Development – is the product of maturation and learning. Maturation – is the unfolding of traits potentially present in the individual because of hereditary quality Learning is development that comes from exercise and effort. Maturation Principles. Cox (1970) presents seven principles of maturation and describe each, thus: 1 . Learning depends upon the biological basis being present as well as the opportunity practice.
It is physically impossible to teach a child to walk until his legs are strong enough to support his weight and the motor control is sufficient for him to coordinate his legs. 2. Chronological age and maturational age although related are not synonymous. A perfectly normal child may be able to walk with support while another perfectly normal child of the same age is still in the sitting stage. 3. Although overall maturational development is forward and continuous, the parent should expect to see plateaus and regression in the child’s development.
Many children take a few steps by themselves, then sit down and not walk again for several weeks. 4. The more biologically mature a child is, the easier for him to learn a given task. 5. The child usually gives signals indicating maturational readiness for a given task. The child whose legs are growing strong enough to support his weight will immense to pull himself up. 6. The child’s maturational development progresses from the general to specific behavior.
The average child of two is concerned with running, climbing, and large muscle motor activities. It is not until the child is six or seven that he can do his finer tasks. 7. Training given after the maturation readiness may be less efficient. Great diversity of human behavior. The development of behavior pattern solely through maturation is very rare in human beings. Most behavioral developments occur as maturation and are followed by specific learning. Development refers to the quantitative changes.
It may be defined as progressive series of orderly, coherent changes: progressive because the changes are directional, they lead forward rather than backward – orderly and coherent, because a definite relationship exists between a given stage and the stages which precede or follow it. Maturation and Learning hereditary quality. Maturation Principles 1 . Learning depends upon the biological basis being present as well as the opportunity practice. 4. The more biologically mature a child is, the easier for him to learn a given task. 5. The child usually gives signals indicating maturational readiness for a given task.
