Exam Summaries Summary Child Development PDF

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Exam summaries - Summary Child Development
Child Development (University of South Africa)
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CHILD DEVELOPMENT (EDT 1601)

–
THE ADOLESCENT
CHAPTER 2:
THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADOLESCENT:
 Teenage years = the years of the storm and stress

 Puberty is not a single process, but encompasses a suit of developmental changes.
 Puberty or adolescence is marked by a growth spurt and a range of pubertal changes.
(internal or external changes).
 External bodily changes: for example, increase in height and mass, as well as
changes in bodily proportions
 Internal bodily changes: for example, subtle changes in adolescents’ nutritional
needs and digestive processes, their motor capabilities and skills, and their strength
and endurance.
 A complex interaction of hormones release by the pituitary and sex glands = drastic and rapid
physical changes of the body.
 These factors often cause problems and stress for the adolescent:
 Adolescents are acutely aware of their body and worry whether theirs will develop
naturally and acceptably.
 Irregular growth (asynchronism) causes awkwardness, and they frequently seem
uncoordinated.
st
 1 menarche can be traumatic for an unprepared girl.
 Nightly semen emissions can cause shame, humiliation, uneasiness and guilt for a
boy.
 Both genders are upset by acne (due to sensitivity about appearance)
 Obesity can also damage an adolescents’ self-image, and can cause negative
psychological factors.
 To develop a sense of identity Adolescents must :

- Accept the changes in their body
- Integrate the changes into their self-image and
- Retain a sense of community
(they should feel that they are still the same person)

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 The way in which adolescents perceive their body may therefore have important
psychological consequences and may construct or improve the forming of the self-concept.
 The self-concept is influenced by the following:
 What adolescent feel other think of them:
 The impression they make on their peer group: they conform to the social behaviour
of the group, and at times, also to their norms for physical appearance and
accomplishments.

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHYSICAL GROWTH OF THE ADOLESCENT:
 = Characterised by various changes in the child that lead to reproductive maturity.

 Pituitary gland plays a major role in these changes.
 Physical change starts when the hypothalamus section in the brain activates the pituitary
gland to secrete growth and sexual hormones.
 Hormonal changes trigger a rapid increase in height and mass, as well as changes in the
body’s proportions.
 Accelerated growth during adolescence:

 = typical of the pubescent period.
 During this period, various changes that take place lead to reproductive maturity.
 Pituitary gland plays an important role in the commencement of pubescence.
 Pubescence gradually gives way to puberty.
 Puberty= seen as point at which reproductive maturity is reached.
 Physical changes take place as follows:
 Hypothalamus stimulates the anterior pituitary gland to secrete growth and sex
hormones (somatotropin and gonadotropin)
 These activating hormones activate most of the other endocrine glands
 Endocrine glands in turn release their respective hormones into the adolescents
system. Hormones include sex hormones : testosterone and oestrogen.
 Hormones stimulate the forming of sperm cells and ova (eggs) respectively and are
responsible for the development of the secondary sexual characteristics in boys and
girls
 Activating hormones of pituitary gland also cooperate with other hormones, such as
thyroxin and cortisol, to promote the forming of bone and muscle.

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 Hormonal changes = rapid increase in body length and mass, while the proportions of
the adolescent’s body begins to change. ( = Growth spurt)
 Girls: 9 ½ and 14 ½ (generally 10)
 Boys: 10 ½ and 16 (generally 12 or 13)
 Last approximately 2 years, and soon after it ends, the adolescent reaches sexual
maturity.
 Girls reach their mature body length approximately 2 years before boys.
 Girls are heavier & stronger than boys between ages 11 – 13 but boys catch
up due to a more intense growth spurt and are generally taller.
 Boys reach their mature height at approximate 21 and girls at 17.
 All skeletal and muscular proportions are affected but in different degrees which
causes clumsiness and poor coordination, but this is restored after the growth spurt.
 Growth rate is influenced by genetic, endocrine, emotional and environmental factors
but varies for each person.
 Primary and secondary sexual characteristics:

 Secondary sexual characteristics emphasise the differences between adults and
children and also emphasise the difference in outward appearance between women
and men.
 Primary sexual characteristics = the organs necessary for reproduction
 Secondary sexual characteristics = physiological signs of sexual maturation that do
not directly involve sex organs.
 Secondary characteristics emphasize differences between adults and children and
also the outward appearance between men and woman. Eg. Facial hair, breasts,
voice etc.
 There is about a 7 year range for the onset of puberty of girls and about 8 years for
boys. Average age for puberty is 12 for girls and 13 / 14 for boys. The process takes
about 4 years.
GIRLS BOYS
Growth spurt (10 – 11) Growth spurt (12-13)
Breast development (10-11) Testes and scrotum (11-12)
Pubic hair (10-11), underarm and body hair (12- Penis (12-13)
13) - Starts to lengthen before it thickens
Vaginal discharge (10-13) Ejaculation (13-14)
Production of underarm sweat Pubic hair (11-12), underarm and body hair (13-
15), facial hair (13-15)
Menarche (11-14) Development of underarms and sweat glands
(13-15)
Deepening of voice (14-15)

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 Motor development:
 Motor development refers to changes in the effectiveness and control of someone’s
movements. For example, at first, infants lack fine motor skills, and therefore they cannot
grasp an object like a toy; however small muscle movement improves with time.
 The different body parts grow at different rates during adolescence.
 The development of stamina, strength, motor ability and coordination of middle childhood,
continues during adolescence.
 And adolescent’s muscles strengthen while the bones harden and the density increases.
 When puberty starts, (which is identifiable by fast and uneven growth),balance and agility as
well as certain types of coordination deteriorates, which leads to clumsiness. This clumsiness
soon disappears, and the adolescent obtains excellent motor skills and admirable physical
accomplishments.
 Motor skills make it possible for people to connect physically with other people, and as well as
play an important role in school success, as most of the activities require motor skills, for
example writing.
 Until adolescence, most boys and girls are physically well matched in terms of height, weight
and muscle tissue. But by the time adolescence ends, this changes:
 Boys generally weight 10 kg more than girls
 Boys muscle tissue usually doubles
 Girls muscle tissue increases by only 50%
 Most boys are taller than girls.
 Due to the fact that development is influenced by age, but dependant on it, some adolescents
complete their growth spurt, before others even start with theirs.
 Secular trend:
 Refers to a change over time in the average age of the onset of puberty.
 In many countries, the age at which learners reach puberty and maturity is decreasing, and
the height reached at maturity is increasing.
 Accelerated growth pattern = secular trend.
 This phenomenon is attributed to the following factors:
 Healthier diets
 Better medical services
 Improved sanitation
 Fewer childhood diseases due to immunisation
 Evidence is clear in the following:
 Noticeable increases in average height
 Earlier start of growth spurt
 Earlier changes in vocal quality for boys
 Earlier start of menarche.
 It seems as though some of the elements of maturity have reached a genetically determined
limit, and that the factors such as better nutrition are unlikely to bring it any lower.
 Secular trend less pronounced in underdeveloped countries.
 Although earlier maturation of young people may indicate that they are growing up in better
conditions, this phenomenon may also cause problems:
 For example: bodily and sexual maturation may overtake psychological development.
 Exercise also has an effect on maturation – girls who exercise vigorously experience delayed
menarche.

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 Early and late development:
Early development: Boys
 Beneficial for boys
ADVANTAGES: DISADVANTAGES:
 Look older  Less time to enjoy freedom of being a
 Assigned certain responsibilities that child, due to responsibilities.
would otherwise not be entrusted to them  Their emotional, social and cognitive
 Inclined to perform well in sports development doesn’t keep pace with
 Can earn leadership roles that give them rapid physical development.
a high status in their peer group  Tend to avoid problem solving or new
 Socially more active situations. They appear to approach
 Tend to become involved with girls more cognitive tasks cautiously and timidly,
readily prefers rules, routines and imitative
 Regarded by adults as being more actions
capable, and therefore adults tend to  Cannot handle freedom they are granted,
treat them as equals more likely to engage in delinquent acts,
use drugs and alcohol.
Personality traits:
 Better self-control
 Self-assurance
 Pragmatism and practicality
 Socially acceptable behaviour
 Competence
 A capability of laughing at themselves
 Greater personal attraction than late developers.
Late development: boys
 Main advantage: more time to develop emotionally, and are therefore better able to adapt to
changes in their body.
ADVANTAGES: DISADVANTAGES
 More time to enjoy the freedom of being  Feels inadequate, rejected and
a child dependant as a result of their
 Seem to compensate intellectually for comparative lack of physical strength and
physical tardiness adeptness
 Described as more insightful and  Often experience gender-role doubts.
inquiring than early maturers, resulting
that they are more inquisitive, display
more social initiative and tend to be more
resourceful in solving problems
 Tend to be physically active

 More restless
 Less popular.
 Some are domineering and rebellious, and therefore labelled as “the cocky type)

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Early development: Girls:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Attract attention of older boys  Not emotionally ready for social demands
 Go out with boys earlier  Dissatisfaction with size
 More prestige by peers  Less emotional stability and self-control
 Better self-concept  Earlier sexual experiences
 Get on better with families  Conflict with adults due to above
 Better socialized  Vulnerable to smoke, drink, eating
 More self-confidence and less anxiet disorder,
 depression, older friends, psychological
distress
Early development increases girls’ vulnerability to number of problems like:
 smoking and drinking alcohol

 depression, eating disorders and psychological distress
 having older friends
 higher level of conflict with parents
 engaging in high-risk, promiscuous sexual behaviour
 behavioural problems in school
Late development: girls
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Not concerned about size  Less satisfied with appearance
 Develop emotionally to cope with  Need for acknowledgement
changes  Jealous of social success of others
 Keep up with pace of boys in class
 Adolescents who mature either exceptionally early or exceptionally late do not measure up to
the standards of the peer group.
 Body image:
 Both boys and girls often express dissatisfaction with their body during adolescence. The
adolescents’ body image is associated with their sense of self-worth and is determined by
their experience of how others see them.
 Body image is usually linked to a comparison with others and is also often seen as a ‘social
mirror’
 Aspects of adolescents‟ physical development (such as early or late development, sexual
maturation, acne and/or obesity) are therefore critical factors in the forming of their body
image because these factors change the adolescents‟ attitude towards their own body.
 This, in turn, impacts on their self-concept and personality development. The new experience
of sexual awareness also raises questions about male and female gender roles, the self and
the body in relation to peers and others.
 The questions, „Who am I?‟ and, „What do I look like?‟ are therefore critical for the self-
concept of the adolescent. In general, boys have a more positive body image than girls.
 The ideal woman is presented as having large breasts on an otherwise slender figure. The
ideal male physique is portrayed as tall, broad-chested, slim-hipped and muscular.

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 Fitting a new body image into a sense of self is an important developmental task of
adolescence. If the development of adolescents‟ bodies does not conform in every detail to
that of their peers, or to the model prescribed by society, they may regard themselves as
unattractive and experience their bodies as unacceptable.
 In this case, their personality development will be hampered. Adolescents, and especially
girls, are often preoccupied with their bodies and spend a lot of time looking at themselves in
the mirror. Most adolescents are more concerned about their looks than any other aspect of
themselves.
 Body image is closely related to self-concept. Most adolescents who regard themselves as
unattractive have a negative body image. They also have a negative self-concept.
 In contrast, adolescents who regard themselves as attractive are better adapted, happier,
more successful, more self-confident and more extroverted than their peers, who regard
themselves as less attractive .
 One should be sensitive to any self-criticism or self-critical comment expressed by an
adolescent. How peers and adults react to adolescents also contributes to their body image.
 When children are teased or rejected, for example, for being overweight or having a crooked
nose, they may dislike themselves and in their minds form a negative body image. Research
on people who were teased as children found that they have high levels of dissatisfaction with
their bodies, low self-esteem and tend to be depressed.
 The drastic and rapid physical changes of the body are the results of a complex interaction of
hormones released by both the pituitary and sex glands
 Menarche:
 Most people believe menarche marks the beginning of puberty for girls, but it only starts
at least a year after the growth spurt has begun – after the breasts have started to
develop, and after body hair has appeared in the armpits and genital area.
 Age when girls start menstruating varies, because it is determined by genetic and other
factors such as economic circumstances and standards of nutrition.
 Average of menarche is approximately 12,8 years.
 However, on average, black girls experience menarche 6 months earlier than white girls.
 Better nutrition, better healthcare and higher socioeconomic circumstances also have an
influence on the onset of menarche.
 Although there is a tendency for girls to start menstruating earlier, there is also a
tendency for girls to start later than others. One possible reason = adolescents are
intensely preoccupied with slimness and fitness, and this may influence the start of
menarche.
 Girls who exercise excessively start menstruating much later.
 Girls experience the start differently , it depends on the guidance they receive beforehand
and on the parents’ attitude – especially the mother towards menarche.
 Girls who are unprepared for menarche are often shocked and revolted at the experience,
and do not see it as a sign of having reached feminine adulthood.
 This reaction is reinforced by the negative reactions they observe in others and by their
own bodily discomfort, such as backache and cramps that are common during menarche.

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 Erection, ejaculation and nocturnal semen emissions:

 First ejaculation is a sign of attaining sexual maturity.
 Boys tend to take pride in being able to have an erection and to ejaculate since they
regard these experiences as affirmations of their virility.
 Nightly semen emissions, which are involuntary = humiliating for boys.
 Wet dreams happen automatically during dreaming, even non-sexual dreams.
 Seminal emissions are regarded as a sign of physical maturation among traditional
Zulus.
 Breaking of the voice:

 As the rest of the body grows larger, so does the larynx.
 Result = adolescents’ voices deepens slightly.
 In boys, the change is more dramatic than in girls.
 Change occurs because of androgen stimulation of cell in the larynx, which causes
the larynx to enlarge.
 Larger larynx forms the prominent Adam’s apple in boys.
 Change occurs gradually over an extended period – a boy’s deeper voice may
suddenly switch to a high pitch in mid-sentence.
 Boys’ voices tend to change when they are tense and excited. This sudden change
can lead to uneasiness and embarrassment.
 Adolescents; reactions to such events mainly depend on the reactions of others,
 Girls; voices also deepen, but not nearly as much as those of boys.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:
 A healthy lifestyle is the way a person lives his or her life and the regular habits that
characterise the type and quality of the life. Healthy lifestyle behaviours develop from
childhood and track across the lifespan. Adolescents general wellbeing is negatively
influenced by health problems relating to stress, lifestyle or social conditions.
 Their inability to adapt to the large number of changes taking place in the physical, social and
affective areas of their lives can lead to a number of stress-related disorders, such as
headaches, digestive problems, menstrual distress and depression. In general, adolescents
are healthier than people in other phases of life. They are often bothered by digestive
problems caused by unwise eating habits, or colds caused by carelessness, but these are
brief episode in their lives.
 Two of the health hazards that change and increase during adolescence are:.
 Sleep deprivation:
 Adolescence is a period marked by biological and social changes that can affect
health, behaviour and sleep patterns. Adolescents need to sleep between eight and
10 hours per night, and they need more sleep during the growth spurt.
 However, adolescents generally go to sleep later and sleep less on schooldays the
older they get.
 There is also a greater difference between weekend and weekday sleep. During the
week, adolescents need to get up early to be in time for school, and over weekends,
they go to bed later at night, but then sleep in the next day. Adolescents stay up later
due to psychosocial factors, such as doing homework, surfing the net, texting their
friends, watching TV or working late (part-time job) and biological factors
 During adolescence, the brain completes its transition from its highly plastic, high-
energy use, highly interconnected form to the lower-energy use, more efficient and
faster processing adult form. The timing of secretion (late at night) of the hormone
melatonin (sleep-promoting hormone) is a gauge of when the brain is ready to sleep
 As a result of the psychosocial and biological factors, many adolescents are sleep-
deprived and many adolescents function at levels of sleep deprivation, which is
characteristic of people with sleeping disorders
 According to a study by Fakier and Wild (2011), South African adolescents with sleep
deprivation are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs. There is also a
correlation between motorcar accidents and adolescent drivers falling asleep
 Adolescents who do not get enough sleep and are sleep-deprived, may display the
following symptoms:
• perform poorly on a variety of memory tasks
• have problems at school
• experience problems with their short-term memory
• suffer from daytime sleepiness and the consequences associated with fatigue
• have high levels of depression
• be more irritable
• have a lack of tolerance for frustration
• find it difficult to control emotional responses
• experience low levels of motivation
• have a decreased ability to reason and concentrate
• experience a decrease in speed and accuracy of information processing
• be aggressive
• be hyperactive
• suffer from low self-esteem.
 Adolescents with sleep deprivation are sometimes wrongly diagnosed with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities or depression

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 Accidents:
 Accidents as a health hazard increase during adolescence, especially among boys.
 Many are caused by daring, taking risks and being careless.
 Boys, in particular like performing daring stunts, with cars, motorcycles etc.
 Some regard experimentation with alcohol and drugs as a sin of adulthood and are
involved in accidents as a result of substance abuse.
 Adolescents have a naïve belief in the myth of their own invulnerability.
= originates from adolescents’ self-centred perception of reality and is referred to as a
‘personal fable’.
 They believe that bad things only happen to others.
 They feel they are immune, exempt and even immortal
 Personal fable beliefs can therefore be an underlying reason for some of the reckless,
seemingly self-destructive behaviours.
 In SA, deaths from motor vehicle accidents represent the largest health problem
among 16-19 year olds.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:
 Physical fitness
 Healthy eating
 Personal hygiene
 Mental health
 Personal hygiene:
 The changes in the skin of adolescents are caused by sebaceous glands that secrete
an oily substance that can cause acne in both genders.
 Increased amount of testosterone is responsible for the fact that acne is more
common in boys than girls.
 Acne = pimples, blackheads, pustules, blemished or cysts on the skin.
Usually appears on face, shoulders, back and buttocks.
 Some instances : the pustules and cysts become infected, causing semi-permanent
lesions.
 In severe cases, acne can become a serious medical problem for adolescents, but as
a rule, it is more of a psychological and emotional problem because adolescents are
self-conscious about their appearance and society generally emphasises physical
attractiveness. Therefore acne should be treated as soon as it appears.
 Another problem that may occur because of the increased hormonal activity is
unpleasant body odour
 During adolescence, new sets of sweat glands in the armpits and genitals start to
work. (apocrine glands).
 They produce sweat, not only to cool down the body when it is hot, but also when one
is anxious or excited.
 This sweat smells inoffensive when it is fresh, but is unpleasant after time has
passed.
 Disagreeable body odour can be reduced by maintaining a healthy, clean lifestyle.

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 Healthy eating (nutrition):

 Food is essential for life, as it supplies essential nutrients that the body requires for the
following:
 Growth and development (rapid during adolescence)
 Resistance to illness and infection
 Normal behaviour
 Tissue repair
 The digestive system extracts the necessary nutrients from the food a person eats, and the
metabolism converts these nutrients into energy and new molecules for tissue growth.
 Because of rapid growth in adolescence, calorie requirements also increase.
 Boys need more calories than girls because they are generally bigger, have more lean
muscle and tend to be more physically active than girls
 Healthy diet refers to the amount, quality and diversity of the food, not the restriction of
calories with the goal to lose weight.
 Marasmus, kwashiorkor and iron deficiency (anemia) are 2 growth-retarding diseases that
stem from undernutrition, which is a deficiency of one or more calorie or one or more
essential nutrients
 Undernutrition affects brain cell growth, neurotransmitters, and myelinations and is also the
most common cause of stunted growth
 Malnutrition is a condition that results from someone not receiving enough nutrients
necessary to sustain their growth and good health
 Learners who suffer from nutritional deficiencies are not only more susceptible to illness, but
also experience long-term effects, such as impaired cognitive development, retarded physical
development and a lower capacity for work
 In addition, they may experience the following:
 Poor self-concept
 Decline in concentration
 Limited problem-solving abilities
 Depression and lethargy
 Poor academic achievement
 Increased irritability and apathy
 Another form of poor nutrition = over nutrition – effect is obesity
 Greatest nutritional need for girl occurs in early adolescence, when they grow the fastest, and
for boys in mid-adolescence
 Inadequate nutrition can delay growth, affect the onset of puberty and even compromise the
final growth attained
 Thus adolescent needs a well-balanced diet and guidelines on how to establish healthy eating
habits
 During adolescence the need for protein, calcium, iron and vitamins (especially vitamin D) is
higher than any other stage of life
Protein:
 All body cells contain protein

 Muscles, glands, bones, skin, blood and organs are types of body tissue that consist of large
amounts of protein
 Protein deficiency is common among girls, highly unusual for boys

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Calcium:
 As adolescents add bone mass and muscle, their requirement for calcium increases
 Calcium deficiency primarily due to inadequate calcium (milk)
Iron:
 Mineral that’s essential for the formation of haemoglobin (caries oxygen to blood)
 Normal growth depends on healthy blood supply
Vitamins:
 Vitamin requirements increase during adolescence

 Vitamin deficiency, especially shortage of vitamin A and C, caused primarily by a lack of
sufficient fresh vegetables and fruit in diet
The food pyramid:
GUIDELINES FOR GOOD NUTRITION:

 Eat variety of foods from 5 basic food groups every day
 Maintain healthy weight
 Choose diet low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol
 Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits and grain products
 Use sugars in moderation
 Use salt and sodium in moderation

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CHAPTER 3:
THE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADOLESCENT:
 Adolescents tend to be very critical and analytical towards themselves and others (especially
their parents). This is why they often fight with their parents.
 Adolescents time is manly occupied by thinking about their own thoughts, appearance and
behaviour. This is why they firmly believe that, for example, nobody has ever loved as they
have and that nobody suffers as they do.
 Physical and cognitive development accelerates markedly during adolescence.
 Dramatic physical changes taking place often obscure the equally significant changes.
 Cognitive development refers to the changes that occur in mental activities, for example,
attending, perceiving, learning, thinking and remembering
 Changes in mental activities occur at the individual’s own pace. This indicates that there are
individual differences between adolescents, and not all 16-year olds are on the same
cognitive level.
 Cognitive development has to do with everything concerning knowing, including, perception,
conceptualisations, insight, knowledge, imagination and intuition, and is closely associated
with experience and intentionality.
 During adolescence, the young person acquires knowledge and self-knowledge in more
formal ways than during the primary-school phase.
 Adolescents become more rational and capable of more complex thinking, and tend to
evaluate and criticise before arriving at a definite conclusion.
 Adolescents start to question things around them more and more
 They argue about things and begin to form their own opinions. At this level, learners ate no
longer restricted to reasoning based on the “here and now”; they are capable of going beyond
concrete evidence and using their imagination.
THEORIES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:
 Cognitive development theories focus on human capabilities.

 They attempt to explain how humans acquire and construct knowledge of themselves and
their world
 No single, perfect theory has yet explained all aspects of cognitive development.
 A theory helps us in our search for logical explanations of things that happen.
 A theory is a statement(s) that attempts to explain events.
 A theory, for instance, explains why some behaviour occurs and suggests factors
that cause specific behaviour.

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 Piaget’s development approach:

 Theory is the most widely discussed theory of cognitive development in the world.
 Theory focuses on how children construct knowledge through interaction with the
world.
 Piaget believes that people constantly adapt to their environment and, in doing so,
use their minds to organise the world in ways that they can understand.
 This organisation of the world is based on a schema (cognitive framework, or mental
pattern that guides behaviour.)
 This framework places concepts, objects and experiences into categories or groups
of associations.
 There are 2 basic ways in which we adapt to new experiences and information (using
the schema), namely assimilation and accommodation.
 Assimilation:
 Easiest method because it doesn’t require much adjustment
 Through this process, we add new information or experiences to our
existing knowledge base, sometimes reinterpreting these new
experiences so that they will fit in with previously existing information.
 Accommodation:
 More difficult because we need to change our mental schema or
create a new one to fit the new information or experience, in other
words, the new information or experience does not fit existing
schemas.
 There should be an equilibrium between accommodation and assimilation.
 The equilibrium refers to a state of balance, in other words, it is an attempt to resolve
uncertainty to return to a comfortable cognitive state.
 New knowledge is actively constructed by continually assimilating and accommodating new
information.
 Piaget believes that the development of the child’s cognitive processes follows an orderly
pattern.
 He divides the child’s growth into distinct development phases and assigns certain
characteristics to each phase.
 According to hum, the highest level of intellectual developments occurs during adolescence
(formal-operational phase); and by the end of adolescence, the development of the cognitive
faculty is almost complete, although further knowledge can still be acquired.
 Piaget s theor of de elop e t represents constructivism.

 Constructivism is a view of cognitive development that emphasises the active role of humans
in building their own understanding of reality.

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Phases in the cognitive development of the child:
PHASE AGE CHARACTERISTICS

Sensory-motor phase ± 0-2 yrs  Functioning changes from a reflex level to a
goal-directed activity
 Characterised by sensory and motor
adaptations
 Begins to make use of memory, thought
and imitation
Pre-operational phase ± 2-7 yrs  Displays the ability to represent matters
intellectually or symbolically
 Language development is central
 Does not readily see other people’s point of
view
 ± 4-7 years stage of intuitive thought.
Concrete-operational phase ± 7-11 yrs  Is capable of cognitive acts concerning
concrete, real matters
 Understands laws of conservation and is
able to classify and seriate
 Understands reversibility
Formal-operational phase ± 11-15 yrs  Capable of carrying out formal operations,
can think abstractly and logically
 Can handle possibilities and hypotheses;
though is more scientific
 Develops concerns about social issues and
indentity.
 As seen above, intellectual development culminates in the formal-operational phase, which is

central to the adolescent phase.
 It is impossible to establish a general upper limit for this phase because formal-operational
thought is not a universal accomplishment
 Example: a 17 year old boy might still be in the concrete-operational phase, while his 11 year
old sister might be in the formal-operational phase. This phase is also not reached at the
same age in every culture.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FORMAL-OPERATIONAL PHASE:
 Formal-operational phase has the following characteristics:

- Abstract thought
- Propositional thought
- Hypothetical-deductive thought
- Interpropositional thought.
 ABSTRACT THOUGHT:
A comparison between adolescents in the concrete-operational thought phase and those in the
formal-operational phase shows that:
 Adolescents in the concrete-operational phase:

 Are more dependent on direct personal experience, and comments on any issue will
be less sophisticated than those of the adolescent capable of formal-operational
thought
 Have less advanced spatio-temporal mobility
 Are less critical about themselves

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 Adolescents in the formal-operational phase are capable of abstract thoughts dealing with
abstract concepts and understanding abstract relationships. For example, they:
 Think and reason about concepts like love and hate, justice and injustice
 Comprehend relationships between such concepts as mass, energy and force
 Begin to display an understanding of the rationales, intentions and behaviour of other
people and start to question them. Adolescents question and examine social, political
and religious systems
 Have more advanced spatio-temporal mobility. They are capable of projecting into the
past and the future, and of creating new, original situations
 Are far more critical about themselves. They constantly measure themselves against
ideal models (e.g Barbie image) or against the peer group
 Are capable of reflecting on their own ideas, and they try to penetrate the conceptual
world of others.
 Are extremely sensitive about the impression they make on others. Besides reflecting
on their own ideas, adolescents try to enter imaginatively into the world of other
people’s ideas.
 Want to be part of the group
 Are egocentric in that they think others are just as preoccupied with them as they are
with themselves. This egocentricity differs from that displayed in the concrete-
operational phase in that they persuade themselves that others share their favourite
concerns.
Elkind described adolescents’ egocentrism : He states that adolescent egocentrism manifests in the
creation of an imaginary audience and a personal fable
 Gatherings of adolescents are unique in the sense that each person is simultaneously an
actor to himself and an audience to others.
 i agi ar audie e a d perso al fa le are o epts that a help e plai so e
deviant or delinquent adolescent behaviour.
Imaginary audience:
• Adolescents believe that they are the centre of other people’s attention most of the time.
• They therefore react to an imaginary audience and are extremely self-conscious.
• In groups, adolescents sometimes react to this audience by loud and provocative behaviour:
they believe everyone is watching them and they want to look cool
• Adolescents also display a need for privacy. They believe the only time they can relax is when
nobody is there to observe them.
Personal fable:
• The personal fable is closely related to the imaginary audience n that the adolescents believe
that they are important to their audience and that they are unique and singular as individuals.
• They believe, for example, that nobody has ever experienced as much agony over the break-
up of a love-affair as they have, in other words they believe that their thoughts, feelings and
experience are unique.
• The invincible fable (closely related to the personal fable) refers to the belief of the adolescent
that they are destined to have a heroic, fable or even legendary life and they cannot be
overcome or even harmed by anything that might defeat a normal mortal.

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 Egocentrism usually wanes towards the end of adolescence when adult roles and
responsibilities are accepted.
 However, at each new phase of expanding awareness, people rely on their own experiences
and perceptions in order to decrease the anxiety associated with uncertainty.
 An adolescent whose thinking is still in the concrete-operational phase is not capable of
abstract thought.
PROPOSITIONAL THOUGHT (real compared to the possible):
 Piaget sees the relationship between reality and possibility as the primary characteristic of the
formal-operational phase
 Piaget also maintains that the possible is primary and the real is secondary for the
adolescent.
 Questions concerning the future mow acquire immediacy, and the formal-operational
adolescent:
 Adds concern about “can” or “maybe” to the present concern about the actual “here-
and-now”.
 Investigates certain accepted facts, formulates hypotheses and makes deductions
 Is analytical
 Understands the arbitrary nature of methods better
 Tries out alternative problem-solving methods
 Thus has more dynamic thought processes
 Takes longer to reach decisions
 Engages in long conversations and arguments wth confidants about decisions.
 In contrast, concrete-operational adolescents:

 Cannot contemplate and deal with hypothetical and futuristic problems
 Tend to adhere rigidly to a particular problem-solving method, even if the correct
solution cannot be found
 Propositional thought entails substitution of verbal statements for objects. The importance of
language for the formal-operational thought can hardly be overestimated.
 Accordingly, adolescents with this mental capacity:
 Are capable of understanding and making use of metaphor, satire and double
meanings
 Can appreciate and make use of subtle nuances of humour
 Education, experience and personality are important factors in reaching this stage of mental
competence
 An adolescent who was relatively deprived of opportunities for language experience and
discovery in childhood, will therefore be at a relative disadvantage, which will be difficult to
overcome.

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HYPOTHETICAL-DEDUCTIVE / COMBINATORY THOUGHT:
 Adolescents who are capable of the hypothetical-deductive thought can isolate all the
variables involved in solving a problem systematically and then combine them to determine
their individual or combined influence.
 New possibilities are generated and hypotheses are formed in order to answer questions or
solve problems.
 They are therefore capable of hypothetical-deductive reasoning
 Adolescents who have reached this phase are capable of formulating and testing hypotheses,
after which results are compared.
 They proceed deductively in a formal, scientific manner. By contrast, adolescents in the
concrete-operational phase tend to be unsystematic in dealing with the problem.
Interpropositional thought:
 Adolescents who are capable of interpropositional logic can test for logical consistency, and
can identify inconsistencies between statements (propositions).
 Example: all smoker die of cancer. David is a smoker. He will die of cancer.
 Interpropositional logic enables adolescent to test these statements and to conclude that they
are invariably true.
 Despite the logical validity of the statement, all smokers do not die of cancer.
 In addition to testing verbal statements, adolescents in this phase understand direct or
indirect relationships.
 Adolescents who reach the formal-operational phase begin to understand the inverse
proportionality/ balance between weight and distance without necessarily having to
experiment with material objects to prove it.
 Adolescents in the concrete-operational phase would perform this experiment by trial and
error.
FORMAL-OPERATIONAL PHASE: GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING ADOLESCENTS:

 Start from concrete considerations, building up where applicable, to more abstract reasoning
 Expose learners to a variety of experiences in order to promote their development of a
capacity for flexible, versatile thinking
 There should be some degree of discovery learning so learners can learn to solve problems
on their own.
 Use concrete examples and illustrations to help learners who function on the formal-
operational level to understand abstract relationships
 Introduce problems that require logical and analytical thinking. (riddles, brainteasers, games
and logic puzzles)
 Engage your learners in a lot of practice in problem solving, scientific reasoning and critical
thinking
There is no sudden movement from the concrete-operational phase to the

formal-operation phase

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THE EFFECT OF FORMAL-OPERATIONAL THOUGHT ON OTHER DOMAINS OF ADOLESCENT

DEVELOPMENT:
 Formal-operational thought also has an effect on other domains of adolescent development.

 At this stage of cognitive development, adolescents can think in a complex way about
themselves and other people.
 Besides being critical and analytical toward themselves and others, they are capable of
imagining what might “ought to be”, with the result that they often question the instructions
and convictions of adults
 The more logical inconsistencies the adolescent perceives in the real world, the more
confused and frustrated he or she becomes
 Piaget also proclaimed the formal operations to be the primary cause of the “generation gap”
 Adolescents’ ability to contemplate themselves is important for the development of their self-
concept and sense of identity, because:
 Increasing introspection prompts deliberate self-criticism, self-evaluation and efforts
at self-improvement as part of a quest for identity and self-knowledge.
 They compare themselves constantly to ideal models or the peer group. This may
lead to a sense of inferiority and a personal sense of dissatisfaction. The adolescents
are prone to mood swings that range from depression and dissatisfaction to joy and
happiness.
 Consciousness of the imaginary audience give rise to intense self-consciousness, shyness

and a need for privacy, which may lead to a negative self-concept.
 Personal and invincibility fable beliefs can be the underlying reason for some of the reckless,
seemingly self-destructive behaviour that is so typical of adolescents.
 Their experimentation with alcohol, drugs and sex is based on the belief that nothing bad can
happen to them.
 Formal operational thought better equips adolescents to make difficult personal decisions that
involve weighing alternative courses of action and their probable consequences for
 The ability to think abstractly also holds emotional implications. Example: the learner in the
concrete-operational phase could love his parents but hate his teacher; now, in the abstract
phase, he can love freedom and hate exploitations
 Adolescence is the period during which adolescents begin to assume adult roles, consider
themselves equal to adults, and judge adults with complete reciprocity on the same level as
themselves.
 They often lose sight of reality and propose utopian solutions to the world’s problems
 They may rebel against existing norms and values if their educators fail to emphasise with
their idealism.
 Adolescents reflect on their future and how they can change society, with the result that they
cannot distinguish between their own life plan and the interests of the group they want to
reform.
 Result of decentration = they begin to adopt a more realistic life plan.
 Decentring and consequent realism may cause them to become cynical about reality
 Adolescents’ increasing independence and ability to solve their own problems cause conflict
between themselves and what their parents feel is right and good for them.
 They become aware of discrepancies between the commonly accepted values and actual
behaviour of their parents and no longer idealise them.

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 Cognitive development also affects personal attributes, career plans and concern about
social, political and personal values.
 There’s a close link between cognitive abilities and learning.
 Adolescents who are capable of formal-operational thought are capable of using sophisticated
Mnemonic techniques, with the result that they are able to accomplish intellectual tasks more
rapidly and effectively, and can anticipate, identify and reason about problems and conceive
strategies for solving these.
EVALUATION PIAGET’S THEORY:
Some of Piaget’s major contributions to the field of human development are as follows:
 Piaget founded the discipline we know today as cognitive development, and his theory was
the first to explain, and not just describe the process of development.
 His theory stimulated many researchers to investigate the cognitive development of humans.
It has formed the basis of new theories and research on cognitive developments. Some of this
research led to new insights while pointing to problems with his original ideas,
 His analysis of the development of thought in the child is the core of what an educator needs
to know. It provides a benchmark for teachers on what to expect at various ages.
 Ideas had a major influence on thinking about social and emotional development, as well as
practical implications for teachers.
Major criticisms on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development:
 Many developmental theorists question the division of the child’s cognitive development into
the four stages. They agree that children do progress through various stages, but they
disagree on the consistency in children’s thinking which Piaget’s stage theory would imply.
 Cross-cultural research on cognitive development has generally revealed that children form
different cultures progress through more or less the same stages, but at different rates.
 Researchers also question the ages at which particular accomplishments can first be made.
Not only can younger children think in ways in which Piaget believed only adolescents could,
but adolescents frequently think in ways characteristics of earlier stages
 Piaget assumed that formal thought was necessary to understand certain types of logical
relationships.
 Deductive reasoning presumably emerges with thought. Yet preschool children can also solve
syllogism requiring this type of logic
 The idea that the formal-operational phase represents the culmination of intellectual
development and is central to adolescence
 Research studies in the USA have shown that the majority of adolescents do not function at
the formal-operational level.
 According to Piaget’s theory, the formal-operational stage is the highest level of cognitive
development. By this he implies that no further cognitive development takes place after this
stage. However, recent theories and research findings have contradicted this. Adults indeed
think differently from adolescents. This higher cognitive development stage is referred to as
post-formal thought or reasoning. There is a fifth stage of cognitive development – problem
finding stage. This stage can only be reached if the formal-operational stage has been
accomplished, and represents an ability to discover problems, or raise general questions for
ill-defined problems

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 Formal operational reasoning is not broad enough to encompass the many dimensions along
which cognitive functioning matures in adolescence
 Piaget generally underestimated the role of language as a tool and therefore underestimated
language as a driving force in development.
 Piaget ignored the social and emotional development of the child. He paid too little attention
to the ways in which children’s minds develop through their social interactions with others and
the role of emotions in development. Cognitive development is not just intellectual
development.
 Piaget devoted too little attention to cultural influences. He admitted the role of culture on the
rate of cognitive development. However, developmentalists now know that culture also
influences how children think
 Piaget’s theory doesn’t adequately consider cognitive advances, such as information-
processing capacity, accumulation of knowledge and the role of metacognition. The ability to
think about one’s own thinking (metacognition), and to manage one’s mental processes may
be the most important advance of adolescent thought.

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 Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory:

 He believes that all higher cognitive processes originate in social interaction.
 Vygotsky was influenced by Piaget’s work, but did not agree that true learning takes
place at the stages that Piaget indicated, and he emphasised the role of the
environment in children’s intellectual development.
 Piaget believed that intelligence matures from the inside, and is directed outwards,
but Vygotsky believed that intelligence begins in the social environment and directs
itself inward: intelligence does not begin within an individual, but rather in the
relations between individuals and the world around them
 Where Piaget underestimated the role of language in development, Vygotsky
stressed the value of language, not just a tool for thought but also as a vehicle for
cultural transmission.
 Vygotsky believed that many of the truly important “discoveries” that children make
occurs when there is dialogue between a skilful tutor and a novice learner, which is
referred to as collaborative or guided learning.
 He also believes that learning only takes place in what he called “the zone of proximal
development (ZPD)”.
 The ZPD refers to the range of tasks that are too complex to be mastered alone. It
can only be grasped or accomplished with adult guidance or in collaboration with
more capable peers.
 How the child arrives at a solution is indicating of the child’s mental potential.
Vygotsky used the term “mediation”, instead of “teaching”, when the child solves a
problem in the following circumstances:
- Using clues form the mediator
- Using guising (leading) questions from the mediator
- After the mediator has shown how it should be solved
- After the mediator has started it
- In collaboration with other children
 Adult acts as “mediator” between child’s actual development and the child’s potential
development.
 Mediated process may vary from culture to culture, and different forms of guided
participation are likely to be used, depending on the requirements a culture places on
adults and children.
 Vygotsky’s theory highlights the central role of teachers, adults and competent peers
in children's attainment of a certain level of cognitive development.
 Theory emphasises social interaction for facilitating development.
 Mediator performs the function of providing intellectual “scaffolding” for learners so
they can become independent.
 Scaffolding = process whereby a more advances partner moves the child through
the ZPD to full independent achievement.
This means that the mediator helps the learner by setting problems and then
providing clues to possible solutions. Parents and teachers provide scaffolds for
effective performance during adolescence, when many new skills must be mastered
in a short period.

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 Ineffective learners = ineffective thinkers. They will need extensive mediation through
interaction, personal reflection, and renegotiation of the meaning and significance of
those concept networks that affect their attitudes, feelings and expectations.
Particular attention will have to be given to the deliberate promotion and consolidation
of their problem-solving and thinking skills in the classroom.
 An adolescent’s learning mustn’t be confined to his or her “stage” of intellectual
development. It’s the responsibility of the adult to make sure the adolescent is moved
beyond that ‘stage’ into the ZPD, where learning will take place.
 This learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to
operate only when the learner is interacting in cooperation with people in the
environment
 Once these processes are internalised, they become part of the learner’s
independent development.
 Interpersonal relations therefore play an important role in any teaching and learning
situation.
 Main cause of underachievement is children whose cognitive functions are

underdeveloped. This underdevelopment arises from a lack of stimulating
experiences and the necessary interactions between child and adults through
dialogue, negotiation and mediation.
 To develop fully, learners must work with skilled partners who can systematically lead
them into more complex problem solving
 Teachers should tailor their instruction to each child’s ZPD.
 Adults responsibility to ensure that the child is moved into the ZPD where learning will
take place.
 For Vygotsky, learning affects development, and the more children learn, the more
they become capable of learning.
 The notion of ZPD should influence the way in which teachers assess and work with
children. They should not only assess the level of children’s development but also
their assisted level of development
 With help of mediator, or in a group, the learner is helped to work out individual and
personal solutions to tasks.
 Teaching should be a sensitive process of helping the child to achieve what is just out
of reach, and then stepping back when the child can do it alone.
 Vygotsky’s theory supports the use of cooperative learning.

 Through cooperative learning, learners work together to help each other. Peers
usually operate within each other’s ZPD, providing models of slightly more advanced
thinking for each other.
 During this process, private speech is observable by the group, in other words,
learners benefit from each other when they hear how group members talk themselves
through a problem (thinking out loud)
 Research found that people who use private speech talk to themselves through
difficult tasks are able to carry out the tasks more successfully than those who do not.
 Thus, Vygotsky’s ZPD has led to many teachers to realise that good learning doesn’t
develop naturally, but happens in association with other people. Interpersonal
relationships therefore play an important role in any teaching and learning situation.
 Scaffolding is what the adult does;

 Private speech is what the child does to change external interactions into internal thoughts.

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 Sternberg’s approach:
 Sternberg’s approach, combined with several others, classifies intelligence in terms of
function and level.
 Function refers to what the components of intelligence actually do, while level
indicates the degree of complexity or difficulty of the planning or decision-making
being undertaken.
 Sternberg proposes that intelligence comprises three aspects:
 Analytical intelligence
 Practical intelligence
 Creative intelligence
Referred to as the triarchic theory of human intelligence.
Practical intelligence:
Successfully solving problems that arise in your everyday life
This includes:
• Adapting to your environment

• Selecting environments in which you can succeed
• Shaping your environment to fit your strengths
Creative intelligence:
Analytical intelligence:
Effectively dealing with novel
Selecting mental processes
problems and automating
(thinking critically and
responses to familiar
INTELLIGENCE analytically), which will lead
problems.
to success.
This includes:
This includes:
• Creating
• Planning
• Inventing
• Evaluating
• Discovering
• Analysing
• imagining
• Monitoring
• Comparing and
contrasting
• Filtering information

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• Analytical intelligence:
 Example: the ability to acquire and store information, retain information and retrieve
information, make decisions and solve problems
• Creative intelligence:
 The ability to solve new problems and also the ability to solve familiar problems in an
automatic way, so that the mind can handle other problems at the same item.
• Practical intelligence:
 For Sternberg, it comprises what is not being taught in school, for example, getting
out of trouble and getting along with people.
• Most tasks require some combination of the 3 types
• Sternberg believes that schools should teach all 3 classes of skills (intelligence)
 On the strength of his triarchic theory, Sternberg claims that intelligent behaviour can
be taught.
 Sternberg is unique in emphasising creativity as an intelligence
 According to the triarchic theory, cognition is the centre of intelligence.

 Information processing in cognition can be divided into the following 2 components:
 A metacomponent involved in the planning, monitoring and decision making
associated with the performance of a task. (this component is placed at the centre of
the concept of human intelligence.)
 A performance component to be found in the implementation of lower-order
processes used for implementing the commands of the metacomponent.
 A knowledge acquisition component, which subsumes processes involved in
acquiring new knowledge, namely selection, combination and comparison of
information
 Teaching learners to use all three of these abilities has resulted in improved scholastic
achievement.
 The triarchic theory emphasises the sociocultural context within which the individual functions,
as well as the importance of novelties for the individual. It also offers an explanation of the
methods of knowledge acquisition
 The theory recognises a dynamic aspect of successful performance.
 It states that successful people find a way to capitalise on their strengths and to correct or
compensate for their weaknesses.

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 Feuerstein’s approach:
 Gives equal weight to both partners (learner and teacher) in educational act.
 Bases his approach to intelligence on processes rather than factors and regards
people as open systems with respectiveness as their central characteristic.
 Feuerstein developed a programme that is used throughout the world to assist
children with learning disabilities.
 A key concept of his Instrumental Enrichment Programme is that of cognitive
modifiability, which is concerned with structure and constitutes a factor that may
influence cognitive development.
 The development of the cognitive structure is influenced by the following 2 types of

interaction between the individual and environment:
 Direct exposure so stimuli emanating from the environment
 Mediated learning experience (MLE)
 MLE forms the core of Fauerstein’s approach, and the reacher intervenes between
the learner and reality and acts as a human mediator, interpreter and facilitator of the
learning experience
 Teaching style changes from one of transmission of information to one of mediating
learning experiences, this promoting a climate of involvement and mutual respect
during the learning event.
Both types of learning experience are important, but the quality of MLE provided with children is
largely responsible for the different levels of cognitive development.
 Process of accompaniment influences the cognitive structure and provides

sufficient linking ideas to which new knowledge can be attached. Knowledge
gained in this way expands and refines the existing cognitive structure.
 Children’s cognitive development is influenced by the environment in which
they grow up.
 The importance of high-quality attention and accompanied learning
experience may not be disregarded, since these enable children to develop
their ability to orientate themselves effectively and efficiently in new situations.
 Feuerstein observes that besides the need for stimulating physical
environment, the teacher must be present to draw learners’ attention to
certain matters and help learners to interpret what they observe, so that a
satisfactory cognitive progress may by assured for the learners.
 Requirements for adequate mediation of cognitive skills:

 Mediation is an intentional activity: teacher intervenes between learner
and the world and enriches the learner’s experiences, for instance, by
focusing his attention on something specific and asking question. The learner
is guided to examine aspects of reality.
 Mediation usually implies bridging or a transfer of knowledge to other
situations: transfer occurs from the specific situation to which the learner
has been exposed to a different situation. Teachers can encourage and
promote bridging by pointing out connections between situations or events.

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FOR EFFECTIVE MEDIATION, BEAR THE FOLLOWING IN MIND WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS:
 It’s better to teach learners to adopt a questioning attitude when presented with new subject
matter. This creates a better cognitive learning environment than the provision of definitive
answers that have not even occurred to the learner.
 Questions should not be closed, as it doesn’t allow for arguing . The implication= there should
be question that stimulate thought, call for reflection, and provoke differences of opinion and
argument
 It’s important how educators ask questions.
 Sternberg and Feuerstein’s theories proceed from the standpoint that people are open
systems and therefore amenable to change, including lifelong development of intelligence,
 Feuerstein believes the IQ score is of little value to teachers who are interested in cognitive
change because it gives no indication of cognitive processes and often gives no indication of
learning potential
 The Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) created by Feuerstein comprises a

dynamic method of measuring learning potential in order to identify deficiencies in children’s
intellectual apparatus and to remedy these by providing learning opportunities.
 This approach to intelligence measurement constitutes an effort to break away from the
previously conventional measurement of intelligence and is aimed at improving intellectual
performance and enhancing the child’s overall cognitive functioning.

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 Gardner’s approach:
 Defines intelligence as “a biopsychological potential to process information that can be
activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a
culture”
 This definition locates intelligence in what people can do and the product they can create
in the real world
 Gardner used an amalgamation of both the biological and the behavioural in his efforts to
support his theory of human intelligence.
 It is believed that each intelligence has a different developmental history and is located in
different parts of the brain
 The multiple intelligences (MI) theory formed a marked contrast to the traditional view that
individuals possess only one general intelligence.
 Gardner proposes that humans’ cognitive ability is pluralistic and that people possess
different strong intelligences that can be developed.
 These multiple intelligences vary in degrees of strength, skill and limitation.
 This theory allows learners to learn in a way that complies with their particular strengths.

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 As the MI theory is a descriptive theory of intelligences and not a learning theory or a

curriculat model, it does not come with a prescription or set of directions for practice.
 In other words, one application of the theory is not necessarily “right” and antoher “wrong”;
different approaches can be justified and prove to be appropriate for their setting
 MI is a theoretical framework for defining, understanding, developing and assessing learners;
different intelligences.
 Gardner’s theory is vauable because it expanded the curriculum by moving from a traditional
curriculum where the focus was only on linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligences to a
model of multiple intelligencess.
 When implementing Gardner’s theory (which is diddicult) teachers need to take cognition of
the following 2 common misapplications of his theory:
 Confusing an intelligence with a domain: biology,for example is a domain. There
is not a biology intelligence. But in mastering biology, verbal, logical/mathematical,
spatia and naturalist intelligences are relevant.
 Confusing an intelligence with a learning style: an intelligence is an ability, while a
learning style is a way of approaching learning.
 Learners are not constrained by a general IQ type, bur are now perceived as capable of
uneven cognitive achievement in 9 relatively self-contained, domain-specific intelligences.
 From Gardner’s view on intelligence, we now know that people have a much borader set of
intellectual skills than psychological thinkers have assumes.

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The adolescent brain:
 Cognitive neuroscience:
 = an interdisciplinary study of human cognition that looks at the psychological,
computational and biological mechanisms that have an impact on human thought, or
cognition.
 The view of neuroscience is that actions, thoughts and experiences alter the brain, rather
than genes strictly dictating brain development.
 Neuroscience specifies the following five basic concepts abour brain development”
 Brain develops throughout the life span
 The interactive influene of genes and experience shape the devoping brain
 The brain’s capacity for change decreases with age
 Cognitive, emotional and social capacities are inextricably intertwined throughout
the life coruse
 Tox stress damages developing brain architecture, which can lead to lifelong
problems in learning, behavoiur, and physical and mental health
 The most important conclusion to emerge from recen research is that important changes in
the brain anatomy abd activity take place far longer into development than had previously
been thought.
 Adolescence is a period of substantial brain maturation with respect to both structure and
function.
 The growth of the brain is a lifelong process that starts in the prenatal period.
 Structures of the human brain:

 Brain is divided in the middle into 2 halves (hemispheres), the right and left side.
 Right side controls the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain control the
right side of the body.
 The corpos callosum is a bundle of axon that bridge and link these 2 hemispheres so
they can communicate with each other.
 Each hemisphere is covered by a cerbral cortex – this is an outer layer of gray matter
that control sensory and motor processes, perception and intellectual functioning,
such as learning, thinking and speaking
 2 hemispheres look simliar, but have disticnt functions
 2 different sided of the brain control different moded of thinking.
 Both sides are involved in almost everything a person does.

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FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY THE DIFFERENT LOBES:
1. Brain stem (includes spinal cord): transmission of neural impulses to and from the brain
2. Limbic system (part of the old brain): involved in emotion, attention and motivation
3. Cerebellum: controls balance, movement and coordination
4. Occipital lobe: processes visual information
5. Temporal lobe: involved in understanding of spoken language, verbal memory, hearing,
visual memory and emotion
6. Parietal lobe: processes sensory input, perception and special movement
7. Frontal lobe: processes complex thoughts, movements, language, working memory, self-
control and decision making

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 Development of the brain during adolescence:
During adolescence, the following four specific structural changes in the brain occur:
 Decrease in grey matter

 Increase in white matter
 Changes in activity involving neurotransmitters
 Increase in the strength of connection between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system
The above changes in the development of the adolescent brain are associated with the following
potential changes in mental competence:
 10.5- 13 years: new growth in the visual and auditory regions of the brain
 New abilities in performing calculations
 Increasing ability to perceive new meaning and functions of familiar objects
 13-17 years: new growth in the visio-auditory, visio-spacial and somatic systems
 New abilities in reviewing mental operations (metacognition)
 13-17 years: new growth in prefrontal cortex
 New abilities in questioning and evaluating information
 New abilities in formulating hypotheses based on new information from a variety of
sources.

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Intelligence:
 Every textbook defines intelligence differently.

 Gordon describes it as the ability that reflects the organisation of the person as a whole
and influences the person’s general experience, cultural environment and human
relationships”.
 Kokot on the other hand, refers to intelligence as ‘sheer brainpower’.
 Rice and Dolgin defines it as an natural capacity to learn, think, reason, understand and
solving problems.
 Sternberg & Sternberg describes intelligence as the potential to learn from an experience,
using metacognitive processes to enhance learning, and having the capability to adapt to
a surrounding environment.
 Aside from the differences, there are some common themes:
 For example, intelligence is described in terms of cognitive functions, such as
having the ability to reason, understanding complex and abstract issues, learning
quickly, solving problems, remembering and analysing in all of these definitions.
 The three commonly agreed-upon aspects of intelligence in all of these definitions are:
 The ability to be verbal
 Having the skills to solve problems
 And having the ability to learn from and adapt to experiences of everyday life.
 According to Sternberg & Sternberg there are two themes visible in the definitions of
intelligence:
 The ability to learn from an experience
 The potential to adapt to the environment.
 Intelligence can therefore be defined as having the ability to adapt to the environment,
learning from an experience and maintaining problem solving skills.
 Cattel and Horn influenced modern thinking regarding intelligence by differentiating between 2
vast dimensions of intelligence, namely fluid and crystallised intelligence.
 Fluid intelligence: is having the ability to use your mind actively to solve new and
abstract problems
 Crystallised intelligence: is the collection and use of knowledge acquired through
school and other life experiences
 Intelligence is viewed as a multifaced expression that can be developed
 The definition is intelligence depends on the behaviour that has to be explained or measured.

