Child Development Case Study Sample
Case Study
Yasmin is 13 years old. She grew up in Syria and migrated to Australia 3 years ago. Yasmin had a very happy childhood in Syria. She had one brother only, they were very close like friends. They both enjoyed the art subject at school and did many art projects together. However, things changed when the war started. Yasmin’s brother was killed in an explosion when he was walking back home from school. His death was a shock for everyone, but they never talked about it as a family. Later that year, her family migrated to Australia. Initially, Yasmin wasn’t happy about the move, she missed her friends and found language very difficult. But things are different now,
Yasmin has 2 very close friends and she is doing well in school. However, the situation at home isn’t very good because her dad is increasingly becoming more controlling. He doesn’t allow her to see her friends or talk to them outside school. Also, he walks her to and from school every day which is very embarrassing for her. Her parents are well known in her school, they come to all the school events and activities to support Yasmin. They also make regular contact with the school counsellor to make sure that Yasmin is well supported. Yasmin likes the school counsellor and she makes regular appointments with her. The counsellor informed Yasmin about new art classes starting in the local library. The local library is not very close, and she would have to use the bus. Also, the classes are not free and there is no concession or discount. Yasmin talked to her mum about this opportunity. Yasmin’s relationship with her mum is very good, her mum is very supportive of her, but she told her that they won’t afford the classes because her dad has recently lost his job. Yasmin’s family is a bit isolated because they live far from other Syrian families and they are not very well connected to their neighbours. They have been saving money to buy a car which should make things easier.
Imagine that you are a social worker or human service worker tasked with helping Yasmin to develop her resilience. With attention to all levels of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and focusing on Yasmin’s developmental stage, using either Erikson, Piaget or Vygotsky's theory, consider what is going on for Yasmin and what you, as a social worker, can do. Write an essay using the following headings:
• Introduction
• Adversities
• Protective environments
• Vulnerability
• Resilience
• Conclusion
Assessment 2 needs to be 2700 words in length and supported by at least eight academic references adhering to APA referencing conventions. The references need to be distributed evenly across all sections of the essay.
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Solution
Introduction
A child's development depends on the outer surroundings as the interaction with the extreme environment impacts the improvement of the psyche. The essay will describe the process of enhancing the individual's resilience with a special reference to the case study. The ecological system theory will be enunciated, focusing on the adversities and complications faced by Yasmin during her early childhood. University Assignment Help, The developmental stages will be enunciated, focusing on the intrinsic growth of the child. The crisis and vulnerabilities will be put forward that make the economy strong and profitable. The discussion on the protective environments in the essay will uphold how it is important to posit the child in the exact kind of environment.
Adversities
As posited by the case study, the Syrian war brought a permanent shock to Yesmin, who led a secure childhood in Syria. The happy memories with the little brother gave her complete satisfaction; they shared many things. Days glided on beautifully until the day the brother went to school and never came back. The sensorimotor stage was going well unless she faced a major loss within the family. The grim destiny of the explosion has snatched away the brother from her and she migrated to Australia from Syria. Add to the anguish, Yesmin also suffered from the adaptability issue in a new land where she was a stranger. She could not relate to her friends and the ambience was completely distinguishable from Syria's. The language issue was another problem that complicated the situation from various angles (De Varennes, 2021). She performed exemplary at school, yet the scenario at home has been completely different. There were many conflicts and naturally, she was stuck with dilemmas and controversies. The parental support was a good resource, yet she felt the freedom curbed always.
The system theory of Bronfenbrenner can be described here and advocates the fact that apart from personal characteristics, there are sociological factors influencing the personality development of a child. A child's microsystem can be damaged due to conflicts in the family, neglect, or other deeply ingrained socio-economic issues. This has a solid impact on the linguistic development of the child, too (Rubin & Jernudd, 2019). Yesmin is also the victim of a conflict-ridden scenario with separation, pangs of loss, and an existential crisis at the centre. The proactive and immediate environment results in the child's appearance and mental blossoming. Integrated with intuitive ability, the child shields itself from impending danger. The multiple environments where the child has been placed indirectly impact how the child thinks, reciprocates and perceives the situation. The adversities that Yesmin has gone through might have been able to construct and shape her understanding of the situation.
As the years passed, she discovered that her father was very strict and did not like her going outside or talking to her friends. At that stage, she felt dominated by the external ambience even though she was well-protected and guided by her parents. The art classes at the local library were very interesting to her, but her mother forbade her to go there as her father lost his job. Due to the financial constraints, her mother said, it would not be possible for her to take the classes without the support of concessions and discounts. Plus, they could not afford the buses too and this was a major setback in her life where her freedom was curbed and she lost the opportunities one by one. This is clear that every facet of the little girl's life is responsible for her mental makeup again (Babakr, Mohamedamin & Kakamad, 2019). The situations she had to circumvent led to the consequences unfolding individually. The psychological flux can be traced back to the environmental blows she had to accept as destiny.
Protective environments
According to the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children see the world differently than adults. According to this theory, children move through four distinct phases in their childhood. All these ages correspond to particular ages and there are four stages: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Basic cognitive intelligence is developed through these four stages. After completing all these stages, they see the world differently than their previous perceptions.
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Figure 1: Stages of cognitive development
Source: Sanderson (2022)
Therefore, this can be said that the preoperational stage (0-2) was the most critical for her, which she has nothing to do with. As per the proposition of the psychologist, the child is not born with the cognitive processes and this develops over time. The naturalistic observation deeply weighed on her and she could not adjust to the new life in Australia. At this stage, children could not be able to take in the viewpoints of others and it has indeed to struggle with accepting others' opinion (Alahmad, 2020). The concrete operational phases (2–7) help the children make identities and rethink the situations again (Babakr, Mohamedamin & Kakamad, 2019). So, this is possible for Yasmin to sharpen her spatial ability. According to the case study, Yasmin is now 13 years old, which denotes that she has gone through all the developmental phases of cognitive development. In the concrete operational stage, she faced limitations she might not deserve. Now she is recovering from her psychological setback and managing well in Australia's new cultural and educational environment.
In this situation, as a social worker, the act of 2008 concerning child protection in Australia must be confirmed properly (ACT Government, 2022). The accounts of her life might be thoroughly checked and concrete decisions might be reached. In the case of Yesmin, her parents are supportive and regularly keep in contact with the school teachers and the counsellor. This is quite a positive sign and this practice will be encouraged with proper feedback. Constructive feedback might help the family also get over the vacuum already created.
If needed, the family can be taken to a psychologist for professional therapy and counselling. Each family member can be part of the session and the overall idea might be gathered in how far the family has progressed and how far it might be needed to overcome the crisis. Teachers in the school can visit and the meeting can ensure the upcoming days for the child. Yesmin can be involved in various activities that might help mitigate the crisis. The constraints in the family will be eradicated if there is a clear discussion reading the issues. The events that can augment the child's IQ might be arranged to ensure safety and dignity. Collaboration, coronation and consultation have advantages in making the child's life secure, worry-free and without apprehension (Alahmad, 2020). The concerns and the development ratio might reach a higher authority from time to time. This is always to be supervised if the welfare of Yesmin is taken care of by the family. Her family has to be convinced that she will be part of the decision-making by her family.
Overall, the maintenance of the social rights of a child might be put forward. If a child's security is flouted, this can be reported and responded to with protective measures (Kazi & Galanaki, 2019). The safety practices might be consolidated more so that the child can have self-confidence. The child's paramount interests will be identified and according to that, the child will be treated. It will be guaranteed that the child's satisfaction will never go away and the stuff she will be doing might be attractive to her. The Act of child protection 1999 must be guaranteed so that the family becomes serious about caring for the child (Queensland Government, 2022). The intervention from the end of the social worker must not exceed the limit that can be dangerous. The department must be accountable so that the cohesion in the thoughts must be managed to retain proficiency in the system. First, the parents must be aware of their responsibilities and rights. Then, handling the issues in a child might be easier and her life will be beautiful.
Vulnerability
Vulnerabilities in the life of Yasmin are prominent from her early life when she was in the preoperational stage. The development of inner psychology and cognitive intellect relies on the stages the child has to pass through each year of her life. The inability of the child to develop and understand resilience at the early stage can be a decentring experience for her and she cannot but give in to the situations happening around her. As opined by Piaget, the preoperational stage (2-7) lets the child have the mental abstraction and the physical appearance that will leave a mark on personality development (Kazi & Galanaki, 2019). They understand what a casualty is, exactly what happens with Yesmin. She could spot the environmental differences and therefore, the life of Australia appeared distinguished from Syria and she hesitated to find any match. Socialisation was an issue then, as linguistic barriers presented the major obstacles. Abstract thought paces so fast at the preoperational stage and this helps teach her what categorisation seems like (Alahmad, 2020). Yasmin underwent a severe crisis when she was pretty little, leading to the incidents in the later stages. The dominant factors, both positive and negative, have also constituted the concrete operational phase. Probably when she was about ten years old and according to Jean Piaget, she was at the Concrete operational stage, which enabled her to understand cognitive errors. Her brother's death and the Civil war in Syria heavily impacted her mind. She has been getting emotionally strong to negate all those physiological setbacks. She is also mature now to address what cognitive errors are. She is now 13 and has passed all the stages of cognitive development, including the formal operational stage.
The theory of Piaget has underlined the importance of intelligence that is visible during children's growth. The theory considers the intelligence of children changes with growth in age. This specifies that children acquire knowledge from extensive sources and construct an inner world (Jeong et al., 2021). The theory has examined that the quality of the children's inner world differs adequately. Yasmin reached Australia when she was only three years old. Yasmin did not have a say in this situation and has resettled in Australia. The death of her younger brother has adversely affected her life since her brother has been her sole friend. Her family keeps her brother's death in the explosion confidential. This has created a culture of silence that hinders her from raising her voice concerning any challenge. This has made her silent when her father has misbehaved in the family. She has wished to join art classes that can give her effective relaxation after the daily chores. However, she cannot join the classes as the classes are conducted for a fee.
Yesmin's father has recently lost her job and therefore, she cannot make any demands on him. Similarly, there is less social and cultural bonding between Yasmin and members of her nationality. This has caused a distance between her life and cultural roots (Petruccelli et al., 2021). However, the family is saving a lot of expenses for buying a new car to consolidate the relationship with Syrian families. Yasmin has laid a susceptible life from the very beginning. This has been caused by external influences that adversely affected her life from childhood. The major incidents, such as her separation from her home country, her brother's death and her father's behaviour, have immensely affected her. This has made her life vulnerable to external situations beyond her control (Giano et al., 2020). The result of this is that Yasmin can create an inner world that can further jeopardise her life. The external conditions have adversely affected the quality of her life and there needs to be mitigation practises for helping her. Yasmin has to communicate that her life has been affected by conditions without her involvement.
Resilience
Resilience becomes the prominent measure for mitigating challenges that external conditions can face. Resilience can allow Yasmin to recover from adverse conditions and take control of her life. Yasmin needs to understand that she has caused none of these situations. These incidents are caused by larger global social, economic and cultural structures (McEwen & Gregerson, 2019). Yasmin has to be made aware that she needs to change the inner world to overcome her challenges. Yasmin must identify that she need not be demoralised and disheartened by these incidents for longer. This will immensely impact her mental health, leading to depression and anxiety. The major components of resilience are self-awareness, self-care, mindfulness, purpose and positive relationships (Johnson & Arditti, 2023). Yasmin has to cultivate and reinforce these elements in her life for resilience. The component of self-awareness is regret and the primary factor that promotes individual intelligence. The theory of, Piaget explains that each individual has a quality difference. The difference lies predominantly in the domain of the self -awareness (Johnson & Arditti, 2023). Yasmin must be consciously aware of her daily activities and thinking process. She has to consider that she did not have an active role in the mishaps in her life.
