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In general, educational psychologists have tended to emphasize explanations of development that are relatively
general, universal and sequential, rather than specific to particular cultures or that are unsequenced and
kaleidoscopic (see, for example, Woolfolk, 2006, Chapter 3; or Slavin, 2005, Chapters 8 and 9). Such models
(sometimes called “grand theories”) have the advantage of concisely integrating many features of development,
while also describing the kind of people children or adolescents usually end up to be. The preference for integrative
perspectives makes sense given educators’ need to work with and teach large numbers of diverse students both
efficiently and effectively. But the approach also risks overgeneralizing or oversimplifying the experiences of
particular children and youth. It can also confuse what does happen as certain children (like the middle-class ones)
develop with what should happen to children. To understand this point, imagine two children of about the same age
who have dramatically very different childhood experiences—for example, one who grows up in poverty and
another who grows up financially well-off. In what sense can we say that these two children experience the same
underlying developmental changes as they grow up? And how much should they even be expected to do so?
Developmental psychology, and especially the broad theories of developmental psychology, highlight the
“sameness” or common ground between these two children. As such, it serves as counterpoint to knowledge of their
obvious uniqueness, and places their uniqueness in broader perspective.
Physical development during the school years..............................................................................................
Although it may be tempting to think that physical development is the concern of physical education teachers
only, it is actually a foundation for many academic tasks. In first grade, for example, it is important to know
whether children can successfully manipulate a pencil. In later grades, it is important to know how long students
can be expected to sit still without discomfort—a real physical challenge. In all grades, it is important to have a
sense of students’ health needs related to their age or maturity, if only to know who may become ill, and with what
illness, and to know what physical activities are reasonable and needed.
Trends in height and weight
Typical height and weight for well-nourished, healthy students are shown in Table 9. The figure shows averages
for several ages from preschool through the end of high school. But the table does not show the diversity among
children. At age 6, for example, when children begin school, the average boy or girl is about 115 centimeters tall, but
some are 109 and others are 125 centimeters. Average weight at age 6 is about 20 kilograms, but ranges between
about 16 and 24 kilograms—about 20% variation in either direction.
Table 5: Average height and weight of well-nourished children
Age Height (cm) Weight (kg)
2 85 7.0
6 115 20.0
10 135 31.0
14 162 52.0
18 169 60.5Educational Psychology 43 A Global Text