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The old and new view on intelligence:
OLD VIEW NEW VIEW

Intelligence remains fixed for life Intelligence is a multifaced expression and can
be developed
It labels learners as “slow” or “smart” It avoids labelling learners as having “high” or
“low” intelligence
It biased in favour of linguistic-verbal and Intelligence can be exhibited in many ways –
mathematical-logical abilities multiple intelligences
Intelligence is measured in isolation Intelligence is measured in context/ real-life
situations
Intelligence follows a normal distribution All 9 types of intelligence are appreciated and
nurtured
Win/lose situation – more of the 1 type of Win/win situation – a person can be successful at
intelligence (e.g, verbal intelligence) means less all levels of intelligence
of the other (e.g nonverbal intelligence)
Intelligence is used to sort learners and predict Intelligence used to understand human
their successes capabilities and the many and varied ways in
which learners can achieve
 Factors that influence intelligence:
 Many factors have an influence on intelligence, such as genetics, the environment, culture,
gender, self-concept, language and motivation.
 Genetics and environment:

 Research about the relationship between genetic and environmental factors have
been futile, as no clear answers have been produced.
 However, there is no doubt that the above mentioned factors are fundamental in
determining IQ: the one is not possible without the other
 For example: when a learners has a potentially low IQ due to genetics, the learner
may never attain a high IQ, regardless of how stimulating the environment is. When
a learner has a potentially high IQ due to genetics, they may never reach their
potential due to an extremely poverty-stricken environment.
 Since you cannot change the genetic side of IQ, it is essential to focus on the role of
the environment and examine what might be the most intellectually useful
environment. The Flynn effect is a phenomenon where there has been a systematic
th
increase in IQ scores over the 20 century.
 There are a few factors that may have contributed to the Flynn effect:
 Improved education
 Improvements in nutrition and healthcare
 Using media and exposure to the global world
 A more competitive intellectual environment
 Self-concept:
 People with a positive self-esteem tend to be enthusiastic about their studies and
successful in their studies.
 People with a negative self-esteem tend to perform poorly academically.

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 Culture:
 Over the last 40 years, a lot of work has been done on IQ tests in a variety of
cultures showing that there are differences between cultures.
 However, the issue of comparing races and cultures is scientifically difficult and
politically sensitive.
 Intelligence tests are used to measure skills that are integral to a specific culture,
which inspires claims that the tests are unfair to minorities.
 While one culture considers behaviour as intelligent, another culture can view it as
unintelligent.
 It is deemed as unfair to administer the same intelligence test for people from
different cultural backgrounds
 Gender differences:
 Intelligence tests show that the general intelligence of males and females are equal,
but that they generally have different abilities in different domains.
 Tests that focus on verbal skills such as reading, verbal – fluency and
comprehension) are done better in by girls.
 Boys, on the other hand, perform better in tasks that test spatial orientation an
mathematical ability.
 Language:
 Language is an essential thinking tool and the primary vehicle of thought, therefor
there is a relationship between language and intelligence.
 Language influences what and how a learner thinks, and it doesn’t look like it
determines thought.
 Motivation:
 Intelligence and motivation has a close relationship between them.
 Children who are intrinsically motivated are in a favourable position to use their
intelligence.
 When a learner is motivated to learn, their intelligence can increase.

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Creativity:
 The term “creativity” has a number of definitions most scholars define creativity as the ability
to produce new and interesting responses appropriate in context and that is valued by others,
and according to Van der Zanden creativity refers to something that is new and useful
 Since creative people’s thinking is different, some researchers recommend that creativity
should be referenced to divergent and convergent thought, because novelty and utility are a
matter of subjective opinion.
 Divergent thinking: thinking linked to creativity. This is coming up with a variety of ideas or
solutions to a problem when there is not only one single correct answer.
 Covergent thinking: kind of thinking measured by IQ tests. There is only one single correct
answer.
 In the early 1950s Guilford proposed his model of the intellect, and he claimed that the
intellect embraces several cognitive operations, including those of divergent and convergent
thought
 Creativity included being able to work out original ideas from something that is known, as well
as the unknown, and create new things.
 Creativity therefor refers to the person who can identify a problem, looks for resolutions and
formulated hypotheses about possible solutions, which are then put into practice; therefor
creativity refers to something that is new and useful. (innovation)
 An innovation doesn’t need to be a whole new product, but a slight adjustment to an existing
product or idea can be classified as an innovation and a new product.
 Researchers agree that everyone has the ability to be creative to some extent, because we all
have the ability to create new ideas deduced from the known and unknown.
 The real key to being creative, however lies in what you do with your knowledge.
 Stimulating creativity:
 Traditionally: right brain dominant people labelled creatve and lef-brain dominant people
logical and rigid.
HOW TEACHERS CAN STIMULATE AND PROMOTE CREATIVITY

 Create situations that present incompleteness and openness. Try to use the learner’s interest
as a starting point
 Allow and encourage many questions. Treat unusual answers with curiosity. Regard it as
normal when learners ask unanswerable questions.
 Help learners to procuce something and then do something with it
 Emphasise self-initiated exploration, observation, questioning, seeking, inferring, classifying,
recording, translating, testing and communicating
 Permit learners’own creativity to emerge by extending their creativity – by letting the, hear
more, see more, feel more. All creative people are particularly open to sensory experiencss,
but the highly creative are particularly repsonive
 Stimulate creative thinking with brainstorming.
 Use humour to release creative thinking
 Uses games, puzzles, riddles and other activities associated with fun
 Guide learners to seek more than one right answer and to realise that failure is not the end of
the world

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 Creativity and intelligence:
Main characteristics of creative individuals:
 Readiness to work hard and long hours

 Fluency regarding repetition and processing of existing knowledge
 Originality to produce extraordinary ideas, solve problems in a unique way and use things in
an exceptional and novel manner
 Flexibility, pliability and latitiude of thought, using various apporaches; moving easily from one
category to anoter
 Elaboration or the ability to hndle a specific problem in its finest detail
 Open to new experiences, self-confident, impulsve, ambitious, Driven and hostile.
CONCLUSION:
 People’s cognitive abilities increase rapidly during the adolescent years, with the result that
they can perform tasks more easily, quickly and efficiently
 They adopt more conceptual approach to problems and display more insight in dealing with
them
 Heightened cognitive abilities enable adolescents to assign more profound meanings to the
fute, learning content, people and their own abilities ans shortcomings
 Cognitive development involves both the skill and art of knowing, including aspects such as
perception, conceptualisation, insight, knowledge, imagination and intuition

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CHAPTER 4:
THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADOLESCENT
 Erik Erikson:
 Saw development as a passage through a series of stages, each with its particular
goals, accomplishments and problems.
 Used Freud’s work as a starting point to develop a theory about human-stage
development from birth to death
 Focused on how people’s sense of identity develops and how they develop or fail to
develop abilities and beliefs about themselves, which allow them to become
productive, satisfied members of society
 His influential theory on identity formation and personality development offers a basic
framework for understanding the needs of young people in relation to the society in
which they grow, learn and later make their own contributions.
Highlights of his theory:
 Development of the human personality is the result of both genetic and social influences
 The development of the individual passes through a series of stages that are determined by
the maturation of certain abilities and interests, and by demands made on the individual of a
certain age by society
 The human life cycle consists of 8 stages, each of which is characterised by a crisis. The
specific development crisis in each stage takes precedence at that stage
 The individual has to resolve each crisis anew during each phase, that is, he or she must
work through previous crises again, while subsequent crises are receiving attention.
 A development crisis is resolved by obtaining synthesis of 2 opposite possibilities.
Erikson’s 8 stages of development:
STAGE PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISES CENTRAL ISSUE AGE

st
1 Basic trust as opposed to mistrust Can I trust others? 1 year of life
(synthesis: hope)
nd
2 Autonomy as opposed to reticence Can I act on my own? 2 year of life
and doubt
(synthesis: will power)
rd th
3 Initiative in opposition to guilt Can I carry out plans 3 to 6 year
(synthesis: goal-directedness) successfully?
th th
4 Productiveness in opposition to Am I competent compared 6 to 12 year
inferiority with others?
(synthesis: proficiency)
5 Identity in opposition to identity Who am I? Puberty to
diffusion or role confusion adulthood
(synthesis: dependability)
6 Intimacy versus isolation Am I ready for a relationship? Early adulthood
(synthesis: love)
7 Generativity versus stagnation Have I left my mark? 25 to 65 years
(synthesis: providence)
8 Integrity versus despair Has my life been meaningful? 60 to 70 years
(synthesis: wisdom)

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 Children who successfully master stages 1-4 gain new ego strengths and learn more about
themselves and position themselves to resolve Stage 5, identity in opposition to identity/ role
confusion
 Stage 5 is centrepiece of theory:
 In this phase, adolescents wonder how other people perceive them, how this
correspondence to their self-image and how the roles and acquired skills fit in with
their plans for the future.
 They experience a sense of identity when they achieve integration between earlier
identification abilities, plans for the future and the opportunities offered by society
8 stages of development and their corresponding psychosocial crises:

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Erikson’s stages of psychological development:
 Infancy: basis trust vs mistrust

 Early childhood: autonomy vs guilt
initiative vs guilt
 School age: industry vs inferiority
 Adolescence: identity vs identity diffusion/ confusion
 Young adulthood: intimacy vs isolation
 Adulthood: generativity vs stagnation
 Old age: integrity vs despair
Supportive practices derived from Erikson’s theory:
Trust vs mistrust  Support and encourage the child

 Alleviate distress and uncertainties promptly
 Be responsive and consistent
Autonomy vs doubt  Allow opportunities for self-control, self-care and responsibility
 Free choice activities should be included in the curriculum
Initiative vs guilt  Encourage children to make decisions, choose activities and
have a real impact on the work of the classroom
 Be tolerant of accidents, mistakes and “mess” as “children go it
alone”.
 Avoid labels such as “good” and “bad”
Industry vs inferiority  Help children set realistic goals of achievement, and help them
to feel a sense of accountability for what they achieve
 Set the classroom up so that it is mutually supportive through
the operation of group goal structures
 Alleviate the negative effects of competition and peer pressure
 Reward and acknowledge the achievement of goals
Identity vs role confusion  Encourage the development of trust, autonomy, initiative and
industry as these form the basis of the sense of identity the
adolescent strives to achieve at this time
 Be sensitive to the needs of adolescents as they cope with the
ambivalent and confusing messages received from parents,
educators, peers and society in general
 Be consistent, warm and understanding
 Be prepared to give advice when sought, and be prepared to
see the advice not taken
Erikso s theor des ri es the asi issues that o fro ts a perso as he or she goes through life

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 Urie Bronfenbrenner:
 Ecological systems theory = defines development as a function of the interaction between the
development of a person and the environment in which the person lives.
 He believes this is a dynamic process, where all the aspects of the environment affect a
person and a person in turn affects all aspects of his environment. (he explains how
everything in a child and its environment affects how they grow and develop)
 He labelled different aspects or levels of the environment that influence development, in
particular the :
 microsystem,
 mesosystem,
 the exosystem,
 macrosystem and the
 chronosystem
 the ecological environment is conceived as a set of nested structures, each inside the next

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1. Microsystem:
 Includes all the face-to-face interactions in the developing person’s immediate
settings, such as family, school, peer group and community.
 Microsystem Directly affects the child and vice versa
 How a child acts or reacts to other people will affect how they will be treated by others
 Each child’s special genetic and biologically influenced personality traits will also
affect how others treat them
 Much of the adolescents behaviour is learned in microsystem
 Risk factors: domestic violence, divorced parents, negative peer relations, poverty,
substance abuse
2. Mesosystem:
 Structural relationship with the microsystem, consists of the interactions among the
various settings, such as linking the child with the teacher, parents, church and
neighbourhood
 Example: adolescent’s experiences at home influence their school performance, and
their experiences at school influence their interactions at home.
 Mesosystems provide support for activities going on in the microsystem
3. Exosystem:
 Describes a larger social system in which the child does not function directly and
which is external to the child, but has an effect on the child
 Example: if the parent has a demanding and stressful job, it may affect the way the
parent interacts with his children at home, and this, in turn, may have a negative
effect on the child
4. Macrosystem:
 Considered the outmost level in the child’s environment and comprises cultural
values, customs and laws.
 In this system, the child’s beliefs, attitudes and traditions are affected.
5. Chronosystem:
 Incorporates the dimension of time as it relates to a child’s environments
 Example: age and time in history in which one lives, that is, the evolution of the 4
systems over time
 Theory of ecological development emphasises the importance of understanding a person in

relation to all these contexts.
 He seeks to provide a unified but highly differentiated conceptual scheme for describing and
interrelating structures and processes in both the immediate and more remote environment as
it shapes the course of human development throughout the life span
 Theory seen as the physical structure related to developmental stages

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 Social relationships of the adolescent:

 Adolescents’ social development generally includes the changes in their relations with
other people and the influence of society and specific persons on the individual
 Special attention is devoted to adolescents relations with their parents, siblings,
teachers and other adults, as well as with their peer groups and friends.
Among the most critical development tasks that have to be performed by adolescents are the
following:
 Socialisation
 Finding their place in society
 Acquiring interpersonal skills
 Cultivating tolerance for personal and cultural differences
 Developing self-confidence
 Result of social development is that adolescents gradually move away from their parents, and
acceptance by the peer group becomes more important
 Friendships with members of the same gender deepen and heterosexual relationships rapidly
assume a romantic or sexual dimension
 The social emancipation of adolescents increasingly confronts them with situation in which:
 They have to make their own decisions
 They are pressurised to conform
 Their values and principles are questioned and tested
 The adolescent’s relationships with members of their peer group can be enriching as they
offer the following opportunities:
 Learning and experimenting with new roles
 Discharging emotional tension
 Becoming involved in close friendships
 Developing a group identity
 Peers can also be a source of considerable pain and stress

 Rejection, negative expectations, snobbery, coercive pressure to conform and jealousy often
cause uncertainty, doubt and acute loneliness

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RELATIONS WITH PARENTS:
Adolescents need parental interest, understanding, acceptance, approval, trust, a happy home, and
discipline and guidance to facilitate their development into adulthood.
Parental interest:
 Adolescents need their parents to be there for them to provide moral and emotional support
when necessary
 Lack of parental interest and support may have negative effects on the adolescent and may
result in poor schoolwork, low self-esteem, poor social adjustment, and deviant and antisocial
behaviour
Understanding:
 Some parents are insensitive to their adolescents’ feelings and moods and act without taking
their offspring’s feelings into account
 Some parents feel threatened when adolescents disagree or argue with them
 Adolescents frequently complain that their parents don’t listen to their ideas and don’t even try
to understand their point of view.
Acceptance and approval:
 = important component of love

 1 way for parents to show love is to know and accept adolescents exactly as they are
 Unfortunately, some parents harbour negative feelings toward their children
 A parent may feel disappointed about the way the adolescent has turned out,
Trust:
 Adolescents want to be trusted by their parents

 Some parents, because of their own fears and insecurities, find it extremely difficult to trust
their children.
A Happy Home:
 A happy home environment is one of the greatest gift parents can give their children.
Discipline and guidance:
 Parenting styles can be represented in terms of 2 pairs of characteristics, namely accepting/

rejecting and lenient/demanding
Accepting Rejecting
Lenient Demanding

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DIFFERENT PARENTING STYLES:
 Authoritarian
 Permissive
 Neglectful/ indifferent
 Authoritative
CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTHORITARIAN CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS WHO

PARENTS GROW UP IN AN AUTHORITARIAN
HOUSEHOLD
 Have high control of their children, but  Tend to be moody, unhappy, retiring,
low acceptance uninterested, inhibited and irritable
 Have fixed and inflexible notions of right  Are less self-reliant, less creative, less
and wrong intellectually curious, less mature in
 Satisfactory interaction and intimate moral judgement and less flexible than
communication are virtually non-existent adolescents of non-authoritative parents
 Expect total obedience from adolescents  Are usually shy, lacking in self-
 Control and dominate their behaviour; confidence and have a negative opinion
dictatorial attitude of their parents
 Insist that predetermined limits are  May gradually become increasingly
adhered to unquestioningly and with blind rebellious towards their parents’
obedience authoritarian parenting, expressing their
 Rarely allow dialogue about rules and resentment in negative, provocative and
principles challenging behaviour that my culminate
 Hardly ever give adolescents the in serious conflict
opportunity to state their own views
 Punish or threaten to punish any revolt
against their authority or questioning of it
 Phrases such as “because I say so” may
be common
PERMISSIVE PARENTS ADOLESCENT WHO GROW UP IN
PERMISSIVE PARENTING STYLE
 High acceptance and responsiveness,  Often feel vulnerable
but low control of their children  Are not ready and mature enough to use
 Usually exceedingly tolerant, non- their own unlimited freedom wisely
controlling and non-threatening  Have relatively low self-control and poor
 Either overprotective and over-involved academic performances
or totally uninvolved  Develop a sense of uncertainty and self-
 Rarely make demands or adolescents reliance and self-control
 Offer them considerable freedom  Seem to be selfish, and lack a sense of
because virtually no limits are set social responsibility and appreciation for
 Hardly ever question the adolescent’s that their parents or other people do for
behaviour, values and desires them
 Allow adolescents to make their own  Exhibit socially unacceptable behaviour
decisions without taking account of the  , Are quick to reproach their parents for
wishes, values and convictions of their their uninvolvement and failure to provide
parents guidance when things go wrong
 Tend to be happier and more contented,
though, than the children of authoritarian
parents

