By Mike North

1. Module Two:
Understanding Children & Young People
& Ministry Practice

2. Child development
Child development
Psychosocial development – Erikson
Faith development – Fowler, Westerhoff and McLaren
Cognitive development – Piaget
Moral development – Kohlberg
Emotional development
Physical development
Attachment theory

3. Child development
Identity v
Role confusion
Review - from 5th
Jan session

4. What is faith development?
Child development
Undifferentiated Faith 0–2 years Sensory and motor
skills
Intuitive-Projective 2–7 years Imaginary / Fantasy
Mythic-Literal 7–12 years Is it real / black &
white
Synthetic-Conventional 12+ years Conformity / relational
Individual-Reflective 21+ years Owning faith / examine
Conjunctive 35+ years Selfless /
wisdom
Universalizing 45+ Openness /
leaders
Review - from 24th
Nov session

5. Experienced faith – feeling
(pre-school and early childhood)
Affiliative faith – belonging
(childhood and early adolescence)
Searching faith – questioning
(late adolescence)
Owned faith or matured faith
(early adulthood)
John Westerhoff
Child development
What is faith development?
Review - from 24th
Nov session

6. Child development
What is faith development?
Simplicity
Dualistic, authority focused, easy answers
Complexity
Pragmatic, more independent, steps and techniques
Perplexity
Sceptical, rebellious, questions, protest
Harmony
Integral, mystic focused, contemplative, love
Return to Simplicity…
Brian McLaren
Review - from 24th
Nov session

7. Child development
Child development
Important milestones
What can they do and what can they understand?
1 year old
3 year old
5 year old
7 year old
9 year old

8. Child development
Factors affecting child
development:
• Interactions
• Emotional health and wellbeing
• Physical health and wellbeing
• Individual pathways
• Child as active learner
• Experiences in the world
• Culture and community
https://birthto5matters.org.uk/child-development

9. Child development
Cognitive development
Jean Piaget
Stage 1:
The sensorimotor stage - birth to age 2
Infants and toddlers acquire knowledge
through sensory experiences and manipulating
objects.

10. Child development
Cognitive development
Jean Piaget
Stage 2:
The preoperational stage - age 2 to about age 7
Children learn through pretend play but still struggle
with logic and taking the point of view of other
people.

11. Child development
Cognitive development
Jean Piaget
Stage 3:
The concrete operational stage - age 7 to 11
At this stage children begin to think more logically
however they tend to struggle with abstract and
hypothetical concepts. Children also become less self-
centred and begin to think about how other people
might think and feel.

12. Child development
Cognitive development
Jean Piaget
Stage 4:
The formal operational stage – age 12 into adulthood.
The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in
logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an
understanding of abstract ideas. At this point, people
become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to
problems and think more scientifically about the world
around them.

13. Child development
Cognitive development
Jean Piaget
What activities would encourage cognitive
development in the children or young people you
work with?
Mindful walking, drawing, counting, ordering, guessing
games, card or board games, memory challenges,
reading, physical exercise, jigsaw puzzles, word or
number puzzles, space to reflect / think…

14. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 1. Preconventional Morality (3-7 yrs)
Stage 1: Punishment – Obedience.
Young children see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the
rules is important because it is a means to avoid punishment.

15. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 1. Preconventional Morality (3-7 yrs)
Stage 2: Individualism and exchange.
The morality of an action is based on how it satisfies the
individual needs of the doer. For instance, a person steals
money from another person because he needs that
money to buy food for his hungry children.

16. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 2: Conventional Morality (8-13 yrs)
Stage 3: Good Boy/Good Girl Orientation
Moral development is focused on living up to social
expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on
conformity, being "nice," and consideration of how
choices influence relationships.

17. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 2: Conventional Morality (8-13 yrs)
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
At this stage of moral development, people begin to
consider society as a whole when making judgments.
The focus is on maintaining law and order by following
the rules, doing one’s duty and respecting authority.

18. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 3. Postconventional Morality (adulthood)
Stage 5 : Social Contract Orientation
In this stage, the person looks at the differing values,
opinions, and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are
important for maintaining a society, but members of the
society should agree upon these standards.

19. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level 3. Postconventional Morality (adulthood)
Stage 6 : Universal Ethical Principles Orientation
The final stage of moral reasoning, this orientation is
when a person considers universally accepted ethical
principles. The judgment may become innate and may
even violate the laws and rules as the person becomes
attached to his own principles of justice.

20. Child development
Moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg
To what extent do you see young people in the
Conventional Morality Level in your groups?
• Good boy / girl
• Law and order

22. Module Two:
Understanding Children & Young People
& Ministry Practice