Case Study of a

Child Age 8
Hazaly Santiago
EDU 220-1001
Principles of Educational Psychology
 Physical Characteristics
Typical Behaviors Observed
▪ Hyper
▪ Extremely active
▪ Confident
▪ Get tired easily ▪ Clumsy
▪ The child is shorter when
▪ Gain confidence on certain capabilities compared to other students in
her class and age group
▪ Very accident prone
▪ Weight seems reasonable for her
(Snowman & McCowan, 2013) age and height
▪ Independent
▪ Pouts frequently
Recommendations
▪ A sudden interest in drawing or printing
▪ Rest periods frequently
▪ Decrease in appetite ▪ Child should receive about 11
hours of sleep each night
▪ Won’t get sick as frequent ▪ Safety talks should begin as child
(University of Washington,1993) grows and becomes riskier

(Child Development Institute, 2018)

 Emotional Characteristics
Typical
• At this age students are able to distinguish the difference between good and bad behavior
that is appropriate for home, school, and public settings
• Child can identify and understand their emotions
• Child can lose enthusiasm when a task doesn’t result in their end goal or when other kids
do achieve their goal
(PBS Parents, 2018)
• Sensitive to criticism and mockery
• Hard time accepting defeat
Eager to please teacher
•
• Learning to understand the feelings of others
(Snowman, J. & McCown,R, 2013)
 Emotional Characteristics
Observed
▪ She is able to identify and
understand the feelings of others
▪ Has secrets with friends
▪ Argues
▪ Doesn’t like to be told what to do
▪ Expresses anger physically rather
than verbally
▪ Easily distracted
Recommended
▪ When the child feels overwhelmed,
stressed, anger, confusion, or fear
encourage them to reach out for
support
(PBS Parents, 2018)
▪ Don’t criticize them
▪ Positive reinforcements
▪ Build confidence
(University of Washington, 1993)
 Cognitive Characteristics
Typical
• Is more curious about certain topics
• Questions are more complex
• Likes to experiment
• Enjoys games that are competitive and
active
• Child will typically create entertaining
stories using different information from
different sources
• Can count up to 1,000
• Handwriting is easier to read
(Child Development Institute, 2018)
• Its common for the child to stutter when
they feel stressed or overwhelmed
• Child has trouble making choices because
they want everything
• Like to be challenged
(University of Washington, 1993)
▪ Child understands between right and wrong
▪ Talking to themselves declines in frequency
▪ Vygotsky’s theory believes that social and
cultural forces impact the way a child thinks
(Snowman , J &McCown, R, 2013)
▪ According to Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development at the age of 8 years old the child
is going through the Concrete operational. The
child is “capable of operations but solves
problems by generalizing from concrete
experiences [&] is not able to manipulate
conditions mentally unless they have been
experienced” (Snowman, J & McCown, R, 2013
p.25)
(Snowman, J & McCown, R, 2013)
 Cognitive Characteristics
Observed Recommended

▪ Wants to know why certain things ▪ Allow time to finish tasks

happen
▪ Ask thought provoking questions
▪ Likes to experiment
▪ Answer questions to the best of your
▪ Likes to do DIY videos found online ability

▪ Competitive ▪ Answer questions with patience

▪ Likes to collect things (University of Washington, 2013)

▪ Participate in meaningful conversations

to help kids learn new words
▪ Let them share their stories
(PBS Parents, 2018)
 Social Characteristics
Observed
▪ Has a handful of friends
▪ Can label some friends as ‘best
friends’
▪ Wants attention from others
▪ Not interested in participating in a
dinner conversation
▪ affectionate
Typical
• Wants love from her mom
• Concerned about doing well
• Don’t like to show up late to events
• Aggression will be used as a problem
solver
• Has the mindset that boys play with
boys and girls play with girls
( University of Washington, 1993)
▪ Prefers friends around their age
▪ Strong desire to please
▪ Likes to receive support and approval
from others
(Child Development Institute, 2018)
 Social Characteristics
Typical
▪ According to Erikson, an eight year old
child is going through a stage of Industry vs
Inferiority. “school is where children learn
how to be productive with tasks that require
mental effort over extended periods of
time.” A child will either respond in a
industry or inferior kind of way. When the
results are industry, the child was
encouraged to do well, allowed to finish
tasks, and was praised for trying. On the
other hand if the child was judged too hard
and too often the results are inferior.
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R, 2013)
Recommended
▪ Do fun things together as a family
▪ Talk about self respect and respect for
others
▪ Encourage them to join school or
community groups
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
2017)
▪ Encourage child to socialize with others
▪ Try to stop conflict before it occurs
▪ Be part of their school activities
▪ Encourage child to participate in non-
traditional gender based activities
(University of Washington, 1993)
 Moral Characteristics
Observed
▪ Confident
▪ Shows emotions towards others
▪ Honest
▪ Treats others with kindness
Recommendations
▪ Show unconditional love
▪ Discuss reasonable expectations
(University of Washington, 1993)
▪ Show support in changes of identity
▪ Show affection towards the child
▪ Makes rules clear
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
2017)
Typical
▪ Courages
▪ Dependable
▪ Makes good choices
▪ Shows empathy
▪ Grateful
(PBS Parents, 2018)
▪ Experiences guilt/shame
(University of Washington, 1993)
▪ According to Kohlberg there are four traits that “call
attention to the tendency for children below the age of 10
or so to think rules as sacred pronouncements handed
down by external authority”
(Snowman, J &McCown, R, 2013 p.41)
✓ Knows the difference between right or wrong
✓ Believes rules are unchangeable
✓ Determined the amount of guilt by the damage done
✓ “Defines moral wrongness in terms of what is forbidden
or punished”
(Snowman, J & McCown, R, 2013 p. 41)
 References
❖ Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child development. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html

❖ Child Development Institute. (2018). The ages and stages of child development.
Retrieved from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc

❖ PBS Parents. (2018). Child development tracker Ages 2-8. Retrieved

from http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/

❖ Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage

Learning.
❖ University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development
guide. Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm