What about privacy issues, personal security, and informa- tion errors? Will IT foster closer connections among family and friends, or come between them, competing for time and space?
According to social forecaster John Naisbitt (2006), in his book, Mindset!: Reset Your Th inking and See the Future, “Technology is a great enabler, but only when in balance with needs and skills and human nature. . . . When a new technology is in- troduced, make it a rule to ask: What will be enhanced? What will be diminished?
What will be replaced? What new opportunities does it present?” (p. 109).
Technology has enabled people to multitask. While multitasking may enhance ef- fi ciency and productivity in adults, research (Clay, 2009) shows that it actually slows children’s productivity, changes the way they learn, and may reinforce superfi cial so- cial relationships.
Globalism/Nationalism.
■ Telecommunications and transportation facilitate a global economy. Labor, production, marketing, and consumption can occur in diff erent places in the world. Does such globalism aff ect standards of production? For exam- ple, in 2007, some toys made in China containing unsafe parts were recalled because some children got hurt. Does globalism aff ect the work families do—job competi- tion, type of job, location of job, skills needed?
As people throughout the world are exposed to greater homogeneity through travel, media, and telecommunications, they sometimes become more nationalistic, clinging to their religious/ethnic traditions for identity. In Jihad vs. McWorld (Barber, 1996), the author defi nes McWorld as the “universe of manufactured needs, mass consumption, and mass infotainment.” It is motivated by profi ts and consumer pref- erences. Jihad, or holy war, is shorthand for the “fundamentalist politics of religious, tribal, and other zealots.” It is motivated by faith in a spirit that governs all aspects of life. Th e terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, were an extreme example of the fanatically defended beliefs in spiritual determinism v ersus self-determination. How has the fear of terrorism changed our lives? We have greater emphasis on national security, exemplifi ed by stricter immigration laws, racial profi l- ing, and government surveillance technology. Are children growing up with attitudes of suspicion and prejudice?
Shift in Decision-Making Responsibility.
■ New advances in science, medicine,
education, economics, communications, media, transportation, security, privacy, and ecology require skills to cope with massive amounts of information. Recently an exterminator asked me to decide which of several available pesticides should be used in my house to get rid of ants. E ven though I was informed of the v arying eff ectiveness and safety of each, I did not really have the appropriate background knowledge on which to base such a decision; yet the responsibility for consequences was shifted to me.
Another example is the shift in responsibility for children’s learning. Th e No Child Left Behind Act of 2004 requires that children take standardized achievement tests.
Schools and teachers are held accountable for children’s learning in that political leaders make decisions regarding funding based on test scores—schools producing low scores are at risk of losing public funding. Does such a system infl uence teachers to “teach to the test” rather than the child?
Information Intermediaries.
■ One way the business world has capitalized on today’s information glut is to off er endorsements (celebrity), enticements (rewards), and s ervices (consulting) to help consumers make decisions. When you buy a book, isn’t
As technology increases, humans compensate by fi nding new ways to interact, as exemplifi ed by cell phones.
MandyGodbehear/Big Stock Photo
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Ecology of the Child 29
it easier to choose one from the New York Times Best Seller List or Amazon’s recom- mendations than to read the book jackets? Do you choose an airline because of its rewards program or the convenience of its schedules and destinations? Do you need to hire a wedding planner or an investment counselor? Will children learn to look to others for decisions, rather than themselves?
Th us, a challenge resulting from these societal trends is the need to create caring communities in which children can learn to think—to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information, not just regurgitate facts (Fiske, E.B., 1992) or form opinions based on conformity to a celebrity. Th e ability to think and use knowledge becomes critical in a world plugged into machines and bombar ded with information and choices (Postman, 1992). Because of new technology and new information, children will have to learn to solve problems not previously encountered. Th ey will have to extrapolate from previous experiences. How will we teach them?
In sum, these contemporar y societal tr ends affect how people use av ailable resources—economic, social, and psychological—in their daily lives; their choices ultimately have consequences for children. Next, we examine ecological trends aff ect- ing children’s well-being.
Effects of Change on the Well-Being of Children
Every year, the federal government issues a report, America’s Children: Key National In- dicators of Well-Being, showing the overall status of the nation’s children. Political leaders use the following indicators (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics [FIFCFS], 2010) to make decisions regarding what services for children will be funded and what new programs need to be developed to address their needs (examples of such services will be discussed in Chapter 10).
Family and social environment indicators
■ document the number of children as
a proportion of the population, racial and ethnic composition, number of non–
English-speaking children, family structure and children’s living arrangements, births to unmarried women, child care, and child maltreatment.
Economic circumstance indicators
■ document poverty and income among children
and basic necessities such as housing, food, and health care.
Health care indicators
■ document the physical health and w ell-being of children, including immunizations and probability of death at various ages, dental care, and number of children with health insurance.
Physical environment and safety indicators
■ document the number of childr en
living in counties with excess concentration of pollutants, children living in com- munities with substandard water, children with elevated blood lead levels, housing problems, crime, injuries, and death.
Behavior indicators
■ document the number of youths who are e ngaged
in illegal, danger ous, or high-risk behaviors such as smoking, d rinking alcohol, using drugs, having sex, or committing v iolent crimes.
Education indicators
■ document success in educating the
n ation’s children, including pr eschool, reading, o verall achievement, completion of high school, and college attendance.
