Growth and Development — REET CDP Notes
Getting the definitions of Growth and Development right — and understanding the difference between them, along with their two causes (maturation and learning) — is the foundation of the entire CDP section. REET asks 2-3 straightforward but deceptively-worded questions from here almost every year. This page lays out the difference between the two concepts, the internal and external factors that shape them, and what they practically mean for a teacher — all with examples, so you build understanding instead of rote memory.
- 3 questions in REET 2024
- All levels (L1 & L2)
- 7 min read
How REET asks this topic
All three REET 2024 questions on this topic were basic but had deliberately confusing options — identifying the correct difference between growth and development, recalling the two main factors behind development (maturation and learning), and distinguishing internal from external factors. These questions are built directly on definitions, so paying attention to the exact wording matters most — examiners often flip a single word (say, swapping 'growth stops' for 'development stops') to create an option that looks right but isn't.
What Growth means
Growth refers to the quantitative changes that happen in the body — increases in height, weight, and the size of organs. These changes are easy to measure in numbers (centimetres, kilograms, and so on).
A defining feature of growth is that it stops after a certain age of physical maturity — for instance, height typically stops increasing after adolescence.
What Development means
Development is a much broader term. It includes quantitative changes as well as qualitative ones — improvements in thinking ability, the emergence of language skills, and growing social and emotional maturity.
Unlike growth, development doesn't stop at any particular age — it continues throughout life, from conception to death, even though its pace and shape keep changing as a person ages.
Here's a simple way to see the difference: a 10-year-old child getting taller is growth. But that same child reasoning better than before, understanding other people's feelings, or working out solutions to problems — all of that falls under development. So development is a much wider concept than growth, and growth is really just one part of it.
Why this topic matters for a teacher
Understanding the difference between growth and development isn't just exam knowledge for a teacher — it shapes how you set expectations for every child in the classroom based on their actual developmental stage. If a teacher judges a child's ability only by physical growth (height, weight), that assessment will be flawed, because cognitive and social development can proceed at a different pace altogether.
This is exactly why growth and development are treated as the foundation for every topic that follows in CDP — principles of development, Piaget's cognitive development, heredity and environment — which is why it's recommended you study this one first.
Growth vs Development — a comparison
Growth
NatureQuantitative only
DurationStops at a certain age
MeasurementEasily measured (cm, kg)
ExampleIncrease in height and weight, growth of organs
Development
NatureBoth quantitative and qualitative
DurationContinues throughout life
MeasurementHard to measure directly; relies on observation and tests
ExampleMaturity in language, reasoning, social behaviour
REET has asked this comparison directly or in reverse (which statement does NOT apply to development).[Source 1]
The two main causes of growth and development
- Maturation
- A genetically pre-determined internal biological unfolding that happens on its own, over time, without special training or practice — for example, a baby's teeth coming in, or the onset of puberty.
- Learning
- A relatively permanent change that comes from practice, experience and interacting with the environment — teaching, practice, training and the social environment are all supporting factors under this heading, not independent causes.
Factors that influence development
| Internal factors | External factors |
|---|---|
| Heredity | Family and social environment |
| Intelligence | Economic condition |
| Hormones and health | School and peer group |
REET 2024 asked what kind of factor 'intelligence' is — intelligence is considered an internal factor because it resides within the child, not a social/economic external one.
Using this in the classroom
| Situation | What the teacher should do |
|---|---|
| Children of the same age growing at different rates | Accept individual differences and support each child at their own pace, without comparing them to each other |
| A child's height/weight is below average | Don't judge their overall development — thinking, social skills, emotional maturity — from physical measurements alone |
| Teaching a new concept | Match the level of complexity to the child's stage of maturity; don't introduce material that's too advanced too soon |
| Talking to parents | Explain that every child develops at their own pace, so comparisons aren't fair — even though the general sequence of development is the same for everyone, individual differences in pace and shape are completely natural |
Since this is a pure pedagogy topic, its use shows up not in any subject-specific activity but in a teacher's outlook and classroom behaviour.