The next element of resilience, self-care, focuses on personal physical and mental health (McLennan et al., 2020). Yasmin has to know that constant brooding over her misfortunes will negatively impact her mental and physical health. The discarding of personal health can create future issues within her family. For example, it can be possible that the deterioration of her mental and physical health can create concerns in her mother. Therefore, self-care becomes necessary to improve her inner life's quality. Self-care can reinforce vitality, energy and confidence that she can face any adverse conditions in future. The other has to take care of her and advise her to distance herself from the past and look over to the future. Mindfulness is required to overcome her challenges (McLennan et al., 2020). This can be done with a constant awareness of the present and open and active attention. Yasmin cannot attend the art classes that can give her creative relaxation. However, Yasmin can involve herself with creative work in her home environment. She can learn about different music, such as music popular in her hometown, to give her nostalgic feelings.
The mindfulness component requires that she enhance the quality of her inner world with passionate activities (Petruccelli et al., 2021). This will create a distance from her past that has been quite unpromising. The allied element of purpose needs to be manifested in her life by involving activities that enrich and motivate her (Crouch et al., 2019). Yasmin can talk with her art teacher in her free time and ask for any activities that can be done at home. This will create a space for learning and improvement in her life. The theory of Piaget underlines the need to transition from one prevalent mindset to another to improve childhood reasoning and analysis (Crouch et al., 2019). The involvement in recreational activities will lead to the faster development of her power of understanding and feelings. She can guide in her future individuals who have passed through the same intensity of misfortunes. The eventual component of resilience is the development of positive relationships. Positive relationships help develop connections with larger audiences, including one's family (Anderson et al., 2022). This will broaden Yasmin's perspective and help gain insights from individuals irrespective of demographic distinctions. Empathy in her interaction with individuals will be fostered, which will strengthen her identity.
Conclusion
It can be derived from the above study the importance of childhood development. The study has story of Yasmin, who suffered from childhood due to misfortune incidents. The study has considered the adversities that Yasmin has faced that have moved her to a vulnerable position. The child, Yasmin, has been a victim of events that affected her internal and external life. The theory of Piaget has been considered in this study for understanding the phases of childhood development. The theory has focused on her inner world, which needs a change to make her adequately resilient. Furthermore, there are suggestions through the facets of resilience that ways to improve her present life that is considerably focussed and enriched.
Reference List
ACT Government. (2022). Children and young people act 2008: Acts. Children and Young People Act 2008 | Acts. https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/2008-19/default.asp
Alahmad, M. (2020). Strengths and weaknesses of cognitive theory. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal, 3(3), 1584-1593. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33258/birci.v3i3.1088
Anderson, K. N., Swedo, E. A., Clayton, H. B., Niolon, P. H., Shelby, D., & Harrison, K. M. (2022). Building infrastructure for surveillance of adverse and positive childhood experiences: Integrated, multimethod approaches to generate data for prevention action. American journal of preventive medicine, 62(6), S31-S39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.11.017
De Varennes, F., (2021). Language, minorities and human rights. Brill.
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https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09411-z
Jeong, J., Franchett, E. E., Ramos de Oliveira, C. V., Rehmani, K., & Yousafzai, A. K. (2021). Parenting interventions to promote early child development in the first three years of life: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS medicine, 18(5), e1003602. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003602
Johnson, E. I., & Arditti, J. A. (2023). Risk and resilience among children with incarcerated parents: A review and critical reframing. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 19, 437-460. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080921-081447
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McLennan, J. D., MacMillan, H. L., & Afifi, T. O. (2020). Questioning the use of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) questionnaires. Child Abuse & Neglect, 101, 104331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104331
Petruccelli, K., Davis, J., & Berman, T. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and associated health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child abuse & neglect, 97, 104127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104127
Queensland Government . (2022, May 14). Child protection legislation. Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs. https://www.cyjma.qld.gov.au/protecting-children/about-child-protection/child-protection-legislation
Rubin, J. & Jernudd, B., (2019). Can Language be Planned?: Sociolinguistic Theory for Developing Nations. University of Hawaii Press.
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Xu, F. (2019). Towards a rational constructivist theory of cognitive development. Psychological review, 126(6), 841. Retrieved from: https://psycnet.apa.org/manuscript/2019-31854-001.pdf
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