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(Unit 8) Topic 1: The Whole Child 

4 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

A Developmental Continuum

​Topic 1 Page 6

​A continuum is a continuous sequence or progression.  ​

Development moves from the general to the specific, from large to small, simple to complex, and concrete to symbolic.  For example, children’s first drawings of people are very simple- usually a head with arms and/or legs.  Over time they add more to their drawings (hands, feet, clothes, ears, etc.) so they become increasingly detailed.    

A developmental continuum outlines the predictable order, or expected progression of skills.  

Research has found that all new learning and development is “built from the bottom up” or built upon children’s previous skills. (The Science of Early Childhood Development, Harvard University, 2007, p.2) For example, babies roll over, creep, crawl, cruise, then walk—developing new skills that are built upon previous skills.  The sequence (or order) of development is actually more important than the pace of a child’s development.     

​Theories differ about whether child development occurs in stages or unfolds continuously.  Development sometimes seems to change between periods of equilibrium (calm and balanced periods) and disequilibrium (when a child is moody and out of sorts).  Children’s development is often a process of two steps forward and one step back. ​

Research has found that children’s development isn’t the result of only nature (biology) or only nurture (environment), but a combination of both.  Each child’s unique combination of genetics, culture, temperament, nutrition, experiences, and interactions makes development highly individual. So, although child development is predictable and sequential, there is much variation from child to child.

​There also can be unevenness across domains; for example, one child may walk well but not say much, while another might be quite verbal but not so mobile.  

​These individual differences mean that there is a wide range of “normalcy” in development.  For example, while the average age for first steps is about 12 months, anywhere from 9-16 months is still considered within the normal range. 

(Unit 8) Topic 1: The Whole Child ​ * Navigation Menu