Title: Describe cultural, family, economic, and environmental factors that may affect a child’s development.
Course: Early Childhood, Education, and Services I (19153-I) > Section: Promoting Physical, Cognitive, Language, Social, and Emotional Development

Description should include

- results of researching a variety of multicultural environmental factors, parenting styles, and family structures
- comparing a variety of cultures, parenting styles, and family structures
- distinguishing the effect of heredity and environment on a child’s development.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What methods can be used to assess the cultural and environmental factors affecting the development of children?
- What are the goals of assessment?
- What cultural and environmental factors may influence the assessment of a child’s development?
- What is the expected size of a child’s vocabulary at different ages?
- When do children start using sentences?
- At what ages (infant, toddler, preschooler, school age) are certain language and grammar skills developed?
- What activities promote language development in children?
- How is language development interconnected with other areas (e.g., physical, cognitive, social, emotional) of child development?
- What factors influence language development?

Communication

- What skills are necessary to assess children with different cultural and environmental backgrounds?
- How are assessment standards and practices communicated to parents and children?
- How can the results of assessments be conveyed to parents of different cultures, languages, and environments?

Leadership

- What leadership qualities are required to implement effective assessment methods?
- What can be done to ensure that cultural and environmental influences are considered when assessing children’s development?
- What legal and ethical issues are associated with assessment of children’s development?

Management

- What training and resources are required to implement effective assessment methods?
- How should the results of assessment be used?
- How can early childhood professionals incorporate language development into a classroom or curriculum?