# Maturationism

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{{Short description|Educational philosophy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
'''Maturationism''' is an early childhood [educational philosophy](/source/philosophy_of_education) that sees the child as a growing organism and believes that the role of [education](/source/education) is to passively support this growth rather than actively fill the child with information. This theory suggests that growth and [development](/source/Developmental_psychology) unfold from within the organism.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Essentials of Early Childhood Education|last1=Gestwicki|first1=Carol|last2=Bertrand|first2=Jane|publisher=Nelson Education|year=2012|isbn=9780176502447|location=Toronto|pages=41}}</ref> It is also based on the idea that a learner's development is governed by a biologically based schedule.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Early Childhood Education|last=Siddiqui|first=M.H.|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2004|isbn=9788176486590|location=New Delhi|pages=36|language=en}}</ref>

== Theory ==
In maturationism, genetic factors play a larger role in development than environmental ones, particularly in regard to [language acquisition](/source/language_acquisition). Here, the effect of genetic inheritance to development has more bearing than the impact of nurture, experience, and learning.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Early Childhood Education: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 2|last1=New|first1=Rebecca|last2=Cochran|first2=Moncrieff|publisher=Praeger|year=2007|isbn=978-0313331008|location=Westport, CT|pages=509}}</ref> It is believed that an innate maturational schedule drives what a child will do and at what time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Theoretical Issues in Language Acquisition: Continuity and Change in Development|last1=Weissenborn|first1=Jurgen|last2=Goodluck|first2=Helen|last3=Roeper|first3=Thomas|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-0805803792|location=Hillsdale, NJ|pages=[https://archive.org/details/theoreticalissue0000unse/page/27 27]|url=https://archive.org/details/theoreticalissue0000unse/page/27}}</ref>

Maturationism is associated with the concept of [developmental stages](/source/Child_development_stages). Maturation theorists maintain that the universal and invariant sequence of human development can be described and that the genetic makeup of an individual determines the pace of such development.<ref name=":0" /> It is often associated with the work of [Arnold Gesell](/source/Arnold_Gesell) who, along with his colleagues at the Clinic of Child Development at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University), charted the development of thousands of children and described developmental milestones that were achieved in a developmental sequence.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Classroom Management|last=Scarlett|first=W. George|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2015|isbn=9781452241395|location=Singapore}}</ref>

== Maturation programs ==
Learning programs based on the maturationist perspective usually focus on certain tenets of [psychodynamic theories](/source/Psychodynamics) of development and progressive educational philosophy.<ref name=":1" /> These draw, for instance, from the work of [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud) as reflected in their emphasis on early experience for subsequent emotional, social, and cognitive development.<ref name=":1" /> The objectives are also stated in global, qualitative terms and often associated to the development of competency and [self-esteem](/source/self-esteem), factors that are considered crucial in cognitive and social development.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Preschool and Early Childhood Treatment Directions|last1=Gettinger|first1=Maribeth|last2=Elliott|first2=Stephen N.|last3=Kratochwill|first3=Thomas R.|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9780805807578|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/preschoolearlych0000unse/page/12 12]|url=https://archive.org/details/preschoolearlych0000unse/page/12}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{More footnotes|date=December 2010}}
*{{cite book|author1=Rebecca Staples New|author2=Moncrieff Cochran|title=Early Childhood Education: An International Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FP3Uot24bggC&pg=PA509|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33102-2}}
*{{cite book|author1=Rebecca Staples New|author2=Moncrieff Cochran|title=Early Childhood Education &#91;Four Volumes&#93;|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JulOlhMP3JAC&pg=PA509|volume=1|date=December 2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-01448-2}}
*{{cite book|author=Glenda MacNaughton|title=Shaping Early Childhood: Learners, Curriculum and Contexts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vj-nH-6j1FQC&pg=PA14|year=2003|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (UK)|isbn=978-0-335-22628-3}}

Category:Philosophy of education

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