Exam-angle notes and common mistakes
A mistake many aspirants make is treating 'growth' and 'physical development' as two different things — they aren't. Growth is simply the physical, size-related slice of the larger process we call development. Another common slip is assuming that because growth stops, the child has 'finished developing' — REET options are built specifically to catch this assumption.
Also be careful with the word 'maturation' — in everyday usage it sometimes gets used loosely for any change over time, but in CDP it has a precise, technical meaning: internally programmed, genetic unfolding, not anything learned or practised. If a question describes a child getting better at something through repeated practice, that's learning, never maturation, even if the change looks completely natural.
Memory trick / exam tip
Remember this line: 'Growth stops, development doesn't.' And for the two causes, remember 'M-L': Maturation (internal, genetic) and Learning (experience-based). If an option lists 'teaching', 'environment' or 'practice' separately, recognise that these are all part of learning, not separate causes. Similarly, if you get confused between internal and external factors, think: 'whatever came with the child at birth is internal, whatever came from outside is external.'
Questions asked in REET 2024 (solved)
Question 26
What is the main difference between growth and development ?
- Aवृद्धि मात्रात्मक परिवर्तनों को संदर्भित करता है, जबकि विकास मात्रात्मक और गुणात्मक दोनों परिवर्तनों को शामिल करता है
- Bवृद्धि केवल मानसिक विकास से संबंधित है
- Cविकास परिपक्वता पर रुक जाता है
- Dवृद्धि और विकास पूर्णत: असंबंधित है
Explanation
वृद्धि (Growth) शरीर के आकार, भार, लम्बाई जैसे मात्रात्मक परिवर्तनों को दर्शाती है, जबकि विकास (Development) में मात्रात्मक के साथ गुणात्मक परिवर्तन (जैसे कार्यक्षमता, व्यवहार, सोच में परिपक्वता) भी शामिल होते हैं। वृद्धि एक आयु के बाद रुक जाती है पर विकास जीवनपर्यन्त चलता है, इसलिए (C) गलत है।
Question 21
Growth and development are two main reasons of __________ and _________ .
- Aअधिगम एवं वातावरण
- Bशिक्षण एवं वातावरण
- Cपरिपक्वता एवं अधिगम
- Dअभ्यास एवं अनुभव
Explanation
वृद्धि और विकास दो प्रमुख कारकों का परिणाम हैं – परिपक्वता (maturation), जो आनुवंशिक रूप से निर्धारित आन्तरिक विकास है, तथा अधिगम (learning), जो अनुभव और अभ्यास से होता है। अन्य विकल्पों में शिक्षण, वातावरण, अभ्यास आदि अधिगम के ही अंग या सहायक कारक हैं।
Question 10
Which of the following is an internal factor affecting childs development ?
- Aबुद्धिमता
- Bसामाजिक पर्यावरण
- Cसहपाठी समूह संबंध
- Dआर्थिक स्थितियाँ
Explanation
बुद्धि (Intelligence) बच्चे के भीतर निहित, आनुवंशिकता से जुड़ा आंतरिक कारक है जो उसके विकास को प्रभावित करता है। सामाजिक पर्यावरण, सहपाठी समूह और आर्थिक स्थिति बाहरी (पर्यावरणीय) कारक हैं।
Practice Questions
Question 1
Growth mainly refers to which type of change?
- Aमात्रात्मक
- Bगुणात्मक
- Cमात्रात्मक एवं गुणात्मक दोनों
- Dकोई परिवर्तन नहीं
Explanation
Growth refers to quantitative changes in the body — things you can measure in numbers, like height, weight and the size of body parts.
Question 2
For how long does the process of development continue?
- Aकेवल बाल्यावस्था तक
- Bकेवल किशोरावस्था तक
- Cजन्म से मृत्यु तक (जीवनपर्यंत)
- Dकेवल शैशवावस्था तक
Explanation
Development is a continuous process that runs from conception until death — unlike growth, it doesn't stop at any fixed age.
Question 3
Which of the following is an example of growth?
- Aशब्द भंडार में वृद्धि
- Bसामाजिक समझ का विकास
- Cऊँचाई में वृद्धि
- Dतार्किक चिंतन का विकास
Explanation
An increase in height is a purely quantitative, measurable change, so it counts as growth. The other options — vocabulary, social understanding, logical thinking — are all qualitative changes, which fall under development.
