Resources

Glossary

• Altruism – is the ability to be concerned for another person’s well-being. Essentially this is an unselfish concern and can include a willingness to support a person with no advantage to ones-self.

• Empathy – is the ability of the child to both understand what another person is feeling and to have an idea of the experience that is had. This is different to sympathy which is about caring and understanding but not including feeling.

• Gender identity – is the term given to the person’s inner sense of what gender they feel they are – male, female or transgender.

• Imaginary friends – the child creates an invisible or pretend friend in their imagination who they talk to and play with. The friend exists only in their imagination although the child can act as though the friend is real. This can help develop imagination and can support the child when stressed or lonely.

• Moral development - is the development relating to understanding the issues of fairness and justice in the society in which the child lives – this is based on the ethics, cultural and societal rules or laws in the society.

• Play – is the activity undertaken by children to explore and understand their environment and to follow their inclination to engage in something they enjoy. It supports the child in developing their creativity and imagination, testing and practising social skills. There are a number of specific types of play seen as the child develops.

• Prosocial behaviour – is an action that intended to help some-one else – the motivation is self-less or altruistic with no expectation of reward.

• Solitary play – babies and toddlers to around 2 years old – the child plays on their own and doesn’t pay attention to anyone else.

• Stereotype – represents a set of fixed, often pre-conceived ideas about a person or group of people in terms of how the people behave and what they are like. This is typically over-simplified and can group people into categories, eg the woman is always the main carer for a child in a family.

Books

Boyd, D and Bee, H. (2012) Lifespan Development. 6th ed. Pearson Education: New Jersey.
Boyd, D and Bee, H. (2012) The Developing Child. 13th ed. Pearson: New Jersey.
Gross, R. (2015) Gross, R (2015). Psychology. The Science of Mind and Behaviour. 7th ed. Hodder Education: London.
Sheridan, M. (2008) From Birth to Five Years. Children’s Developmental Progress. 3rd ed. Routledge: New York

Journals

Social development from two to five years old - Print summary

Social development in this age group is shown by the growth of a child’s interactions and relationships with others and the development of social skills. A child between the ages of 2 and 5 generally feels more secure than when they were an infant and becomes more able to separate from parents or carers for an increasing length of time. Social development in this age group is more focused on forming relationships with friends and wider peer groups. There is a significant decline in solitary play. The development of prosocial behaviour and the first steps in moral development are central to the formation of these relationships. Sex and gender identity also begins to play a role in social development at this age range with children preferring to interact with children of the same gender generally. Gender specific behaviours also become apparent, but this might be largely related to societal influences.

Learning outcomes

By completing this resource you will be able to:

• Describe the social development of children aged 2 to 5 years, focusing on the development of prosocial behaviour, moral reasoning and peer relationships.

Please type any additional notes and comments you have on this resource in the field below: Print

Learning outcomes

By completing this resource you will be able to:

• Describe the social development of children aged 2 to 5 years, focusing on the development of prosocial behaviour, moral reasoning and peer relationships.

This resource was developed by:

Name: Mary Y Brown

Role in Project: Content Author

Qualifications: MMSci Ed, PGCertPT, BSc (Hons), RNCB, RNT.

Previous experience: Mary is an Assistant Professor with the School of Health Sciences teaching communication skills, innovation and recognising culture and diversity through experiential learning. She is a Registered Nurse Child Branch with a specialty in Paediatric Oncology and supporting children with complex needs and their families.

Name: Louise Clarke

Role in Project: Content Author

Qualifications: PGCHE, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology, Diploma in Nursing, RN Child, FHEA.

Previous experience: Louise's clinical career involved a variety of medical and surgical settings and a specialisation in paediatric plastics and cleft lip and palate care. She is currently employed as a Child Health Lecturer at the University of Nottingham involved in teaching communication, interpersonal and leadership skills alongside facilitating the development of clinical practical skills in undergraduate children's nurses.

Name: Carol Hall

Role in Project: Content Author

Qualifications: PhD, RSCN, RGN, RNT, PFHEA.

Previous experience: Carol is an experienced nurse teacher and children's nurse, who worked across a range of children's acute healthcare settings before becoming a ward manager on a teenage care ward for young people with both physical and mental health concerns. Carol is currently an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Education within the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham.

Name: Liz Hilton

Role in Project: Technical Developer

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Graphic Design, BSc (Hons) Biology,

Previous experience: Liz has a wide background in design and E-learning in a wide range of sectors, including industry, the NHS and academic.

Name: Laura Holliday

Role in Project: Content Author

Qualifications: MNursSci, RN Child.

Previous experience: Laura's clinical experience includes children's cardiology, medicine and respiratory. She has previously led a hospital wide preceptorship programme, working within a practice development team. She is currently employed as a Teaching Associate in Child Health at the University of Nottingham.

Name: Lydia Jones

Role in Project: Technical Support and audio manager

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Media Production.

Previous experience: Lydia has worked in the HELM team at the University of Nottingham for 7 years and is currently the e-learning and project development officer. She has many years' experience in project management and audio and video production.

