After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

• Explain Erikson's stage description of middle childhood
  
  
• Explain the shifting of self understanding that occurs during middle childhood
  
  
• Explain the tendency for social comparison during middle childhood as well as the likely reason behind downward social comparison
  
  
• Describe the ways that self-esteem develops during middle childhood and the reasons for these changes
  
  
• Describe the impact of parenting style on self-esteem
  
  
• Describe the research findings related to self-esteem and minority status
  
  
• Explain the typical development of an immigrant school-aged child
  
  
• Describe the general sequence of moral reasoning as described by Kohlberg
  
  
• Identify the key criticisms of Kohlberg's theory of moral development
  
  
• Describe and explain Gilligan's contributions to the field of moral development
  
  
• Explain the influence of friendships on healthy development during middle childhood
  
  
• Describe the three stages of friendship as proposed by Damon
  
  
• Identify the most-liked and least-liked behaviors in friends of school-aged children
  
  
• Describe how status impacts the formation of friendships between school-aged children
  
  
• Explain if and how unpopular children can be taught to be socially competent
  
  
• Explain how gender segregation defines the middle childhood years
  
  
• Compare and contrast the nature of friendships within of a group of boys with the friendships within a group of girls
  
  
• Explain the likelihood of cross-race friendships in middle childhood
  
  
• Explain how bullying can be reduced in school-aged children
  
  
• Explain how family life changes as children enter the school-aged years
  
  
• Explain how having two parents who work impacts development
  
  
• Explain the impact of divorce in children
  
  
• Describe the impact of living in a single-parent family for school-aged children
  
  
• Describe the impact of living in a blended family for school-aged children
  
  
• Understand the experiences related to spending time in group care
  
  
• Explain how children explain their performance in a situation and how those explanations impact emotions
  
  
• Understand that there are cultural differences in attributions of achievement
  
  
• Explain how the expectations of others can influence a child's behavior
  
  
• Explain how teachers transmit their expectations to their students
  
  
• Explain the controversy behind including emotional intelligence as a skill to be taught and developed in schools