Question 4
Maturation is based on what?
- Aअभ्यास एवं प्रशिक्षण
- Bआनुवंशिक/जैविक कार्यक्रम
- Cविद्यालयी शिक्षा
- Dसामाजिक अनुभव
Explanation
Maturation is an internal, genetically pre-programmed biological unfolding that happens on its own, without any special training or practice.
Question 5
Which of the following is an external (environmental) factor affecting a child's development?
- Aबुद्धि
- Bवंशानुक्रम
- Cपारिवारिक वातावरण
- Dहार्मोन
Explanation
Family environment sits outside the child — it's a social/environmental factor. Intelligence, heredity and hormones, by contrast, are all internal to the child.
Question 6
If two children of the same age develop at different rates, what should the teacher do?
- Aदोनों से समान गति की अपेक्षा रखना
- Bवैयक्तिक भिन्नता को स्वीकार कर अलग-अलग सहयोग देना
- Cधीमी गति वाले बच्चे को डाँटना
- Dकेवल तेज़ बच्चे पर ध्यान देना
Explanation
Individual differences in the pace of development are entirely natural, so the teacher should support each child according to their own pace rather than expecting uniform progress.
Question 7
Why is it not appropriate to assess a child's overall progress based only on physical measurements (height, weight)?
- Aक्योंकि यह मापन कठिन है
- Bक्योंकि यह केवल वृद्धि दर्शाता है, समग्र विकास नहीं
- Cक्योंकि यह हमेशा गलत होता है
- Dक्योंकि विद्यालय इसका मापन नहीं करते
Explanation
Physical measurements only capture growth, the quantitative side of things — they can't tell you anything about a child's cognitive, social or emotional development.
Question 8
Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?
- Aवृद्धि – गुणात्मक परिवर्तन
- Bविकास – केवल शारीरिक परिवर्तन
- Cवृद्धि – मापनीय परिवर्तन
- Dविकास – एक निश्चित आयु के बाद रुक जाना
Explanation
Growth is quantitative and measurable — in centimetres, kilograms and so on. Development, on the other hand, is also qualitative and continues throughout life, which is why the other three pairings are incorrect.
Question 9
What is the key difference between learning and maturation?
- Aसीखना अनुभव-आधारित है, परिपक्वता आनुवंशिक रूप से निर्धारित है
- Bदोनों एक ही प्रक्रिया हैं
- Cपरिपक्वता अनुभव पर आधारित है
- Dसीखना जन्मजात होता है
Explanation
Learning comes from practice and experience, while maturation is an internal, genetically pre-determined kind of development.
Question 10
Which of the following is NOT an internal factor?
- Aबुद्धि
- Bवंशानुक्रम
- Cपारिवारिक आर्थिक स्थिति
- Dस्वास्थ्य
Explanation
A family's economic condition is a socio-economic factor outside the child — an external one. Intelligence, heredity and health, by contrast, are all considered internal factors.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions come from Growth and Development in REET?+
This is one of the foundational CDP topics, and it typically produces 2-3 questions almost every year — REET 2024 had 3 questions from this topic.
What's the main difference between growth and development?+
Growth refers only to quantitative changes (like size and weight) and stops after a certain age, while development also includes qualitative changes and continues throughout life.
What's the difference between Maturation and Learning?+
Maturation is internal, genetically pre-determined development that happens on its own, while learning is a change that comes from practice and experience.
Is intelligence an internal or external factor?+
Intelligence is considered an internal factor — it resides within the child and is linked to heredity.
Does development stop once growth stops?+
No. Physical growth may stop after a certain age, but cognitive, social and emotional development continue throughout life.
Can growth and development happen at different rates in the same child?+
Yes — a child can grow physically at an average rate while their cognitive or emotional development runs ahead or behind, since growth and development are driven by different, though related, processes.
Is height a good indicator of a child's overall development?+
No. Height only reflects physical growth; it says nothing about a child's cognitive, social or emotional development, which is why teachers are cautioned against judging overall progress from physical measurements alone.
Read next
Official Sources
Change Log
- 17 September 2026 — English pilot page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked