Erikson—a link between child development and guidance.

a. Observe a child who seems to you to be clearly at one of the four of Erikson’s childhood stages. Record actions and words in a fairly typical activity or situation for that child. Using the text material as a reference, analyze why you believe the child is at the stage you identify. Based on your observation, hypothesize about the child’s apparent progress in dealing with the life conflict at that stage. Compare your findings with text material regarding Erikson’s stage theory.

b. Interview a teacher about two children, one the teacher believes is progressing in terms of healthy personal development, and one who is having difficulties in making progress. Assuring that privacy will be protected, learn as much as you can about each child from the teacher. Apply the findings from your interview to Erikson’s ideas in the text about personal development at the stage you believe each child to be in.