Name: Gill Langmack

Role in Project: Lead Content Author

Qualifications: MSc, PGCHE, BSc (Hons) Nursing, RSCN, RGN, FHEA.

Previous experience: As an experienced Children's Nurse and educator, Gill has extensive experience of nursing children and their families in both acute and critical care areas. Gill is currently lecturing as an Assistant Professor within the University of Nottingham, School of Health Sciences.

Name: Helen Laverty

Role in Project: Principal Content Reviewer

Qualifications: MSc. (Human Development), Cert Ed (FE), RNLD, SFHEA

Previous experience: Helen is an Assistant Professor with the School of Health Sciences & Professional Lead for learning Disability Nursing. Her teaching specialities relate to the concept of ordinariness, human development, and person centred philosophies. She has extensive experience in the development of RLOs. She is a Registered Nurse Learning Disabilities specialising in promoting an ordinary life for children and young people and leadership.

Name: Andrew Lee

Role in Project: Technical Developer

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Economics.

Previous experience: Andrew has 5 years web development experience working with small businesses, consultancy and app. creation. Twelve years game design experience as senior designer and design lead with oversight of design scripting, level design, scheduling and game mechanics.

Name: Liz Maslen

Role in Project: Project Lead (NCC)

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Psychology, CMI PGDip.

Previous experience: Liz currently works as the Children's Workforce Development Manager at Nottinghamshire County Council. She has 17 years' experience within the childcare sector, and during this time has worked within voluntary, statutory and private organisations. She has also been involved with the management and delivery of regional and national training programmes aimed at multi-agency frontline practitioners and parent groups.

Name: Roz McCormick

Role in Project: Content Initiator

Qualifications: BA (Hons)

Previous experience: Roz is a qualified probation officer. She has worked in education, criminal justice and training since 1995, and has initiated, developed and delivered a variety of developmental projects with the intention of enabling professionals to work in partnership with service users. She initiated contact with University of Nottingham in pursuit of a rock solid knowledge base upon which to create a robust child development learning platform.

Name: Sally Melling

Role in Project: Content Author

Qualifications: EdD, MPhil, BA (Hons) Nursing, RN (Adult), RN Child, RNT

Previous experience: Sally is an Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham. She has over 30 years' experience as a children's nurse and educator. She is currently the Professional Lead for children's nursing.

Name: Elisabeth O'Brien

Role in Project: Lead Content Author

Qualifications: MEd, PGCHE, BSc (Hons), RGN, RHV, Obs Cert, FHEA.

Previous experience: Elisabeth worked in neonatal intensive care and a Bone Marrow Transplant unit . After working as Health Visitor in the U.K and abroad she joined the Child Health Team at the University of Nottingham.

Name: Cherry Poussa

Role in Project: Technical team manager

Qualifications: MSc, BSc.

Previous experience: Cherry is Head of Digital Learning Support Services in the School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham with responsibility for IT systems, e-learning and online services and managing the integration of technical platforms to support the processes within these areas. She plays a key part in implementing the HELM strategy and supporting the technical and budgetary aspects of e-learning and digital media research projects.

Name: Mike Taylor

Role in Project: Technical Lead

Qualifications: MSc in Information Technology, PGC in Multi-Media design, BA (Hons) Media and cultural studies.

Previous experience: Mike has worked as a learning technologist for over 10 years at the University of Nottingham. He is currently the Project Development Lead for the HELM team and is working on the development of reusable learning objects (RLOs) both for the school of health sciences and for external projects.

Name: Richard Warr

Role in Project: Technical Implementer

Qualifications: MCIPD.

Previous experience: Originally an Optician, Richard moved into training, initially clinical support and then as a professional examiner. Over the next 25 years he became CIPD qualified and a member of the British Psychological Society. He has supported learners in: personal development, leadership and management, psychometric profiling, customer service and bespoke systems training amongst others. Over the last 4 years Richard has focussed on eLearning design and learning systems management within Nottinghamshire County Council.

Name: Richard Windle

Role in Project: Project Lead and Instructional Designer

Qualifications: PhD, PGCAP, BSc (Hon), PFHEA

Previous experience: Richard is an Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham. He is currently co-academic lead for the HELM team. As well as leading online curriculum development, his research and development interests include open multimedia learning content pedagogy and reuse, stakeholder involvement in content development and student generated content.

With thanks to the following who reviewed the content of the resources:

University of Nottingham Nursing students (Child field):

Ryan Clarke, Clare Cribdon, Aoife Fehilly, Rosanna Jones, Ruth Jones, Kelly Parker, Simone Portman and Molly Wright

University of Nottingham Lecturers in Health Sciences:

Paula Dawson, Damion McCormick, Alexandra Lewandowska-Smith and Heather Wharrad

Nottingham County Council Family Workers:

Helen Bingley, Susan Bird, Debbie Jesson, Meena Sharma, Dina Vitelli and Sharon Warman

With Thanks to:

The young people their families and colleagues who have provided audio and visual resources.

James Henderson, Thomas Stackpoole and Stathis Konstantinidis who provided additional audio narration for these resources.

Kirstie Coolin, Simon Riley and Nicholas Whiting for additional technical support.

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