This artifact focuses and reflects on my own personal thoughts and wonderings towards human development. For this assignment, we completed readings throughout the semester and kept notes on the various concepts and points of interest while reading and discussing. What I found particularly interesting about this was that although each chapter focuses on human development in countries and societies around the world, the one thing that remains true is human development is shaped by ongoing social interaction and cultural contexts in which children grow.
This notion aligns with Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory which highlights that learning and development are influenced by the tools, practices and values of a child’s environment. Viewing human development from this lens brings forth the disparities we see in our practice and how socio-cultural influences shape a child’s opportunity to learn. This course helped strengthen my understanding of how different facts impact development and further reinforced my belief that all children regardless of their background of circumstances deserve fair conditions that allow them to reach their full potential.