The Case Study on a kindergarten Student
Ernesto is a five-year-old kindergarten boy. Compared to children his age, Ernesto portrays excellent characteristics when it comes to reading as well as moral development. Typically, five-year-old kindergarten students are expected to be level three readers. However, Ernesto possesses the skills of a level six reader, which are unlikely to be possessed by kindergarten children. Besides, Ernesto also portrays high standards of moral development. Whereas most children his age answer questions without reasoning, Ernesto reasons thoroughly before answering a question as easy as, “what will you eat for lunch?” The case study on Ernesto was conducted through observation and a personal interview before writing a report on the findings.
Ernesto believes that children his age get angry or sad when adults deny their requests. The answer Ernesto gives is correct because children in kindergarten are in the stage of differentiating right from wrong. Therefore, when they fail to understand why something is wrong, they get angry, especially when adults are involved. For instance, a five-year-old wants to snack right before dinner, and their parents object, the child is likely to get angry. The child gets angry because they do not understand why it is wrong to eat a snack right before dinner. Therefore, the answer given by Ernesto is well reasoned and probably out of experience or observation.
Ernesto knows that a child is sad or angry when they pout, cry, or throw tantrums. Throwing tantrums is common among five-year-olds. As mentioned earlier, five-year-old children are in the process of learning to analyze situations to enable them to differentiate right from wrong. When an adult denies the request of a child, most children get either sad or angry, especially when they feel like their request was justified. Pouting, crying, or throwing tantrums are some of the ways children express their anger and sadness. Children who pout and cry when their requests are denied seek to manipulate adults into giving in to their request emotionally. For instance, when a child cries after their parent refuses to give them a snack before dinner, the parent feels sorry for their hungry child is and gives in to the request. On the other hand, children who throw tantrums psychologically manipulate their parents. For instance, in a convenient store, a child requests for a toy, and the parent refuses, when the child throws a tantrum, the parent may buy the toy to avoid embarrassment. Thus, Ernesto gave a well-thought answer.
Ernesto believes that a good friend is the one who is kind enough to share. According to Ernesto, sharing is caring, and a person who shares their toys is kind and caring. Ernesto gave an example of his friend Robby who shared his crayons on the first day of kindergarten. Ernesto did not have crayons, and during the art session, Robby offered to share his crayons with Ernesto. The observation by Ernesto is accurate because people who share possess other virtues such as honesty, humility, and joyous. Most adults believe that good friends share in the same ideologies and mostly possess similar moral standards. Therefore, Ernesto gave an accurate answer because he believes in sharing and showing kindness, and according to him, a good friend should share the same traits. Typically, Ernesto and Robby are good friends because they believe in the same ideologies and possess similar moral standards.
Following the Erickson’s stages of development, Ernesto should be in stage three. In line with Cherry (2018), phase three is the preschool years, where children can develop either initiative or guilt. In stage three, children develop initiative when their caregivers identify unique capabilities and nature them. For instance, when a caregiver notices a child’s ability to recite poems, the caregiver should nature the talent and encourages the child to recite longer poems or write poems as well. On the other hand, children develop guilt when they are always criticized for being assertive, and they tend to follow what other people say instead of making their plans. For instance, when a child likes reasoning and countering arguments, a caregiver can easily criticize the child for being rude or talking back. Such a child loses their morale and stops thinking because of constant punishment.
Based on his capabilities, Ernesto is in the fourth stage of development. According to Cherry (2018), phase four of development comprise of children in early school years where the children develop either industry or inferiority. Ernesto has fully developed self-confidence based on his reading level and manner of reasoning. In stage four, children develop industry when they can build self-esteem, confidence, and are more accomplished than their peers. On the other hand, children who get always criticized for failing tend to develop an inferiority complex. The manner of reasoning and confidence portrayed by Ernesto places him in the fourth stage of development. Furthermore, Ernesto stands out from his age mates because of his ability to tackle challenging quests such as board games or math problems with determination.
The experiences Ernesto encounters encourage his industry and initiative. As mentioned earlier, Ernesto is a level six reader, while most children his age are level three readers. Therefore, his teachers give him higher-level reading materials to sharpen his skills. I noticed Ernesto gets excited whenever he reads complex words correctly, and he stops to ask what they mean. Therefore, by developing his reading skills, Ernesto also learns new words, their meanings as well as their application. When Ernesto gets praised or encouraged by his teachers, his self-confidence increases. Also, Ernesto enjoys making his plans and strategies. Even in simple board games, Ernesto tends to think before making a move. The teachers at Ernesto’s school noticed Ernesto at an early stage and natured his abilities.
According to moral reasoning, I would classify Ernesto at the first level in Kohlberg’s Theory of moral development. The first level is the pre-conventional morality and the earliest stage of moral development. During the pre-conventional phase, the moral codes of children are set by adults and the consequences of breaking or following rules McLeod (2013). In the case of Ernesto, he considers the morality of choice based on whether one would get punished or rewarded. For instance, Ernesto knows that hitting and biting is wrong because the teacher tells children who hit and bite to sit at the naughty corner. Similarly, Ernesto knows that honesty is good because he got a gold star for being honest. Also, most children attempt new things simply because they observed adults, especially their parents and teachers. For instance, if a child sees an adult eating a snack before dinner, the child will most likely believe that eating a snack before dinner is good because they observed adults eating. Thus, children are in the pre-conventional stage of moral development, and they look up to the adults to set an example.
In conclusion, it is possible to analyze the developmental and moral stage of a child based on their reasoning. I noticed Ernesto gives well-reasoned answers, and although sometimes he is wrong, the logic in his answers qualifies him as a reasonable thinker. Classroom experiences have encouraged the initiative and industry of Ernesto because he is assertive and confident. Also, Ernesto approves of a choice based on observation of either punishment or reward. Therefore, although children can develop their character, they still follow the footsteps of the adults in their lives.
References
Cherry, K. (2018). Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Retrieved Juny, 5, 2018.
McLeod, S. A. (2013, Oct 24). Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html