SSW Child Development 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which developmental milestone is typically achieved first in a child's gross motor development?
- Walking independently
- Running
- Sitting without support (Correct answer)
- Climbing stairs
Correct answer: Sitting without support
Sitting without support typically emerges around 6 months, preceding independent walking (around 12 months) and running (around 18-24 months) in the cephalocaudal developmental sequence.
Question 2: A student's individualized education program (IEP) team notes that the child has difficulty with pragmatic language. This refers to problems with:
- Pronunciation of sounds
- Vocabulary size and word retrieval
- Using language appropriately in social contexts (Correct answer)
- Understanding written text
Correct answer: Using language appropriately in social contexts
Pragmatic language involves the social use of language, including turn-taking, staying on topic, and adjusting communication style to different contexts.
Question 3: According to Bowlby's attachment theory, the 'internal working model' refers to:
- A child's capacity to regulate emotions independently
- Mental representations of self and others derived from early attachment experiences (Correct answer)
- The cognitive schema used for academic problem-solving
- A child's neurological template for language acquisition
Correct answer: Mental representations of self and others derived from early attachment experiences
Internal working models are mental blueprints about the self and relationships, built from early caregiving experiences, that guide future relational expectations and behaviors.
Question 4: When assessing a kindergartner's school readiness, a school social worker should consider which domains beyond academic skills?
- Only cognitive and language development
- Social-emotional regulation, physical health, and self-care skills (Correct answer)
- Reading and math pre-skills exclusively
- Parent education level and home literacy environment only
Correct answer: Social-emotional regulation, physical health, and self-care skills
Comprehensive school readiness includes social-emotional, physical, and self-care domains alongside cognitive and language development.
Question 5: The 'Still Face Paradigm' experiments demonstrated that infants as young as 2-3 months respond to disruptions in social interaction with:
- No observable change in behavior
- Increased smiling and vocalization
- Protest, withdrawal, and self-comforting behaviors (Correct answer)
- Redirection of attention to objects in the environment
Correct answer: Protest, withdrawal, and self-comforting behaviors
The Still Face Paradigm showed that when a caregiver suddenly becomes unresponsive, infants display social bids, then protest, then withdrawal, demonstrating early sensitivity to relational contingency.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'scaffolding' in educational and developmental contexts?
- Structuring classroom desks to promote cooperative learning
- Providing temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as the child gains competence (Correct answer)
- Using physical prompts to teach motor skills
- A behavioral reinforcement schedule for academic tasks
Correct answer: Providing temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as the child gains competence
Scaffolding, derived from Vygotsky's ZPD concept, involves providing structured support that is progressively reduced as the child develops independence.
Question 7: A school social worker is consulting with a teacher about a student who consistently disrupts class when given independent work tasks. From a developmental perspective, this behavior is best understood as potentially reflecting:
- Deliberate defiance of authority
- Unmet need for engagement, possible learning difficulty, or executive function challenges (Correct answer)
- Poor moral development
- Inadequate parental discipline at home
Correct answer: Unmet need for engagement, possible learning difficulty, or executive function challenges
Disruptive behavior during independent tasks often signals task avoidance related to learning difficulties, executive function deficits, or inadequate engagement rather than deliberate defiance.
SSW Child Development 5
Which developmental milestone is typically achieved first in a child's gross motor development?