Health indicators
■ document the number of infants
with low birth weight, children with emotional or b ehavioral diffi culties, children who are overweight, and children with asthma.
How does the U.S. government address the needs of children?
Bullying in the neighborhood is a reality many children face, impacting their well-being.
MandyGodbehear/Shutterstock.com
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30 CHAPTER 1
PURPOSE To understand the impact of change (chronosystem) on microsystems and mesosystems.
1. Describe one to three changes you observed:
in your family as you grew up
•
in your school
•
in your peer group
•
in the media—television, movies, or books
•
in your community
•
2. Pick one change for each microsystem and discuss:
why you think it occurred
•
how it aff ected you
•
what impact, if any, it had on the other micr osys-
•
tems (mesosystem)
Activity Summary
Ecology involves studying humans in their physical, so-
• cial, and cultural environments, all of which are aff ected by societal change.
Socialization—the process by which individuals acquir e
•
the kno wledge, skills, and character traits that enable them to participate as eff ective members of gr oups and society—enables adaptation to change.
Socialization, occurring through human interaction, be-
•
gins at bir th and continues thr oughout life. B iological factors (genetics, maturation, temperament) infl uence developmental outcomes.
Socialization is r eciprocal, or bidir ectional, with
•
children playing a r ole in their o wn dev elopmental outcomes.
Society’s concept of childhood has changed o ver time.
•
Th e period of protection for children has gone from being shorter during the R enaissance to longer during the I n- dustrial Revolution due to a need for formal schooling.
Th e agents of socialization are the family, the school, the
• peer group, the media, and the community. Th ese agents employ diff erent socialization techniques.
A theory is an organiz ed set of statements that explains
•
observations, integrates diff erent facts and ev ents, and predicts future outcomes. Th eories provide a framework for research.
Th e bioecological theor y of human dev elopment in-
•
corporates the child ’s dev elopment in micr osystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macr osystems, with r ela- tionships and interactions that take place o ver time (the chronosystem).
Th e microsystem is the immediate small setting wher e
• the child is at a particular time.
Th e mesosystem consists of the intermediate interrelation-
• ships between two or more of a person’s microsystems.
Th e exosystem refers to outside settings in which chil-
• dren do not actually participate, but that aff ect them in one of their microsystems.
Th e macrosystem refers to the larger society and its ide-
•
ology in which a child gr ows up. Macrosystems can be classifi ed as low context or high context, each type hav- ing diff erent infl uences on a person’s perspectives on the world.
Low-context cultures tend to value individualism; high-
• context cultures tend to value collectivism.
Th e chronosystem refers to changes in ecological systems
• over time w ell as in individuals pr oducing ne w condi- tions that aff ect development.
Eff ects of change in the macrosystem on exosystems, me-
•
sosystems, and micr osystems are exemplifi ed in E lder’s study comparing families who were deprived during the Depression and those who w ere not. A major infl uence for children growing up in depriv ed families was their involvement in the adult world of work necessary for the welfare of others.
Contemporary ecology involves societal trends aff ecting
• children’s well-being. Th ese ar e biotechnology , r econ- ceptualization of societal and individual r esponsibility, a shift in decision-making r esponsibility, information technology, and globalism/nationalism.
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Ecology of the Child 31
Related Readings
Boocock, S. S. (2005). Kids in context: Th e sociological study of chil- dren and childhoods. New York: Rowman & Littlefi eld.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Th e ecology of human development. Cam- bridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Campbell, J. (2008). Th e hero with a thousand faces (3rd ed.). Novato, CA: New World Library.
Chess, S., & Th omas, A. (1996). Know your child: An authoritative guide for today’s parents. New York: Jason Aronson.
Garbarino, J. (1995). Raising children in a socially toxic environment.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gardner, H. (2006). Five minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Mintz, S. (2006). Huck’s raft: A history of American childhood. Cam- bridge, MA: Belknap/Harvard University Press.
Moen, P., Elder, G. H., Jr., & Luscher, K. (Eds.). (1995). Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Naisbitt, J. (2006). Mindset!: Reset your thinking and see the future.
New York: Harper Collins.
Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: Nature-nurture interplay explained. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden two. New York: Macmillan.
Toffl er, A., & Toffl er, H. (2006). Revolutionary wealth. New York:
Knopf.
Resources
America’s Children—Key National Indicators of Well-Being http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren Th e Future of Children—translating research into policy
http://www.futureofchildren.org
Department of Health and Human Services—improving the health, safety, and well-being of America
http://www.hhs.gov/children
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
33
1
Ecology of Socialization
Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
—PROVERBS, 22:6
Socialization Sketches Learning Objectives Socialization Processes Aims of Socialization
Develop a Self-Concept Enable Self-Regulation Empower Achievement Teach Appropriate Social
Roles
Implement Developmental Skills
Agents of Socialization Family
School and Child Care Peers
Mass Media Community
Methods of Socialization Affective Methods of
Socialization Operant Methods of
Socialization
Observational Methods of Socialization
Cognitive Methods of Socialization
Sociocultural Methods of Socialization
Apprenticeship Methods of Socialization
Outcomes of Socialization Values
Attitudes
Motives and Attributions Self-Esteem
Self-Regulation/Behavior Morals
Gender Roles Summary Activity
Related Readings and Resources
2
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SOCIALIZATION SKETCHES
34