Читать книгу The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development - Группа авторов - Страница 114

A child’s social development forms the basis for how they come to understand the social world, how they form and maintain relationships with others, and how they make moral decisions. These all require sophisticated skills and rely on individuals being able to judge what is appropriate in situations based on complex social judgments and in response to subtle social cues. How children navigate this is shaped by their previous experiences of relationships and the interactions they have with others. They will see how others behave and react towards them and others – contributing towards their own self‐perception. They will also be influenced by cultural values, which set out expected norms surrounding emotional expression, social actions, and decisions about moral conduct. Children’s social development therefore needs to be considered in view of their social and cultural experiences.

The benefit of ecological perspectives here is their attention to the multitude of intersecting factors that contribute to social development, and their recognition of the multilayered spheres of influence – from those that are direct and immediate, to those that are more remote and subtle. Ecological perspectives emphasize relationships and reciprocity. The person is not a lone individual – they are part of a complex system of networked interactions. Ecological perspectives are therefore, by their nature, social and can offer a valuable lens for understanding various domains of social development.

It would not be feasible in this chapter to explore multiple aspects of social development. Therefore, the intention is to examine two focused examples (namely, parenting and attachment, and bullying) and explore in more detail the contribution of ecological perspectives to our understanding of these specific areas.