Page 2 - LESSION 14.pmd

Methods of Child Study

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Notes
After studying this lesson, you will be able to:
• explain various methods of child study;

• describe how children express themselves through art; and

• explain ways of reporting the progress of children.

14.1 RESEARCH AND STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Research with children builds our understanding of their behaviour, nature of
responses and ways in which they learn or why they ask questions. We may
believe children behave in a particular manner but in our interactions with them
in varied situations, we may be surprised to find that they are different from
what we had thought. Children’s skill acquisition may vary according their
specific social group. Parental expectations may also differ from group to group.
Often parents feel that children are not reading enough or teachers may observe
that parents are not taking enough interest. Such observations would be
speculations till a systematic examination could be built as evidence in support
of or to negate the hunch. Conclusion of any kind can only be made after
collecting data from the sample population. The facts collected would be
categorized and analyzed to arrive at a conclusion. This process of investigating
and deriving inference from a body of facts and figures comprises research. It
can be of many kinds with several ways of collecting data referred to as
techniques of studying human behaviour.

Let us study different types of research designs that guide research on children.

14.1.1 Types of Research Design
Research design is framework or detailed procedures for carrying out the
research systematically. The nature of the problem to be studied guides the
selection of the research design. The participants (sample) are selected from
sections of social groups depending on the nature of the problem. In the case
of children, one has to ensure that the selected methods and techniques are well
thought out, age-appropriate and not heavily dependent on print.

Cross Sectional Research: is a way of collecting data from a group of people
of different ages at a particular time. This group is matched for all features such
as socio-economic status and educational background. This type of research is
quick as the data is gathered at one point of time.

80 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION