RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND

LEARNING
Both development and learning co-exist and influence each other in
the following ways:
Learning and development
Learning may prove quite helpful in bringing desired development in
the various aspects and dimensions of the personality of the growing
children. Therefore, the term learning can be defined as a process of
bringing desired modification or changes in the behaviour of a
learner through experience or training. As a result of learning,
desired changes in the behaviour (cognitive, conative and affective)
may take place at one time or the other among the learners and it
may result in bringing desired development in the physical, mental,
emotional, social lingual and moral aspects or dimensions of their
personality (Figure 1.2). Let us try to elaborate this assertion.

Figure 1.2 Relationship between learning and development.

Learning helps in child’s physical and motor development:
Learning in the form of acquiring formal and informal experiences
helps a child in his adequate physical and motor development by
equipping him with necessary knowledge, skills, habits, interest and
attitudes essential for:
 1. Maintaining good physical health.
2. Acquiring necessary motor skills and practices for his
physical movement, exercising and body fitness.
3. Taking necessary preventive and curative measures for the
protection from the diseases and environmental
abnormalities.
4. Acquiring healthy food and living habits contributing
towards proper physical and motor development.

Learning helps in proper mental and cognitive development:

One’s mental and cognitive development includes the development
of one’s mental or cognitive abilities and capacities in a proper
functional way. These abilities or capacities may be named as
thinking and reasoning power, power of imagination and
memorisation, ability to analyse, synthesise and conclude, ability to
discriminate and critically examine or evaluate, ability to take
decision and judgement, power of argumentation and reaching on
consent or agreement, etc. These are not inherited but are acquired
through the deliberate formal or informal experiences (called
learning) by an individual in his life.
Learning helps in proper social development: A child, as we
know, is quite self-centered and unsociable in the beginning of his
life but as he acquires and gathers various learning experiences he
becomes mature in terms of his social development. The learning
experiences received by him at his home, neighbourhood, school
and various other encounters in social situations make him to
acquire necessary social virtues, habits, interests and attitudes
helpful in his proper social development.
Learning helps in proper emotional development: Emotional
development of an individual requires attaining a reasonable level of
emotional maturity. One must be able to express
his emotions in the right amount, in the right way, at the right time
and at the right place. Decidedly, the acquisition of this ability is not
an inherited phenomenon. It is acquired and developed properly
through a number of formal and informal experiences called learning
in one’s life time.
Learning helps in one’s proper language development: The
language we speak or use in communication in various ways is
mainly acquired through a number of informal and formal
experiences called learning. We get skilled and competent in the use
of one or the other languages to the extent of learning acquired by
us, our efforts in further learning and using that language. So, the
knowledge a child at a particular age has acquird in terms of
language skill is a product of his learning or acquired behaviour
rather than a function of his hereditary characteristics.
Learning helps in one’s moral or character development:
Morality or character as we know is fashioned or shaped as a result
of various experiences or encounters an individual receives in his
life. No genes and chromosomes are responsible for the character
formation in a good or bad way. It is entirely an environmental
phenomenon and thus necessarily a product of the formal or informal
experiences called learning. By providing desirable learning
experiences, we can certainly help a child in the development of
morality or character in desirable ways.
Thus, whatever may be the direction and dimension of one’s
development, the learning experiences in a formal or informal way
essentially help him in acquiring the desired maturity level of his
development.
Development and learning
One’s learning is equally influenced and affected by the level of his
development in one or the other aspect or dimension—physical,
motor, mental, social, emotional, linguistic and moral development
(Figure 1.3). Let us try to examine the nature of these influences in
relation to various developmental dimensions.
 Figure 1.3 Relationship between development and learning.
Physical-motor development and learning: Learning of many
physical and motor skills is very much dependent on the level of
maturity earned in terms of one’s physical and motor development.
One cannot learn or practice many physical games and cannot
participate in sports activities unless he or she has attained the
desired level of one’s physical and motor development. Similarly,
learning many tasks needing physical and mental labour cannot be
undertaken properly by an individual unless he enjoys a good level
of physical health, motor coordination and physical development.
Mental or cognitive development and learning: Learning and
acquisition of knowledge and skills related to various areas or
aspects of school curriculum as well as tasks and activities related to
living one’s life in a desired way depends very much on the level of
maturity and development acquired by an individual. While studying
the pattern of cognitive development of the children in their
development period, Piaget well concluded that children belonging to
sensori motor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal
operational stages are capable only to learn and acquire the
knowledge and skills fitting properly in their level of cognitive
development. As a result, we cannot expect from the little children to
grasp the abstract concept and learn difficult cognitive skills. We
have to wait for the desired level of their mental maturity for teaching
the abstract concept and complex cognitive skills.
Social development and learning: Learning of a child is very much
facilitated by the desired level of social development attained by the
developing child. According to Albert Bandura, much of the children’s
learning is carried out through the mechanism of social learning.
Many of the behaviours involving one or the other knowledge area,
skills and interests are learned by children through observation,
initiation and practice of the observed behaviour. Social company
and social interaction, in view of the social constructivists like
Vygotsky and Bruner, much helps children in learning many things by
constructing knowledge in the company and guidance of their elders,
knowledgeable peers and teachers. It can only happen well when a
child is able to attain a desired level of his social maturity and
development and that is why social development of a child is said to
be very much linked with the tasks and responsibilities of his
learning.
Emotional development and learning: A child’s emotional
development is very much linked with the tasks of his learning. One
can learn well when he is found well in tune with his emotional
adjustment and emotional development. We cannot expect any good
learning by a student who is experiencing intensive anger, fear,
jealousy, envy, hate, joy and excitement. He must be able to exercise
proper control over the aroused emotions not only at the time of his
learning and practising but also at the time of the evaluation of his
achievements and performances. Decidedly it can happen well only
after attaining a proper level of emotional maturity and emotional
development.
Moral development and learning: The processes and products of
learning are very much affected and influenced by one’s level of
character or moral development. The sincerity, punctuality, duty
boundedness, honesty, truthfulness, respect for others’ opinion, faith
in cooperation and collaboration, team spirit, etc. The qualities and
virtues which are the part and parcel of a man’s character, prove
quite effective as well as instrumental in carrying out a learning
process on a proper line. The students who are morally deviant or ill-
conceived are found to resort to foul means in carrying out their
processes of learning. They play truancy and resort to excuses at
the time of learning and cheat at the time of examination and hence
fail to learn or acquire well for their proper development and
progress. On the other hand, morally sound and mature students
may be seen making a desired level of progress in their learning and
progress.
Language development and learning: Art of communication is the
key to learning. One who can grasp and understand well what he is
supposed to learn and can communicate or use the outcomes of his
learning in a proper way is always adjudged as a good learner and
productive citizen. This can be possible only if one’s task of learning
is properly matched with the level of the communication language
used in the process of one’s teaching and learning. The students
who lag in their language development (especially in the language to
be employed for their learning and classroom teaching) are found to
experience difficulties and lag behind in their studies.