ERIC Number: EJ889721
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1524-5039
EISSN: N/A
Confronting the Baby Blues: A Social Constructivist Reflects on Time Spent in a Behaviorist Infant Classroom
McMullen, Mary Benson
Early Childhood Research & Practice, v12 n1 Spr 2010
This reflective essay describes the author's experiences as an observer in a behaviorist infant classroom. The author developed four categories of practice to describe what happened in the behaviorist infant room: (1) curricular focus on training typically developing infants to meet typical developmental milestones, (2) the use of highly structured play by staff as the means for meeting their training goals for the babies, (3) particular uses of language by staff in the behaviorist classroom, and (4) ways in which the staff's adherence to core beliefs in behaviorism led to a lack of recognition of infants' individual expressions of needs and wants. The article concludes with the author's reflections on researchers' ethical responsibilities when faced with an environment that they consider inappropriate and potentially harmful to children. (Contains 4 figures and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Infants, Constructivism (Learning), Observation, Child Care, Selection, Criteria, Evidence, Infant Behavior, Crying, Behaviorism, Reflection, Cognitive Structures, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Play, Training Objectives, Sociolinguistics, Beliefs, Perspective Taking, Tactual Perception, Attribution Theory, Caring, Social Development, Emotional Development, Best Practices, Conflict, Researchers, Responsibility, Advocacy
Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 51 Gerty Drive, Champaign, IL 61820. Tel: 877-275-3227; Tel: 217-333-1386; Fax: 217-244-7732; e-mail: ecrp@uiuc.edu; Web site: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A