Babies in the womb eavesdrop on life outside it. Researchers now tell us that they seem to come into the world already primed to be social, to want human interaction. They prefer looking at faces, or patterns that seem like faces; they can recognise familiar voices, especially their mothers'; and they can recognise the sounds and speech patterns of the languages they overheard before birth.
During their first year babies babble, using the sounds of every world language. Yet by the time they are one year old they make only the sounds of the languages they hear around them. Once out in the world, they are intensely interested in the people around them and how they interact with each other. They are scientists working out 'how we behave here'.
Babies have been born to be capable and curious (the effect of 'nature'), but learning theorists suggest that they learn about the world around them through their experiences - 'nurture'. Both nature and nurture are important. They intertwine in children's development. Learning theories place greater emphasis on nurture than on nature, but without the innate desire to be a companion, to be loved and accepted, to matter to one's family or group, learning would be impaired.
Social learning theory
Albert Bandura proposed what he called 'social learning theory', based on his observations of children actively imitating or copying modelling by others in their family or group. Children participating in Bandura's famous experiments, in which they saw a doll, Bobo, treated aggressively by adults, were found to copy that behaviour if the aggressor's behaviour was not condemned.
In addition, Bandura argues that adults can help children develop positive behaviours and attitudes by 'out loud' thinking and problem-solving. Research shows that in nursery settings where staff behave co-operatively and help each other by sharing problems, the children develop an ability to be interdependent and co-operative.
Other important aspects of Bandura's theory are concerned with children's memory skills, the ability to convert conceptions into appropriate actions (these are thought of as transformational skills) and motivation - having incentives for wanting to imitate modelled behaviour.
An example of this occurred when two-year-old Eliot was about to squash a spider but stopped because his grandfather expressed dismay, gently explaining about the living creature and its usefulness. Eliot responded with, 'I was only going to give it a cuddle'. He wanted his Grandad to think well of him.
Behaviourist theory
Although not limited to social learning, behaviourist theory, developed in the United States by BF Skinner during the middle of the last century, has been used quite widely in schools to modify unwanted and disruptive behaviour. This theory was based on Pavlov's earlier Russian experiments in which dogs were conditioned to salivate on hearing a bell, because the bell had been rung regularly when they had been given food.
Skinner's theory of 'operant conditioning' proposes that children's behaviour is reinforced by adult reactions. Positive reinforcement means a reward is given for desired behaviour. Negative reinforcement occurs when a child is made unhappy for actions that displease the adult. For example, when a child's kindness is recognised, this acts as positive reinforcement to be kind.
Behaviourist theory has underpinned many of the intervention programmes that have been devised for children with special needs, for example those developed by Bereiter and Engelmann in the 1960s which still have echoes today.
These approaches are based largely on a transmission model of learning (the adults decide they will teach something to the children, and impose this by telling or demonstrating). Unfortunately this means no account is taken of the rich, natural experiences for learning available through the children's own interests, such as those that arise during play alongside other children.
Another criticism of behaviourism is that a child's disruptive behaviour may have causes that we should investigate. Simply treating the symptoms, by trying to eradicate the unwanted behaviour and leaving the child with an undiagnosed problem, would be unprofessional.
Additionally, social learning theorists criticise behaviourism, saying that children learn even when they do not get a direct reward. For example, they say, 'Thank you' because this has been modelled by key people in their lives.
Messages for today
One of social learning theory's essential messages for early childhood education and care is Bandura's suggestion that young children learn from us not only as models of actions, but also as models of thinking. If we talk out loud as we are solving a problem, we are modelling thinking.
In the light of Bandura's theory and research, we can see how important it is that adults pay constant attention to issues of social justice relating to race, ethnicity, religion and language, as well as to disadvantage and disability.
Young children are adept at learning if they, their family members and their peers, are valued by staff and the wider society. Bandura's theory has messages about gender-role development too. Young children notice verbal labelling, the categorisation of males and females in the world around them, and the modelling of gendered roles.
The ideas in behaviourist theory are being used when we express an appreciation of valued behaviours, or when we ignore or show diapproval of other behaviours that we deem undesirable.
Developing our own theories
In the previous article in this series (22 January 2004) I mentioned how we all theorise, and several readers have generously written to me to tell me about their own ideas. Most of all, I hope the articles encourage you to talk to each other and to explore the origins of your theories - perhaps your own childhood experiences, books and articles about childhood and about research, courses, or other colleagues?
Our ideas are bound to reflect our individual values and cultural heritage, so the exciting aspect of discussions is that we learn through the different perspectives being presented and this helps us refine our personal theories.