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NEGLECTFUL/ INDIFFERENT PARENTS ADOLESCENTS WHO GROW UP WITH A

NEGLECTFUL/INDIFFERENT PARENTING
STYLE
 Uninvolved in adolescents life  have the lowest self-concept and
 Low on both control and acceptance of academic achievement of all groups
children  are socially incompetent and show poor
 Don’t set rules / have few rules self-control
 Self-centred  don’t handle independence well
 Don’t know where children are or what  most likely to engage in delinquent
they’re doing behaviour, such as drug abuse
 Don’t show much affection, support or
responsiveness
 disinterested in parenting or actively
reject their children
AUTHORITATIVE PARENTS ADOLESCENT WHO GROW UP IN AN
AUTHORITATIVE HOUSEHOLD
 High on both acceptance and control of  Usually confident, responsible and
children independent
 Set clear limits and lay down categorical  Are capable of stating their views with
rules confidence because they are sure that
 Are prepared to discuss rules and their parents will treat them with the
reasons for imposing them with their necessary respect and esteem
children  Have high self-control
 Set a premium on autonomous and  Have higher self-esteem, social
disciplines behaviour, yet are accepting, competence and academic achievement
flexible and understanding than adolescents in other 3 groups
 Encourage communication  Emotionally function on a more mature
 Try to see the adolescents point of view level than adolescents in the other 2
and listen to reasonable requests groups
 Are prepared to negotiate to some extent  Autonomously make decisions, which is
 Base their discipline mainly on reasoning related to improved emotional functioning
and assist the adolescent to see why  Tend to have positive opinions of their
certain behaviour is acceptable and other parents and of their relationships with
unacceptable their parents
 Sensitive to children’s emotional needs
 Try to understand their children’s
heartache, anger or disappointments
before they pronounce judgement and
mere out punishment
 Demanding and nurturing at same time
 Provide guidelines and support children
in decision making – jointly make
decisions with them
 Communicate principles that underlie
appropriate behaviour implicitly through
example or explicitly through discussion
 Authoritative parental style has many positive outcomes, which may be based on the
following reasons:
 The discipline style used by parents: they establish an appropriate balance
between control and autonomy. These parents tend to use inductive discipline which,
in turn, promotes self-control
 The parents warmth and respect for their children’s views: adolescents who
receive warmth and respect from their parents tend to be more willing to adopt their
parent’s views and are more receptive to parental influence

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 Clear rules or standards for behaviour: helps adolescent to know how to behave in
different situation
 Parents permit negotiation and compromise when appropriate: negotiation and
compromise foster adolescent’s development of these important social skills
 Authoritative parenting works best in all cultures

 Promote responsible and independent behaviour as follows:
 They give adolescent opportunity to be independent, but maintain communication with,
interest and adequate control over adolescent
 Are suitable role models with whom the adolescent can identify because the relationship is
based on mutual respect and love
 They model reasonable independence or independence within certain limits, that is,
autonomy within a democratic setting
INDEPENDENCE AND DIMINISHING PARENTAL AUTHORITY:
 Becoming emancipated and gradually loosening the ties of parental authority is a major
development task of adolescents, and adolescents develop a desire to become independent
across all cultures.
 Unless adolescents gradually loosen parental ties, they cannot hope to contract adult
relationships or develop their own identity and value system and become a member of the
society in the fullest sense.
In the process of becoming independent, adolescents pursue the following objectives:
 Behavioural autonomy: adolescents aspire to make their own decisions about their
behaviour and action,
 Emotional autonomy: adolescents endeavour to be self-reliant, to control themselves and
accept responsibility for themselves. They demonstrate apparent indifference to a parent’s
anger or emotional pain
 Moral or value autonomy: adolescents want to develop their own value system to regulate
their behaviour.
 The ability to attain autonomy and gain control over one’s behaviour in adolescence is
acquired through appropriate adult reactions to the adolescent’s desire for control
 2 sides to parent-child relationship:
 Adolescent’s aspiration and willingness to make independent decisions and accept
responsibility
 The parents’ willingness to allow the adolescent to take independent decisions and accept
responsibility
 Adolescents who enjoy a secure relationship with their parents generally have a strong sense
of identity, higher self-esteem, greater social competence, better emotional adjustment and
fewer behavioural problems than their peers with less secure parent relationships
 Both the parents and the child should realise that ambivalent feelings experienced during
emancipation can lead to erratic, fluctuating behaviour.
 Sometimes adolescents long for the return of their carefree childhood years, but they
nevertheless cling tenaciously to their newly won independence

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Conflict between adolescents and their parents:
 Normal during adolescence, because this is a way for adolescents to achieve new levels of
independence while still preserving bonds of closeness and connection to their parents
 Caused of disagreements and conflict may usually not bring up important matters, such as
economic, religious, social or political values, but mundane issues, such as schoolwork,
chores, friends, dating, curfews and personal appearance,
 Relationships between adolescents and parents are generally good, but still periods of
conflict.
 Adolescents tend to question parents’ values, attitudes and interests as they begin to form
their own opinions.
 Some parents find it difficult to come to terms with this drive for independence
 Adolescents become critical of their parents and question their values, as well as their right to
impose rules on them.
 Parents attempt to gain some control may lead to a power struggle that is the focus of serious
parent-adolescent conflict : adolescents want to become independent and parents want to
retain a substantial degree of power and influence.
Some degree of stress and conflict is bound to occur in adolescence, reasons:
 Biological changes in adolescents

 The emergence of adult sexuality
 The need for independence
 The search for identity
 Expanded logical reasoning
 Increasing idealistic thought
 Parents’ own midlife disillusionment with career and marriage
 Parents’ reluctance to relinquish control
 Transformation of family patters of interaction
 The nature and extent of conflict between adolescents and their parents can also be
influenced by societal factors and may differ from culture to culture
 Likelihood of conflict increases when there are large differences between the generations with
regards to cultural outlook, educational opportunities and occupational trends
 Differences of opinions that result in conflict are also more common in fast-changing societies
in which technology is mushrooming

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 Relations with the peer group:

 Become increasingly important as they pass from the pre-and primary school years to
adolescence
 During adolescence, there is a sharp increase in the amount of time individuals spend
with their peers, and they move away from the adult supervision that was
characteristic of childhood.
 Adolescents share much of their lives with the peer group.
 They go to school with them
 They participate in sports with them
 They spend leisure time with them
 Sleep over at their homes
 Use them as a sounding board for their ideas, thoughts and concerns
 They discuss matters with them that they feel they cannot discuss with
parents
Functions of peer group
 Emancipation
- bridge to gain independence from parents, forced to stand on own feet and make own
decisions.
- Acceptance = security.
 Search for individual identity

- need to prove as individuals in own right, they gain status through exerting their own
abilities.
- Source for feedback on personality, appearance and behaviour and assist in resolving
conflict with self and others.
- Contribute to forming identity in the form of giving self-insight, self-knowledge and self-
evaluation and through group identity.
- Acceptance = positive self-concept and identity.
 Social acceptability and support

- need for socializing, friendship and support, opportunity to practice social skills and
communication (other sex).
- Acceptance and popularity is important to avoid fears (loneliness).
- Acceptance of peer group is often in contrast with parents and society.
 Reference and experimentation base

- assess how well they do in life.
- Experience with roles and behaviour and amend if negative feedback is given.
- Assess values against peers, could strengthen, but could cause conflict with parents if
differ.
- Development of outlook on life.

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 Competition
- compete for place in society to assess capabilities. Important for competitive adult life.
 Social mobility
- contact with learners from different backgrounds (gender, race,socio-economic class)
 Recreation
- spending leisure time
 Conformity
- increased motivation to conform for acceptance.
- Not always negative – if group conform with parent’s values then it is beneficial and will be
encouraged.
- In dysfunctional parental relationships, learners may rebel and peer groups will be primary for
acceptance.
 The extent which adolescent are liked or dislikes by their peers is called sociometric status or
peer status
 5 steps of peer status:
1. Popular: everybody likes the popular child. Most of the time this child is nominated as
best friend
2. Average: this child receives an average of likes and dislikes from peers
3. Neglected: this child is occasionally nominated as best friend, is not disliked by peers,
but is also not popular
4. Rejected: this child is occasionally nominated as someone’s best friend, but is actively
disliked by peers
5. Controversial: this child is often nominated as someone’s best friend, as well as disliked
by peers
 Although peers usually have a positive influence on the development of the adolescent, there
is also a destructive side of peer relations, such as bullying, harassment and intimidation

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 Relations with friends:

 Friendship is crucial for emotional fulfilment and independence as they seek support for
behaviour.
 Friendships are intense and with learners similar to them.
Need for friends
 Friendships improve psychological and social adjustment and counters unusual stress.
 Friendship creates sense of self-worth and it assist with insecurities and with skills acquisition
(social and personal) and also fill the gap created by independence from parents. Cognitive
development assist with verbalizing, empathising, seeing other’s viewpoints etc.
Friends of own sex
 Relationship become more meaningful during adolescence. Similar needs, aspirations and
fears is a sense of security during uncertainty. Key factors are loyalty, support, reliability,
understanding.
 Late adolescent friendships are more relaxed as learner has identity and can be
independent.
 Girls have more emotional relationships and boys more focused on activities.
Heterosexual relationships
 Important part of social development.
 First childish, then more appropriate.
 Feelings (hurt and joy) can be as serious as in adult relationships.
 Could lead to heartache and social demands (sexual relationships).
Four phases of adolescent romantic relationships:

1. Initiation phase: in early adolescence, the focus is on the self – specifically, on coming to
see oneself as a person capable of relating to members of the other sex in a romantic way
2. Status phase: in mid-adolescence, peer approval is what counts; having a romantic
relationship, and having it with the “right kind” of partner, is important for the status it brings in
the larger peer group
3. Affection phase: in late adolescence, the focus is on the relationship rather than on self-
concept or peer status. Romantic relationships become more personal and caring; they are
set in the context of a small, mixed-sex clique rather than in the context of the larger crowd,
with friends providing advice and emotional support
4. Bonding phase: in the transition to early adulthood, the emotional intimacy achieved in the
affection phase is combined with a long-term commitment to create a lasting attachment

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 Self-concept and self-esteem:
 Self-concept: refers to cognitive aspects of the self-schema. It has to do with self-related

beliefs. It is therefore a cognitive structure, the composite of ideas, attitudes and feelings that
people have of themselves
 Self-esteem: has more to do with self-related feelings. It is an affective reaction that involves
a person’s evaluation of who he or she is. Also referred to as self-worth or self-image
 Characteristics of self-concept
 Self-concept is complex and comprises several dimensions that are closely
integrated, namely:
 Physical self, or the self in relation to the body
 Personal self, or the self in relation to its own psychic relations
 Family self, or the self in family relationships
 Social self, or the self in social relations
 Moral self. Or self in relation to moral norms
 Dynamic and can change from time to time and situation to situation (discover a
pimple). Influence on the behaviour. All experiences (positive or negative) influence
the forming of self-concept, but the self -concept also influences their experience of
any situation.
 Organized – different concepts, not equally important (closer to core is more
important and more difficult to change). Each concept has positive and negative
values. Negative value closer to the core can have negative value on overall self-
evaluation.
 Self-esteem and self-concept:

 Self-esteem is value individuals place on their own perceived selves.
 Adolescents start to view themselves more realistically when they start viewing their
physical, social and cognitive abilities
 Self-esteem is not complex and is formed in layers according to a personal value
system.
 Adolescents tend to compare themselves with their peers. They compare body parts,
intellectual abilities, talents and social skills.
 If their self-appraisal is negative, it may result in self-conscious, embarrassed
behaviour because they cannot live up to their ideal selves and become unhappy.
Social relationships:
 Adolescents with low self-esteem are prone to develop feelings of isolation and loneliness
 They tend to feel tense and awkward in social situations, making communication with others
more difficult.
 Strongest determinants of self-worth are their relationships with peers, close friends and
prospective romantic partners

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Emotional wellbeing:
 Ego grows through praise, small accomplishments and success,

 Result = high self-esteem associated with positive psychological adjustment in adolescents
 Adolescents with low self-esteem manifest various symptoms of ill health.
 They try to overcome the feeling of worthlessness by putting on a false front to convince other
that they are worthy.’
 Adolescents low self-esteem makes them vulnerable to rejection and criticism, and when
admonished or blamed for some trespass, they may become upset and disturbed
Achievement:
 High self-concept contributes to scholastic success, which In turn, contributes to a high self-
concept
 Reason: learners who have confidence in themselves have the courage to try and are
motivated to live up to their own beliefs about themselves
 Negative attitude learners feel they are not capable – so why bother to try at all?
 Learners’ self-concept is crucial to learning activities and it related to scholastic performance.
 Relationship between poor academic performance and low self-esteem has its roots in
adolescents early years.
 In general they have a negative view of themselves even before entering school
 If they feel from the start that they aren’t going to succeed, they wont
 Adolescent with low self-esteem tend to have poorer physical and mental health, poorer
career and financial prospects, and higher levels of criminal behaviour as adults than
adolescents with a positive self-concept.
 Development of a positive self-concept and high self-esteem

 Positive self-concept not only important for mental wellbeing, but it also influences
social relationships, academic progress, and career expectations and success.
 Factors that contribute to the development of a positive self-concept and high self-
esteem:
 Parental warmth, concern and interest = important in helping build a positive
ego identity
 Parents who use democratic, authoritative disciplinary style more likely to
have adolescent children with high self-esteem. They are consistently strict
and demand high standards, but they’re also sufficiently flexible to allow
deviations from rules if need be
 Quality of parent-adolescent relationship important in following ways:
 Late adolescent girl who enjoy a close relationship with mother view
themselves as confident, wise and self-controlled. Those who feel
distant from their mothers perceive themselves as touchy, impulsive
and rebellious
 Adolescent girls who enjoy rewarding relationships with their fathers
find it easier to adjust in cross-gender relationships
 Same applies to boys. If they identify with their fathers, but share
mutually warm feelings with mothers, their relationships with women
are more likely to be comfortable.

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HOW TEACHERS CAN ENHANCE THE SELF-ESTEEM OF THEIR LEARNERS

 Value and accept all learners, for their attempts, as well as their accomplishments
 Make standards for evaluation clear
 Model appropriate methods of self-criticism and self-reward
 Encourage learners to compete with their own prior level of achievements, rather than one
another
 Provide opportunities for all learners to experience success
 Help learners to believe that, when given the opportunity, they’re as capable as any other
group of people
 Acknowledge correct and appropriate responses with positive remarks
 Allow learners the freedom to express views that differ from those presented during the
lesson, as long as these views are supported by logical reasoning
 Accord learners equal treatment
 Encourage learners and give them opportunities to take part in activities
 Know learners’ names, and address them by that name
 Show interest in their affairs and make them aware they are persons of worth
 Reinforce positive behaviour
 Self-concept may be influenced by socioeconomic status (SES) and physical characteristics

 Lower-SES adolescent have lower self-esteem than higher-SES, but low-SES doesn’t
necessarily mean low self-esteem
 Families with low-SES can raise high self-esteem children if parents have high self-esteem
 Body image and physical attractiveness are influential factors in development of self-
concepts.
Characteristics typical of adolescents with positive self-concept:
 Responsibility:
 Honesty, integrity and congruence
 Personal growth
 Positive attitude
 Expression of feelings
 Risk taking
 Acceptance of praise
 Trust in themselves and others
Low self-esteem:
 Being less original and showing less initiative

 Feeling worthless
 Not trying hard when encounter problems
 Reducing efforts or giving up

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 The development of personality and temperament:

 Personality develops as a result of interaction between heredity and environment,
equal influence.
 Temperament sets tone for interaction
 Sociable adolescents react differently to people than reserved adolescents
 Temperamental differences determine the kind of behaviours an adolescent may
initiate
Personality traits:
 A personality trait is strong mentality to behave in a specific way in a variety of situations

 Most of the theories on personality presume that some traits are more basic than others.
 The most popular theory among psychologists is the five-factor personality model, designed
by McRay and Costa , who believe that the bigger majority of personality traits is obtained
from just five higher-order traits, is known as the “Big Five”.
 The “Big Five” traits are:
Extroversion: Lion
 positive mentality)
 refers to high activity, experiencing positive emotions, impulsiveness and a tendency towards
social behaviour. They tend to be happier than others and have a more positive outlook on
life.
 Characteristics:
 Sociable vs retiring
 Fun-loving vs sober
 Affectionate vs reserved
Neuroticism: Rhino
 Negative emotionality
 The tendency to experience more negative emotions, (anxiety depression and anger.)
 Worried/ anxious vs calm
 Insecure vs secure
 Self-pitying vs self-satisfied
Conscientiousness: Buffalo
 People with this personality tend to be more diligent, disciplined, organised, punctual and
dependable.
 Organised vs disorganised
 Careful vs careless
 Helpful vs uncooperative
Agreeableness: elephant
 This refers to friendly, considered and modest behaviour, and most of these individuals are
sympathetic, trusting and modest.
 Kind-hearted vs ruthlessness
 Trusting vs suspicious
 Helpful vs uncooperative

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Openness to experience: leopard
 this is also referred to as creativity, and is associated with curiosity, flexibility, being
artistically sensitive and having unconventional attitude.
 Independent vs conforming
 Preference for variety vs preference for routine
 Imaginative vs practical
Even though some theorists still believe that more than five traits are needed to conceptualise the
personality traits of people, the five-factor theory of McRae and Costa has become the dominant
conception of the personality structure.
Studies of personality traits in relation to adolescence found the following:
 Most consistent personality correlate of examinations and assessment performance is

conscientiousness. = they are more organised, intrinsically motivated and responsible, work
harder than less conscientious adolescents.
- Some of the behaviours may lead to improved academic performance (doing homework and
revision), may be natural consequence of high conscientiousness.
- Less conscientious adolescents may be more likely to miss class, not do homework and not
prepare in time for exams. = result in poor academic performance
 Openness to experience is also relevant to academic performance.
- Openness enables adolescents to have a wider use of strategies and learning techniques,
such as critical evaluation, flexibility and in depth analysis
 Evidence that neuroticism has an impact on academic performance in that neuroticism
creates a state of anxiety.
- Thus, high neuroticism increases the chances of experiencing stress and anxiety under test
conditions, which negatively affects performance
- In general, neurotic adolescents are more likely to fear that they fail an exam, which increases
their stress, which may lead to poor exam results.
- Neuroticism is related to health and morality over the whole life span.
- Neuroticism is associated with all of the major mental disorders and almost all physical
illnesses
 Conscientiousness is linked to better interpersonal relationships
- Example: higher quality friendships and better acceptance by peers
FACILITATING ADOLESCENT PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

To act as a facilitator of adolescents’ personality development, prevent psychological problems and
secure mental health, teachers themselves have to possess certain characteristics and should do the
following:
 Show genuine interest in adolescents
 Accept, prize, trust and regard each adolescent as a person of worth
 Be prepared to interact with the adolescent on a personal level without thinking that the
adolescent is inferior
 Constantly bear in mind that the adolescent is engaged in an unremitting quest for
independence and autonomy, and respect and support the adolescent in striving to achieve
these aims
 Endeavour to build positive interpersonal relations with the adolescent by behaving in an
affectionate, warm, caring and considerate way
 Show understanding for adolescent’s problems
 Act empathetically
 Avoid creating an environment characterised by stress, hostility and anxiety

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 Defense mechanisms:
 People constantly exposed to some degree of tension and anxiety that threatens their
personalities
 Sources of conflict: storm and stress, opposing forces among the id, ego and
superego, and psychological crises in the process of identity formation
 Defense mechanisms offer individual some degree of protection against anxiety
 = seen as special strategies that serve as safeguards against anything that poses a
threat or danger to personality
 Mechanisms are unconscious behaviour patterns that people use to protect
themselves against feelings of anxiety, embarrassment, inferiority and guilt, and to
prevent feelings from penetrating to conscious mind (psychoanalytic approach)
 All defense mechanisms have following characteristics:
 Deny, falsify and distort reality
 Operate unconsciously so people aren’t aware of what is happening and why
 They act the way they do
Examples:
DEFENSE HOW IT WORKS EXAMPLE

MECHANISM
Projection  When an unacceptable thought, feeling  A learner repeatedly
or behaviour is attributed to someone scores low marks, she
else attributes this to
teachers, who in her
mind, are against her
Regression  Occurs when one reverts to a previous  Adolescent regresses
stage of development because one temporarily by refusing
feels unable to cope with new situations to make decisions, after
making a wrong choice
or decision
Displacement  When one focuses one’s desires or  Adolescent can’t take
hostility on wrong subject his anger out on
teacher and so he takes
it out on other learners
Denial  Occurs when one refuses to  Adolescent won’t
acknowledge anxiety-producing realities acknowledge fact that
she is going to struggle
to get a job without
Grade 12 certificate,
even though she is
aware of high
unemployment rate in
SA
Repression  Unacceptable impulses are pushed out  Adolescent was
of awareness into unconscious mind sexually abused when
she was a small child,
now she cannot
remember anything
about traumatic
experience
Rationalisation  One uses excused to justify that may be  Learner who gets
considered unacceptable behaviour kicked out of soccer
team after repeatedly
failing to appear at
practice or being late,
may rationalise that
coach doesn’t like him

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 Identity formation:
 Identity defines as the meaning that a person attached to himself as a person
 Development of a distinct identity:
 Identity = lifelong and largely unconscious process

 Roots of one’s identity can be traced back to the early experiences of mutuality between
mother and infant
 Identity formation continues throughout childhood through a process of selection and
assimilation of childhood identifications
 Adolescents spend a lot of time examining themselves
 Increase in abstract and idealistic thought serves as foundation for exploring their identity.
 Adolescent experiments with variety of identities, endlessly examines the self, as well as
occupations and ideologies, fantasies about roles, and indulges in identification with other
people and heroes or heroines,
 Apart from self-image, there is also ideal image that represents what the adolescent would
like to be
 Identification seen as activity that adolescent is engaged in with a view of reconciling the self-
image and ideal image
 Adolescents tend to over-identify themselves with, for example peer group, and temporarily
lose their own identity . = why some groups all dress alike, etc
 Society allows adolescents a period, or psychosocial “moratorium” during which to find
themselves and their roles as future adults
 Gender-role identity
 The word “gender” originates from the Latin word ‘genus’ which means “kind” or “sort”. It can
be defined as a personal understanding of oneself as a male or female (or intersex).
 This concept is closely related to the idea of gender role, which is defined as the noticeable
manifestation of personality that reflect the gender identity.
 There are two schools of thought concerning gender-role identification:
 “The traditional school holds that social forces maintain a constant and cumulative pressure
on the gender role identification of the child”. As the child grows up, this leads to an increase
in the conformity to cultural norms for gender-appropriate behaviour.
 Until a child reaches puberty, boys and girls are allowed noticeable freedom regarding to what
is considered gender-typical behaviour, for example little is made of girls climbing trees or a
boy baking a cake .However, when a child reaches puberty, pressure is applied on
adolescents to display more gender-typical behaviour.
 There are two groups that emphasise specific gender-role standards and demand that
adolescents follow them:
 “The peer group who applies strong pressure, partly owing to their growing
consciousness of their own sexual maturation
 Adults who see this behaviour in their interaction with the adolescent to ensure
successful adjustment to adult life.
 Numerous researchers maintain that the advancement of a gender-role identity is more
difficult for girls than boys, especially in modern settings, because schools encourage both
girls and boys to be independent and achievement orientated, but when leaving school, these
traits are not always valued as much for girls as they are for boys. Girls are still expected to
be financially dependent on males and to assume a domestic and maternal role in marriage.
 Over the years, social attitudes and ideas about gender-appropriate behaviour have changed
and independent and job-orientated women are now seen as acceptable female-appropriate
behaviour.

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 Career identity
 Career identity becomes more defined during the adolescent phase.
 Whereas young children’s career choices are usually based on something they are familiar
with or on fantasies, adolescents begin to form a realistic image of their own abilities and
interests, resulting in the fact that their career interests become more realistic.
 The acquisition of a career identity takes place in two phases
 The crystallisation phase: During the 1 phase, from approximately 14 to 18 years of
st
age, the adolescent starts thinking in wide categories of work without taking any
definite decisions. They begin to form ideas regarding occupations and gather
information about categories of careers.
 The specification phase: in this phase, the adolescent’s choices are more and more
steered towards more specific careers. Extending from approximately 18 to 21 years
of age, the adolescent typically chose a career that forms an important part of his
identity, at the end of this period.
 Ethnic identity
 A strong ethnic identity usually emerges during the adolescent phase.
 Adolescents become severely conscious of cultural differences and distinctions in the values
and customs of their ethnic groups.
 Normally this is the phase where young people rebel strongly against any form of injustice
against their cultural group.
 It is not a surprise, that adolescents are often leading protest actions and strikes.
 Ethnic identity is the feelings of a group about the symbols, values and common histories that
identify them as a distinct group, and is not simply knowing that one is a member of a certain
ethnic identity
 In other words, adolescents strongly try to understand their culture and explores the meaning
of that culture.
 Many Adolescents who are faced with the choice of two or more sources of identification
develop a bicultural identity.
 “this is when an adolescent identify in some ways with their own ethnic group and in some
ways with the dominant culture”
 Identity diffusion:
 According to Erikson, adolescents who are in the 5 phase of personality development have
th
to resolve the crisis between identity acquisition and identity diffusion

 To do so, adolescents need to find clarity on following points:
 Their own characteristics, (= an answer to question “who am I?”)
 Their social identity (answer to question “to what group(s) do I belong to?”)
 Their values and ideals (answer to question “what do I want to achieve?”)
 Erikson believes ideal solution to identity crisis is a synthesis of the poles of identity
acquisition and identity diffusion
 Synthesis results in feeling of trustworthiness. = means people have to be sure about
personal identities, but should also be aware of other identity choices they could’ve made
 Adolescents need to shift the trust their parents put in them to themselves and develop
confidence in their own powers

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 In order to resolve identity crises, adolescents experiment by testing various identities, by

endless self-examinations; by examining careers and ideologies, and by fantasising about
adult roles.
 Identity diffusion (aka identity confusion) arises when adolescents are incapable of making
any decisions about themselves and their roles, or when there is too little opportunity for
experimentation with social roles. Result= different roles cannot be integrated
 When confronted with conflicting value systems, they lack ability or self-confidence to make
decisions.
 This state of confusion causes anxiety, apathy or hostility towards rules or values and my lead
to feelings of incompetence or formation of negative identity
 Parents may also cause identity diffusion. Example: demanding that children meet
unrealistically high standards.
 = result” adolescent children experience identity diffusion and become rebellious because
they feel they have no control over their lives
Main manifestations of identity diffusion are distinguishable:
 Adolescents may fear formation of intimate relations because this may lead to a loss of their
own identity. This may result in stereotyped, formalised relations and isolation or intimacy with
most unlikely persons
 Diffusion with respect to time perspective may also occur. Adolescents find it difficult to plan
for future, probably due to fear of change and of demands of adulthood
 In diffusion of industry, adolescents find it difficult to become constructively involved in their
studies and other activities
 Adolescents may choose a negative identity. Example: girl who starts cultivating the punk
image, smoking, using drugs against the will- despite the disapproval of her parents, develops
a negative identity
 Ability to establish an identity gives people a sense of being faithful to what they are or to their
values and principles
 2 dimensions of identity:
 Exploration: refers to a person exploring various options
 Commitment: involves making a decision and personal investments

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Marcia’s identity statuses:
IDENTITY STATUS DESCRIPTION

Identity diffusion  A person has not yet explored alternatives and
- No commitments, no crisis avoids any commitment.
 Example: person hasn’t started to explore any
career options or hasn’t yet made any decisions
 People in this category tend to be unhappy and
often lonely
Identity foreclosure  No crises has been experienced, although there
- Commitment without crises is commitment
 Example: adolescents may adopt peer-group
values and norms without giving them much
thought
Identity moratorium  Person still in crisis and explores various options.
- Crisis with no commitment  Example: he wants to establish a realistic identity
yet but doesn’t know how to do this
Identity achievement  Person has explored meaningful alternatives and
- Crisis leading to commitment made a commitment
 Example: choosing a career
 People in this category tend to be more mature
and more socially competent than people in any
of the other categories
Teacher’s role in identity formation of adolescent encompasses the following:
 Not prescribing roles to adolescents, helping them to establish their own identity and not the
identity of, for example, their parents
 Helping adolescents to form a realistic self-concepts
 Helping them to accept themselves as they are, with both their strong and weak points
 Assisting them to acquire an appropriate sexual role, as well as career identity and ethnic
identity, and telling them they can expect their identity to change
CONCLUSION:
 Adolescents’ social development is crucial for their overall development

 Apart from developing a sense of their own identity, that is, a sense of the self as a separate,
distinct individual, they also need to establish their own gender role, a career and ethnic
identity
 Adolescence is period when adolescents should learn important interpersonal skills, develop
tolerance of different people and cultures, and gain self-confidence
 Mastering these skills = adolescents gradually move away from parents and become
increasingly concerned with acceptance by peer group
 Along with physical, cognitive, emotional and moral maturity, they have to become socially
mature
 Some adolescents find this stage in lives particularly stressful and may experience problems
 Most pass through adolescence without experiencing appreciable psychological or emotional
problems

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CHAPTER 5:
THE EMOTIONL, MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
ADOLESCENT
 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Heightened emotionality and emotional liability:
 = causes by a variety of physical, cognitive, moral and other factors
 Adolescents must develop an identity that will bridge the gap between what they were
as children and what they are to become as adults
 They must also cope with their emerging sexual identity and develop a personal
internalised value system
 Excessively high standards of maturity expected of adolescents by society and

unrealistic aspirations that lead to feelings of inadequacy also lead to heightened
emotionality
 Demands of social institutions, peer-group pressure and relations with the opposite
sex as well as problems in school and awareness of the critical significance of
schooling and academic progress are also important stress factors
 Heightened emotionality that is typical of early adolescence diminishes with each
passing year until a degree of emotional maturity is reached
 As with social, moral and other aspects of adolescents’ personality development, they
are also reliant on educational intervention for their successful emotional
development
 Teacher should therefore be conversant with adolescents’ heightened emotionality,
as well as their experience and expression thereof
 The most important aspects of heightened emotionality in adolescents come from their interaction with and
adjustment to the environment.
 Their yearning for independence and the change in their relationship with parents often cause conflict and tension
Assisting adolescents to achieve greater emotional stability:
 = teachers must be acknowledgeable about the manifestation of emotions, possess certain

skills in handling emotions in the educational context and be mature in their own right
 They must also be sensitive to adolescents’ emotions and moods
 They must help adolescents to come to terms with and handle their emotions, for example,
by:
 Verbalising emotions
 Displaying a sense of humour
 Providing the opportunity to cry, and being supportive when crying does occur
 Providing the opportunity to release pent-up emotions by means of physical activities
 Teachers should build relationships with adolescents that hinge on empathy, understanding
and acceptance
 They should be on the lookout for adolescents who seem to be emotionally deprived – that is,
adolescents who display a lack of positive emotion – they should constructively foster
relationships with these adolescents

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 Emotional maturity:
 Emotional development not only involves the adolescents; understanding of emotions
but also how to restrain impulsive expression of feelings (= how to control his feelings
– emotional maturity)
 Control over emotions is due to an increased rationality and an ever-widening frame
of reference acquired through new learning experiences
EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE EXAMPLE

 Being aware that the expression of  Knowing that expressing anger towards a
emotions plays a major role in friend on a regular basis can harm the
relationships friendship
 Adaptively coping with negative emotions  Reducing anger by walking away from a
by using self-regulatory strategies that negative situation and engaging in an
reduce intensity and duration of such activity that takes one’s mind off it
emotional states
 Understanding that inner emotional  Recognising that one can feel anger, yet
states don’t have to correspond to outer manage to stay calm in front of others
expressions, that is, understanding that
emotionally expressive behaviour
impacts others and taking this into
account in the way one presents oneself
 Being aware of one’s emotional states  Recognising when one feels sadness,
without becoming overwhelmed by them and focusing on coping with the emotion
and getting over it
 Being able to discern others’ emotions  Recognising when a friend feels anxious
rather than just assuming that he or she
is in a bad mood
HOW EMOTIONALLY MATURE ADOLESCENTS BEHAVE

They have the following abilities:
 Refrain from emotional outbursts in front of others
 “blow off steam” in a suitable place and in socially acceptable ways at an opportune time
 Evaluate situation critically before reacting to it
 Understand and emphasise with others’ emotions and accept, understand and share their
feelings
 Give without constantly wanting to receive in return
 Don’t constantly dominate and judge others
 Are open and sensitive to own experiences
To have emotional maturity adolescents must be guided towards the following:
 Gaining a realistic perspective on matters that would normally cause intense emotional
reactions: best way of achieving this would be to discuss their problems with others. This
freedom with which they do so will depend on the nature of their interpersonal relations
 Using an emotional catharsis to discharge stored-up emotions: can be achieved by
actively participating in activities, taking physical exercise or by indulging in abundant laughter
or a thorough crying spell, provided that the laughing and crying can be kept within the
bounds of propriety
 Recognising and managing emotions: to label their feelings accurately, adolescents need
to pay conscientious attention to them. This can be achieved by helping adolescents to
discover the sources of their feelings
 Resolving conflict constructively: tools for managing conflict can be modelled by adults, or
be taught to adolescents

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 Adolescents who have better executive functions (the control of the brain over its own information-
processing) also have better emotional regulation.
 This might be because both executive functions and emotional regulation use the same brain systems
 Experience of emotions during adolescence:

 Can be grouped into 3 broad categories:
 Joyous states
 Inhibitory states
 Hostile states.
Joyous states:
 Warm and loving adolescents encourage a positive response from others, which makes social
relationships much more satisfying and meaningful
 These adolescents are more positive and they engage in classroom activities with enthusiasm
Inhibitory states:
 Adolescents who experience fear, worry and anxiety, are in an emotionally inhibitory state
 Fears may be divided into the following four categories:
 Fear of material things and natural phenomena: snakes, dogs, heights,
aeroplanes
 Fear relating to the self: fear of failure in school, personal inadequacy, being hurt, or
having immoral drives
 Fear involving social relationships: crowds, meeting people, speaking before a
group, or the opposite sex
 Fear of the unknown: supernatural phenomena, world events and unpredictable
future
 Feelings of fear and anxiety play an important role in all human development phases, but are
more prevalent during the adolescent years
 Concrete fears decrease during adolescence, but abstract fears increase and may cause the
adolescent much pain and heartbreak
 Example: situations at home or school where learners are shouted at and humiliated in front
of their peers or siblings, can cause feelings of fear and distrust
 These situations can have negative effects on the adolescent and prevent effective learning,
which can lead to truancy and dropping out of school
 In adolescence, the fear of not being accepted by the peer group is greater than in any other
developmental phase
 Fear, worry and anxiety can lead to emotional disorders (stress and depression)

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Hostile states:
 Adolescents who experience anger, aggression, jealousy and envy are in a hostile state
 Adolescents with poor emotion regulations are often angry
 These emotions manifest in various forms of hostility, = fighting, swearing or temper tantrums
 Sometimes, adolescents repress hostile feelings and instead become moody and withdrawn.
 Anger can result in violent acts, and they may injure others or themselves
 Causes of anger in adolescents:
 Restriction in physical movement or social activity: when they are not allowed to
go out or use the family car
 An attack on their ego, status or position: shaming, belittling or criticising
(especially if they feel it is unjust)
 Certain people who arouse anger: inconsiderate, intolerant and dishonest people,
and people who generally criticise, ridicule or hurt them
 Certain situations: wars and injustices in the world, minor situations = guitar string
breaks
 An inability to do something they are trying to do: get angry at own mistakes or at
low scores on a test
 Aggression : positive and negative aspects
 Aggression must be controlled and expressed in socially acceptable ways : may have harmful
consequences
 Unbridled aggression is an indication of deficiencies in adolescents’ social and emotional
development that prevents them from controlling their emotions
 Insecure or rejected adolescents who act impulsively or who are used to having their wishes
fulfilled when they show aggression, are prone to aggression
 Inability to control aggression often the result of educational practices that are too lenient
HOW TO DEAL WITH ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION:

 Never answer aggression with aggression
 Act firmly without resorting to physical measures
 Treat adolescents as individuals and display patience and sympathy in doing so
 Allow time for excited feelings to calm down
 Acknowledge adolescents’ need for autonomy and freedom of choice
 Adopt a constructive approach in handling openly aggressive and antagonistic adolescents
(receive clear message that they are accepted as members of a group an people like them)
 Display sensitivity to the real causes of aggression and to the circumstances that lead to
aggression. This way, you will be able to act firmly, yet with understanding and empathy
 May experience feelings of envy and jealousy about material things, sport, academic
performance or popularity.
 Display jealousy indirectly by way of sarcasm, spitefulness, lying or teasing. They may also
daydream, play the martyr or be excessively persistent or obliging
 Gradually learn to control negative emotions (example: using defense mechanisms)
 Usually become happier as they grow older.
Reason =status of older adolescents more in line with their level of development
- Therefore more independent and experience less frustration
- More realistic about abilities and more inclined to set realistic objectives
 Improved ability to emotional differentiation enables them to express their emotions in more
specific, diversified and sophisticated ways, in conformity of not only the peer group, but also
with the community’s perception of how and adolescent should behave
Aggression is strongly influenced by environment.
Example: if adolescents see tv characters act violently, they are tempted to do the same

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 MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 Theories of moral development:

 Number of theories that address moral development :
 Psychoanalytic theory
 Social learning theory
 Cognitive development theory
 Summary of most salient points proposed by 2 major theorists : Lawrence Kohlberg
and Carol Gilligan
Lawrence Kohlberg:
 Studies a group of boys whose ages ranged from 10 – 16 at beginning of study

 Study continued for 10 years – Kohlberg told his subjects stories in which moral
dilemmas occurred, then asked them to respond to stories by telling him how they
would deal with dilemmas in each story
 Kohlberg concluded that moral development is closely linked to cognitive
development and that moral development could be divided into 3 levels, and
subdivided into 6 stages
 Development of a person’s moral judgement and actions passes through a series of
stages in unchanging sequence, but a person van be partly in 1 phase and partly in
another at same time, with the result that the person’s judgements reflect the phases
to and from which he or she is passing
KOHLBERG’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT THEORY:

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 Age cannot cause a change in moral judgement: rather a change in age is accompanied by s
change in cognitive, affective, social and other kinds of development that affect moral
development
 Only 20-25% of adults reach the level of post-conventional morality – which means many
adolescents are at the conventional level
 If children in conventional stage (conformity) learn how to reason and act with respect to
moral issues from acceptable models, there’s a greater chance that, during post-conventional
stage, their moral reasoning and actions according to their own convictions will also be
acceptable to the relevant community
 Conventional thinking about moral issues also focuses on how an individual will be judged by
others for behaving in a certain way
 Criticism of Kohlberg’s theory:

 Kohlberg’s claim that his theory’s stages of morality are universal is based on
insufficient knowledge of other cultures and their moral values
 Kohlberg’s theory overemphasises justice and underemphasises care
 Kohlberg fails to link morality to spiritual and religious values
 Kohlberg fails to credit the roles of emotions, socialisation and parental guidance
 Moral reasoning throughout the world findings:

 As we age from childhood through to adolescence, moral reasoning changes from
pre-conventional to conventional levels
 Even in adulthood, post-conventional reasoning is relatively common, but its
frequency varies across cultures
 Development levels are not skipped. Pre-conventional reasoning occurs before
conventional reasoning, and when it occurs, post-conventional reasoning is last to
emerge
 A person’s moral judgements don’t always reflect the same level or stage within
levels.
 Using Kohlberg’s model – researchers find that post-conventional reasoning occurs more
often among people from westernised, formally educated and middle/upper-class background
than developing countries
 Initially interviewing was used to determine a person’s level of moral judgement in terms of
Kohlberg’s model
 Rest developed the Defining Issues Test (DIT) as a means of eliminating the deficiencies of
interviewing
 Other tests based on Kohlberg’s model:
 Moralisches Urteil Test (MUT)
 Morele Redeneringtoets (MORT)

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Carol Gilligan:
 Found that females approach moral issues from a different perspective

 States the following:
 Women emphasise sensitivity to others’ feelings and rights
 Men emphasise justice – preserving rules, principles, and rights
 Women emphasise care of human beings instead of obedience to abstract principles.
Thus, men and women speak with 2 different voices
 Based on her research, Gilligan proposed the following female alternative to Kohlberg’s
stages of moral reasoning:
 At Level 1 – women are more concerned with survival and self-interest. They become
gradually aware of the differences between what they want (selfishness) and what
they ought to do (responsibility)
 This lead to Level 2 – the need to please others take precedence over self-interest
 At Level 3 – which many never attain, they develop a universal perspective, in which
they can no longer see themselves as powerless and submissive, but as active in
decision making

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CHAPTER 6
THE ADOLESCENT IN TRANSITION
 School transition:
 Transition to adolescence is also marked by a change in schools.
 Adolescents move from primary school to secondary school
 When they enter secondary school, they are already in the senior phase of the
education system in SA
The phases in SA school system:
NQF level 1 General Education and Training Band
 Preschool  Grade R
 Foundation phase  Grades 1-3
 Intermediate phase  Grade 4-7
 Senior phase  Grades 7-9
NQF levels 2,3,4 Further Education and Training band
Grades 10-12
NQF levels 5,6,7,8 Higher Education and Training Band
Tertiary education
 Entering school at beginning of grade 8 is seen as one of the causes of adolescent stress
 Some of the fears adolescents have:
 General fear of change itself
 Loss of friends
 New school environment
 Making new friends
 To be accepted in an new peer group
 Parents; expectation of academic success
 1 reason for the negative effects of school transition in early adolescence is that it occurs at
the same time as many other changes takes place, for example:
 Puberty and related concerns about body image
 The emergence of at least some aspects of formal-operational thought
 Changes in cognition
 Increased responsibility and independence associated with decreased dependency
on parents
 Change to a more impersonal school structure
 Increased focus on achievement and performance

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 Several other factors that also contribute to the difficulty of this transaction:
 The ‘top-dog’ phenomenon: the adolescent was the oldest and most powerful
learner in primary school and now is the youngest, smallest and least powerful in
secondary school
 School size:
 Educator- learner relationship: in secondary school, the relationships are typically
less personal and less positive than in primary school
 School- related correlates: some negative consequences may result from a
mismatch between the needs of the adolescent and the environment from the new
school. Example: adolescent in secondary school have fewer opportunities to make
decision than learners in primary school. It also seems that there is a mismatch
between wat adolescent desire and what teacher can provide, for example
adolescents want more independence and teachers provide more control and
discipline.
 Home-related correlates: a change in parents’ work and marital status can affect
adjustment to a new school. When this type of change at home takes place at same
time as transition to secondary school, adolescents have more trouble getting along
with other learners, are more disruptive in school and struggles to adjust to new
school status
 Transition to secondary school often means that there is less personal attention from teachers
and more classroom teaching.
 Transition to secondary school also has positive aspects.
Example: learners feel more grown up.
 Adolescents themselves experience the transition to secondary school differently, depending

on:
 Adolescents with a positive personality and positive self-concept adapt better than
those who are still unsure of themselves and/or have a negative self-concepts
 The number of children and the ordinal position in the family plays a major role in that
older brothers/sisters help in familiarising adolescents with the school, teachers,
homework and other school activities.
 For many adolescent this period may set the bass for future attitudes and behaviour.
 Quality of school also influences learner achievement.
 A good school has an orderly, non-oppressive atmosphere, an active, energetic principal and
teachers who take part in decision making.
 When working in a team, group cohesion is formed, because everyone in the group is in the
same, awkward situation.
 Learners in a team situation experience their environment as more supportive and facilitative.
 Advantages of teaming at this stage:
 Positive effect on peer relationships
 An increase in learners’ emotional health and self-concepts
 An increase in learners’ creativity
 Learners’ adjustment to secondary school is improved if the school provides support and
stability, less anonymity and less complexity. As well as a structure for high learner
involvement and high teacher support, because in classes like these, teachers encourage
their learners’ participation , but don’t let the class get out of control

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 Transition to the world of work:

 According to Maslow’s theory, basic needs cannot be satisfied without work, and unless basic
needs are satisfied, higher needs cannot be addressed.
 The beginning of a working career is a turning point in any person’s life.
 It doesn’t only change one’s everyday experiences and social and financial status, but also
endows adult status.
 Functions that work fulfils:

 Work is a means of survival. It provides money to feed, clothe and shelter
 Provides opportunities to be creative or productive (therefore it is a form of self-
expression)
 It determines an individual’s place and status in society
 Contributes to individual’s feeling of self-esteem and therefore contributes to the
formation of his or her self-concept
 Defines our daily schedules and outlines the days, weeks and months of the year
 Provides opportunities for social interactions outside the family
 Provides opportunities for personal development
 Provide opportunities for intellectual growth
 Factors that contribute to change in the work environment:

 Knowledge explosion: scientific knowledge, technological development, and the
electronic data-driven world of work is expanding at a rate that is mind-boggling in
that what was the latest technology yesterday is outdated and has been replaced.
 Globalisation: global competition and multinational network have contributed to a
more integrated world economy. To compete effectively in the fast-moving global
economy, bureaucracies need to remain competitive, they need to adapt and
reposition and restructure continuously and speedily.
 Liberation of societies: it contributes to a consciousness of freedom in the
economic, political, religious, and cultural domains. Women, minority ethnic groups
and other minorities demand, to an increasing extent, that their interests are
addressed.
 Cost of living: the cost of housing, healthcare, education and daily living has
increased to such an extent over the last decade that it introduces concerns about
how to make a living. Worries about making money may interfere with effective
career decision making.
 Unemployment: rising unemployment is not only a worldwide phenomenon; it is also
one of the worst problems besetting SA society. It causes a whole range of
socioeconomic problems, such as poverty, crime and civil unset.
 The impact of these changes will result in the following in terms of people’s career(s) and
work:
 People will often change jobs
 They will have periods out of work when they are in retraining or education
 They will have periods of unemployment
 They will share jobs with other people
 They may have two jobs at the same time
 They may work on a contract basis
 They will have more flexible working hours
 They may be underemployed
 They will have to adapt to new inventions and discoveries, which will bring about
more rapid change

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 SA has a very high unemployment rate, which is exacerbated by a skills shortage and
massive youth unemployment.
 The SA economy struggles with an oversupply of unskilled labour and a serious shortage at
the upper end of the labour market.
 Reasons for the problems in the economy:
 The illiteracy rate among disadvantages groups in SA is approximately 29%
 On average, only 62% of those sitting in for the exam pass the Senior Certificate.
However, there has been an overall improvement in the results in 013
 Adolescents choose subjects that don’t provide access to careers on offer
 A large proportion of the population is entering the job market without career
qualifications or skill. School dropouts are often denied work, not because they
cannot do the job, but because they do not have the necessary credentials.

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 Problem solving and decision making:

 Problem solving:
 = a process of identifying a problem, an obstacle or an inability to act.
 It involves thinking of possible solutions and testing and evaluating these solutions,
whereby one must not only process information, but also use stored information to
achieve the goal.
 Problem solving involves a state of affairs one needs to change in some way in order
to get what one wants.
 The analysis of a problem refers to the amount of time, energy and thought a person
chooses to put into solving it.
Important aspects of problem solving:
 Appropriate information or knowledge makes it easier to solve a problem

 Knowledge is collected in the bran, and problems are then solved through the mins
 The way in which people solve problems depends partly on their understanding of the
problem
 Problem solving is related to decision making
 Working memory is a critical component in problem solving
 Problem solving is a skill that can be taught and learned through practice
 Problem solving can be seen as a type of reasoning
 It is always better so solve a problem while the problem is still small and simple. Try to
prevent small problems from becoming big problems.
Models/strategies for problem solving:
MODELS/STRATEGIES DESCRIPTION
Creative problem solving 1. Sense problems and challenges
2. Recognise the real problem
3. Produce alternative solutions
4. Evaluate ideas
5. Prepare to put ideas into practice
SOLVE system 1. State the problem

2. Outline the response
3. List the alternatives
4. View the consequences
5. Evaluate the results
Innovative problem solving 1. Define and clarify the problem

2. Search for solutions
3. Evaluate the solutions
4. Implement the decisions
5. Follow up
Problem-solving cycle 1. Identify the problem

2. Define the problem
3. Construct a strategy to solve the problem
4. Organise information about a problem
5. Allocate resources
6. Monitor problem solving
7. Evaluate problem solving

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 Decision making:
 = mental process or activity, and decision-making abilities can be improved through practice.
 Three different stages involved in decision making:
 Aspirations
 Choice
 Decision
 Aspirations represent the striving for self-actualisation that, according to Maslow, is the
highest level that people can attain.
 Adolescents will begin to strive for self-actualisation once primary (or basic) needs, such as
the need for food, clothing and safety, have been fulfilled.
 Secondary aspirations include striving for success in schoolwork, self-respect, status,
recognition, independence and acceptance.
 Striving for recognition and independence = important to adolescents
 Aspirations confront adolescent with a moment of choice because they cannot respond
adequately to all their aspirations at the same time. In this moment adolescents must
determine which aspirations they should rate the highest so they can make a realistic and
responsible choice.
 The moment of choice feeds into the moment of decision . After the decision has been made
by an act of will, adolescents know what they want and can take action to realise their goal.
 The act of will is influences by adolescent’ attitude.

 An attitude = a mental state of readiness that has direct or indirect directive influence on a
person’s actions in relation to all objects and situations confronting him or her.
 Attitudes therefore prepare the way for all of the adolescent’s actions.
 Attitudes are acquired consciously or unconsciously and usually become permanent.
 Parents, teachers and peer group contribute to the forming of attitudes

 Usually people closest to adolescent who influence their attitudes towards matters such as
religion, politics, values and social issues (e.g. drug abuse, sexual permanence. The peer
group and mass media are particularly potent factors in this regard)
 Numerous ways in which people make decisions, which depend on the personality of the
person, such as the following:
 The intuitive decider: the ‘it feels right’ type makes decisions intuitively
 The agonising decider: the ‘I can’t make up my mind’ type agonises over decisions.
 The delaying decider: the “ I’ll think about it tomorrow” type postpone decisions
 The fatalistic decider: the “ whatever will be, will be” type jumps into decisions.
 The systematic decider: the “I am systematic and organised” type make decisions
pragmatically
 Formal operational thought better equips adolescents to make difficult personal decisions that
involve weighing alternative courses of action and their probable consequences for

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PRINCIPLES OF DECISION MAKING:
5 steps that are important in any decision-making process:
 Setting goals
 Gathering information
 Structuring solutions
 Evaluating the process
A rational decision can be described as a decision that has to do with selecting ways of thinking and acting to
serve your ends or goals or moral imperatives, as well as what the environment permits .
 Mind map technique can be used to solve problems or make decisions.

 It allows a person to look at the problem or situation as a whole and then make a sensible
choice.
 It allows a person to take stock of the problems,(if they are a lot) and then identify those that
are real and those that are not.
 Tea hers a use De Bo o s pro le s a d e a ples to tea h adolescents how to solve problems and
make decisions.
 De Bo o s e er ises deal ith pro le sol i g ith the fu tio of e ouragi g o -routine and
i e ti e thi ki g ethods, la elled as lateral thi ki g
Teachers can help learners practice solving problems and making decisions by, for example:
 Playing games such as Mastermind (Games with a strong element of excitement and
competition stimulate the interest of players,
 Using case histories
 Giving them problem exercises with or without a tight deadline.
 Teachers who make excessive demands on adolescents or usurp their choices, for example,
with regards to a career, girlfriend friends, field of study or sport, force adolescents into a role
that bring unhappiness and may lead to confusion of identity. The adolescents may revolt in
an attempt to gain control of their life.
 School-to-work transition us a period that is often fraught with uncertainty, and many
contextual variables impact the decisions adolescents make

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Career choice:
 Normally begins when the adolescent accepts certain elements of his self-concepts
 Although choosing a career is primarily a matter for the teacher involved in the LO
programme, it is important that all teachers are conversant with it for, among others, the
following reasons:
 All parents and teachers provide vocational guidance
 Numerous schools have to trained vocational guidance teacher on staff
 In some schools, periods that are set aside for Lo are used for instruction in other
subjects and doing homework
 Some adolescents prefer to discuss their career choice with their parents or with
other teachers
 Many parents don’t feel competent to help their children in choosing a career
 The influence exerted by parents and teachers cannot be underestimated
 Choice of career starts with subject at school
 An important requirement for a realistic career choice is authentic self-knowledge and
knowledge about the chosen career path
Self-knowledge:
 = the insight that one has into one’s own personality that enables one to know what one is
capable or incapable of.
 Self-knowledge leads to self-identity formation. This is dependent on the adolescent’s
cognitive attribution of meaning to the self
Self- knowledge and career knowledge:
Self-knowledge Career knowledge
Adolescent’s share in the acquisiton of knowledge
Adult’s share in the acquision of
knowledge
self-realisation level for realistic career decision making

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There are various theories about the self, such as:
 Freud’s psychoanalytical theory

 The social theories of Mead, Horney, Fromm and Sullivan
 The existential organism theories of Goldstein, Angyal, Maslow and Rogers
 The development theories of Piaget, Super and Erikson.
 Erikson’s theory has relevance to the adolescent’s development of self-knowledge

 His influential theory in identity formation in terms of the question “who am I?” offers a basic
framework for understanding the needs of young people in relation to the society in which
they grow, learn and later make their own contributions.
Self-knowledge consists of the following components, which are undifferentiated in practice because
people function as a whole, not as separate parts:
• Bodily knowledge
• Mental knowledge (gifts and talents)
• Aptitude
• Interest
• Sociality
• Higher intellect or faculties
• Personality
Johari-window:
• Created by Joe Luft and Harry Ingham

• Model on the extent of people’s self-knowledge.
• Extent of a person’s self-knowledge can be demonstrated clearly with model, which provides
information about different aspects of the self in the 4 quadrants of the window.
• Application of the model represents a process whereby a person can acquire self-knowledge.
• Everything one knows about oneself is on the left-hand side of the window (A+B)
• Unknown information is on the right-hand side (C+D)
• Adolescent may discover what she knows about herself through observation, being told,
noticing other people’s reactions, comparisons, clues picked up every day, tests (IQ, aptitude,
personality)
A B
What you know about yourself that it known to What you know about yourself that is unknown to
others others
C D
What you do not know about yourself that is What you do not know about yourself that is also
known to others unknown to others

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Career knowledge:
Acquisition of career knowledge has Two components:
• Adolescents share or own initiative

• Assistance, advice and guidance from parents, relatives, friends, teachers and others
Sources of information about careers, and many ways of obtaining it, like:
• Talking to parents, friends, teachers, both in person and on social media

• Television and audio-visual media
• Visiting enterprises
• Conducting interviews with people who practice a specific occupation
• Reading occupational literature (brochures, periodicals, university calendars and yearbooks,
publications given out by the industry)
• Doing part-time or vacation work
Four main considerations governing a career choice:
 Job description
 Working conditions
 Job opportunities
 Remuneration (example: entry salary and earning potential)
Integration of self-knowledge and career knowledge:
• During this process, the adolescent should integrate self-knowledge with career knowledge\.
• John Holland’s theory proposes a model that classifies people according to 6 personality
types, each of which is associated with a particular kind of working environment in which skills
and value systems can be put into practice.
• Working environments are created by people, which is why people of the same personality
type tend to cluster together in the same work environment.

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Personality type preferences:
 Investigative – thinker
 Artistic – creator
 Social – helper
 Enterprising – persuader
 Conventional – organiser
 Realistic – doer
PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

TYPES
Realistic  Physically strong person who likes to work with machinery, animals
– the doers and/or plants and manually operated tools
 Occupations: veterinarian, engineer, farmer
Investigative  Someone who shows a preference for activities associated with
– the thinkers problem solving ,intellectual and analytical thought
 Occupations: meteorologist, geologist
Artistic Introvert who prefers creative work
– the creators Occupations: musician, painter, writer
Social Someone who communicates with ease and is concerned about people
– the helpers Occupations: teacher, nurse, social worker
Enterprising Someone who shows a preference for manipulating people, taking lead and
– the persuaders acting in an enterprising manner in business world or public life
Occupations: salesperson, advocate, hotel manager, entrepreneur
Conventional Someone who prefers structured tasks and numerical work
– the organisers Occupations: clerk, personal assistant, office administrator
• Most people can be a combination of 2 personality types

• Career satisfaction, achievement and stability : a good match between a person’s personality
and work environment
• Holland says that stability interest and personality usually arrives at age 21.
= one of the reasons why numerous adolescents enter the labour market without having
achieved a meaningful integration of their self-knowledge and career knowledge, with the
result that they choose careers on a trial-and-error basis.
Reasons why adolescents leave school without making a realistic career choice:
• They have insufficient self-knowledge and career knowledge

• Some are negatively influenced by unemployment
• Exposure to a bewildering variety of stimuli confuses them. There is often uncertainty about
the future
• Basic needs are unfulfilled
• Wrong subject choices
• Many adolescents from working-class families in SA have to leave school at an early age to
contribute to the family income. This affects their education and career options
• Affirmative action created a concern over the future of their career for many white South
Africans
• Some have unrealistic expectations
• Some overvalue social status, material security etc.
• Some refuse to accept responsibility for a career choice and expect parents, teachers and
peer group to choose for them
• Some are forced in a particular direction by family tradition
• Some see no point in learning, or even attending school, because they think there are no
jobs, and that a qualification is no longer guaranteed means of securing employment.

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 Career indecision may also contribute to barriers in career decision making

 Career indecision = a term that is used when referring to the difficulties individuals have in
making career decisions, such as a lack of readiness to make a career choice and a lack of
information.
 Adolescents have to choose careers and courses in such a way that they could have various
employment options and also the possibility of self-employment
CONCLUSION:
 When viewing adolescence as a transition to adulthood, one should always keep in mind that
adolescents are not simply in the process of becoming someone else; they are individuals in
their own right.
 As individuals, they have the right to make decisions, and they should be encouraged to take
responsibility for their decisions.
 Self-knowledge assists adolescents in their transition to adulthood and also in making suitable
career choices.
 Teachers can assist their adolescent learners in the integration of self-knowledge and career
knowledge.

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CHAPTER 7:
DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES OF THE ADOLESCENT
 EATING CHALLENGES AND DISORDERS:

 Nutrition plays an important part in their physical development, and some experience
problems, such as malnutrition and obesity, or eating disorders, such as anorexia
nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
 Intrinsic and extrinsic factors that cause challenges and disorders, and that are
generally complex and multiple in nature.
Obesity:
 Overeating leads to obesity, while others display disorders characterised by abnormal

behaviour that arises from a determination not to become obese.
 Obesity can be seen as excess body fat with a body weight that is at least 20% above a
person’s ideal weight for their height, age and sex.
 Three times more common in adolescence than in childhood
 Many South African children and adolescents are underweight or stunted, due to a lack of
nutritious foods
rd
 SA = 3 highest obesity rate in the world
Factors that cause obesity are complex and broadly comprise the following physiological,
psychological and social reasons:
 Hereditary factors
 Medication
 Reduced physical activity
 Brain damage
 Hormonal imbalances and metabolic disturbances
 Variations in the number of fat cells in the underlying tissue
 Sleep deprivation
 Increased television viewing, internet use and socialising on electronic media
 Parent’s sedentary lifestyle
 High levels of poverty
Accounts for many cases of weight gain during adolescence
 Poor nutrition
 Lowered basal metabolism
 During adolescence, the basal metabolism declines by about 15% so that adolescents are
naturally inclined to gain weight unless they control their food intake and exercise adequately.
(adolescents eat too much for their level of exercise)
 Unfortunately, many adolescents also prefer foods that are low in nutrient density (potato
chips, sodas, fast foods, sweets)

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 Their eating habits can also be seriously influences by busy school and social schedules,
part-time jobs, and lack of and adult to prepare nutritious food when adolescents are hungry
or have the time to eat.
 Bad family eating habits are crucial in the increase of obesity worldwide.
Leptin is a hormone that regulates metabolism and body weight.
Resistance to leptin, or a lack of it, can lead to obesity
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the cells of the body become resistant to the hormone insulin,
which regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body
Psychological overeating among adolescents can be attributed to, among others the following
 Parents demonstrating their love or antagonism by overfeeding their children

 Fulfilling a need causes by an “empty feeling”
 Compensating with food for a sense of inferiority, and antagonism towards parents
Factors contributing to body satisfaction among adolescent girls:
 Social pressure to be thin

 An internalised thin ideal body type
 A higher than average body mass index
In society where everyone aims to be ‘thin and slim’, obese adolescents:
 Regard themselves as unattractive and socially less acceptable that their thinner peers
 Tend to experience a lack of control over their life and a lack of individuality
 Tend to eat because food is available, rather than according to a sense of what they really
need
 This tendency negatively affects adolescents’ self0concept and may even lead to social
maladaptation and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships.
 If one parent is obese, there is a 50% chance that the children will also be obese.
 Both parents obese = 80% chance
 Family eating and lifestyle habits, and exercise patterns play a major role in obesity.
 Obese children have an 85% chance of becoming obese adults if they are obese by the age of 10

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Health problems associated with obesity:
 Increase in type 2 diabetes

 Higher risk of cardiovascular abnormalities
 Muscoskeletal asthma
 Fatty liver disease
 Early onset of puberty in girls
 Sleep apnea
 Problems with joints and bones
Overweight, obesity and lack of exercise are high risk factors for type 2 diabetes
 Social and emotional problems are also experienced in obese adolescents

 Obese adolescents may experience a lack of confidence, negative self-perception and
depression
 Overweight adolescents must be equipped with knowledge of the functioning and nutritional
needs of the human body.
 They also need to be taught that they are independent, are in control of their own body and
also responsible for their own body
 Adolescents can also seek and obtain assistance from support groups
 The implementation of dietary awareness education programmes and successful nutritional
interventions at school and communities are crucial in promoting healthy eating behaviours of
learners and help reduce overweight and obesity in SA children and adolescents
 Adolescents need to know how to reduce their calorie intake and how to focus on becoming
healthy, and not on dieting and losing weight.
 They also need to exercise more.
Eating disorders:
 Eating challenges can also manifest in eating disorders.

 = broad term to cover a range of conditions characterised by severe disturbances in eating
and appetite practices and behaviours and include disorders such as anorexia nervosa and
bulimia nervosa
 More prevalent in females than males.
 Reasons for eating disorders:
 Genetic factors
 Family history
 Cultural environment.
 2 most common eating disorders among adolescents =
 Anorexia nervosa
 Bulimia nervosa
DSM is the manual used by clinicians and researchers to diagnose and classify, among other mental disorders,
eating disorders.

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ANOREXIA NERVOSA:
 = Loss of appetite
 Self-starvation, life threatening emotional disorders characterised primarily by a drastic
reduction in food intake, a drive to thinness and an unhealthy loss of weight.
 Disorder usually starts during adolescence, with the desire to lose a few kilograms
 Once goal has been achieved, individual continues to diet obsessively, which is why it is
sometimes referred to as starvation sickness.
 More commonly diagnosed among girls than boys – approximately 90% of victims are
adolescent girls
 Criteria in identification of anorexia:
 The criterion that focuses on the restriction of calorie intake no longer includes the
word “refusal” as this would imply an intention on the part of the person with the
disorder
 The criterion states the absence of at least three menstrual cycles was deleted as it
would exclude boys, premenarchal females and females on oral contraceptives
HOW TO RECOGNISE ADOLESCENTS WITH ANOREXIA:
 Persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight (in context of what is
minimally expected for age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health)
 Either an intense fear of gaining weight or of becoming fat, or persistent behaviour that interferes with
weight gain (even though significantly low weight)
 Distur a e i the a o e s od eight or shape is e perie ed, u due i flue e of od shape a d
weight on self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body
weight
PRIMARY SYMPTOMS OF ANOREXIA:
 Relentless pursuit of thinness (to the point of self-starvation and sometimes even death)
 Consequent loss of weight
SECONDARY SYMPTOMS :
 Amernorrhea (abnormal absence of menstruation)

 Lanugo hair (thick, soft hair that covers the entire body)
 Abnormally slow heartbeat
 Vomiting (may be self-induced)
 Social withdrawal
 Shivering
 Loss of head hair
 Brittle nails
 Extreme sensitivity to cold
 Difficulty in urinating
 Constipation

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 Anorexia patients often experience feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, inadequacy and

helplessness.
 They also have a distorted body image – they always appear overweight to themselvesm
even if they are extremely thin.
There are various viewpoints on what causes anorexia nervosa.
The reasons for developing anorexia are complex and include biological, social and psychological
causes:
 Endocrinological (eghy-pothalmic-pituatary) and neurochemical (serotonin, dopamine and

norepinephrine) dysfunction
 Individual’s reaction to society’s emphasis on thinness and exercise. They note the mass
media praise slenderness as ideal image and that anorexia sufferers could be overreacting to
the threat of gaining weight during adolescence
 Psychological disturbance that entails an extreme reaction to menarche and anxiety about
sexuality. Attainment of maturity is avoided by not eating (which stops menstruation and de-
emphasises certain secondary sexual characteristics). A related theory is that the child fears
separation from the parents and therefore endeavours to fend off the impending by cultivating
the appearance of a little girl
 Anorexia is effectively an effort made by the individual concerned to gain control of his or her
body. Anorexia sufferers may be achievers who come from families where perfectionism and
performance are the order of the day. They are usually compliant and obedient children over
whom the parents had, in many instances, such control that they had difficulty in developing
sense of identity or confidence in their ability to take independent decisions.
 Anorexia is a complex syndrome with causes that derive from a combination of physical,
emotional and social factors.
 Treatment is difficult because most anorexia sufferers deny that they have a problem and
resist treatment.
 Treatment should be approached from a variety of angles and should include medical
treatments and individual psychotherapy for the patient, and group therapy and counselling
for family members
 Adolescent patients must be informed about nutrition and human nutritional needs, and must
be reassured that they will not be coerced into becoming overweight.
 Therapy should focus on the victim’s abilities and resources for independent thought,
judgement and feeling to enable them to achieve autonomy and develop a sense of identity
 Hospitalisation recommended in cases where adolescents with anorexia lose weight too
rapidly or an excessive amount of it, or if metabolic disturbances occur.

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BULIMIA NERVOSA:
 Binge-purge syndrome
 DSM-5 describes a bulimic as someone who regularly (at least once a week for 3 months)
goes on huge eating binges (consuming a large amount of calories in a single sitting, often in
secret) and then purges by self-induced vomiting, strict dieting or fasting, vigorous exercise,
or use of laxatives or diuretics
 More common among girls (90%) and mostly affect adolescent girls and young women.
 Symptoms are difficult to detect because sufferers maintain their normal body weight.
 Their health is severely impaired.
 Common Physical symptoms:
 Tooth decay
 Stomach irritation
 Hair loss
 Serious cases:
 Rupture of the esoephagus
 Cardiac arrhythmia
 Severe potassium depletion
 Blood alkalosis
(occur as a result of repeated vomiting and laxative-diuretic abuse)
 Feelings of depression, failure, shame, guilt and self-loathing are common among bulimics,
and they are consequently inclined to attempt to commit suicide
 Biological, social and psychological factors cause the disorder.
 Some researchers even attribute the disorder to an electro-physiological disturbance in the
brain
 Others contend that it is the consequence of a depressive disorder
 Others offer a psychoanalytical explanation for the condition, maintaining that those with
bulimia use food to satisfy a hunger for love and attention they did not receive from their
parents
 Most bulimics experience the following cognitive disturbances related to food, weight loss
expectations, eating and dieting:
 They are nog informed about the requirements for a well-balanced diet and seldom
eat food from all food groups
 They have unreasonable and distorted expectations about food and weight reduction.
They classify some foods as “good” and others as “bad”. If one eats “bad” food
(fattening food) one is bas. “Bad” foods = fats, sweets, high-calorie foods.
 They are perfectionists who feel compelled to do everything perfectly. Otherwise they
feel worthless
 They have an exaggerated fear of failure
 They believe that if they lose weight then people like them more
 They have problems expressing their emotions and are out of touch with their feelings
 Irrational beliefs of adolescent with bulimia can, for example, be altered by cognitive-
behavioural therapeutic approaches.
 Other approaches to treatment include individual psychotherapy, dietary intervention and
family therapy.
 Adolescents with bulimia should be helped to control binge episodes and to understand the
events prompting their binge episodes

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 Example: be taught to participate actively in sports, or to perform relaxation exercises, or to

phone a friend when they feel the urge to overeat.
A psychiatrist may prescribe antidepressants, whereas a psychologist may administer psychotherapy (sessions
where the patient can talk freely and under total confidence)
COMPARISON BETWEEN ANOREXIA NERVOSA AND BULIMIA NERVOSA:
CHARACTERISTIC ANOREXIA NERVOSA BULIMIA NERVOSA

Weight  Emaciated  Near normal
Age of onset  Adolescence  Late adolescence,
 Early adulthood
Eating behaviour  Barely eats  Periodically consumes large
quantities and then purges
Personality Dependent,  Moody
 anxious,  Impulsive
perfectionist,  Unable to tolerate frustration
 need for control,  Low impulse control
 “I-versus-food” mentality
Emotional state Denial  Guilt and shame
Desire to change No desire to change  Great desire to change
Effects on the body Causes menstruation to  Causes gastric problems and
stop, teeth to erode badly
 strains the heart,
 produces bone loss
 increases risk of death
 exhibits abnormal body
chemicals that help to
regulate eating
Family background Enmeshed and repressed  Conflicted and stress-filled
Treatment success  Challenging to treat,  Somewhat easier to treat
 needs professional help,  Needs professional help
 May take years

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 UNDERACHIEVEMENT AND DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL:
Factors that contribute to adolescents dropping out of high school:
 Socioeconomic and environmental factors

 Individual learner characteristics
 Academic factors and related behaviour
 Racial and ethnic prejudice and discrimination
 Family systems that don’t support scholastic achievement
 Peer group systems that encourage underachievement
 Inadequate school systems
 Pregnancy and early marriage
 Substance abuse

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 EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES:
 Besides developing a sense of their own identity, that is, a sense of the self as a separate
distinct individual, adolescents need to establish their gender role, career and ethnic
identities.
 They must also learn to exercise increasing control over their emotions and to express
emotions in socially acceptable ways, while they also struggle with the task of establishing a
realistically positive self-concept.
 Furthermore, society confronts them with considerable demands, and this – combined with all
the changes taking place – may cause stress for adolescents
 Although most children pass through adolescence without experiencing extensive
psychological or emotional problems, a significant proportion do encourage a wide range of
problems during this period.
Stress:
 Adolescents are exposed to stressors and stress, which include physical, school and political
violence
 Extreme stress can lead to trauma and stressor-related disorders
 Extreme negative stress = distress
 Usually harmful and negatively influences the adolescent’s health and overall
development
 Contributes to emotional challenges (anxiety-related disorders and depression)
 Stress occurs in the lives of people at all developmental levels and in all age groups, and is
therefore prevalent among adolescents.
 A limited amount and manageable degree of positive stress motivates a person to perform =
eustress
 When stress-related hormones (glucocorticoids) are chronically elevated, adolescent learners
become distracted, hurried, apathetic and uninterested in learning.
 The adolescent’s academic performance may suffer, which leads to:
 underachievement,
 concentration challenges,
 absenteeism, lack of interest in class and homework
 lowered student satisfaction and self-esteem.
 Stress-related hormones destroy neurons in the hippocampus (area in brain that is critical for
long-term memory formation and learning)
 Stress literally means to “draw tight” and it’s relevant to adolescents as it refers to
psychological, physical and social pressure or tension they feel during this phase, and can be
both the cause (stressor) and effect (stress) of the pressure or tension.
 3 most cited stress models:
 General Adaptation Syndrome
 Life Change Model
 Transaction Model
Sources of adolescent stress:
 Transition through puberty

 The search for an identity
 Increased concern for peer relationships
 Issues of anatomy
 Catastrophic events (example: being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or death of a
parent)

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EXAMPLES OF STRESS MODELS:
MODEL DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

General  An attempt to understand the  When it is cold, we shiver
Adaptation body’s physical response to and when we are afraid,
Syndrome biological stressors we either run away or try
 Generally called the “fight-or- and deal with the threat
flight” response model
Life Change  Stress as a result of the changes  The stresses of bodily
Model in an adolescent life changes,
 Several small stressors can have  hormonal changes,
as much impact as one large  trying to find an identity,
stressor  stressing about fitting in,
can be just as stressful as the
traumatic experience of seeing
an armed robbery.
Transaction  Stress as the adolescent’s  The stress that Peter has
Model perception of a stressful experienced on attending
occurrence or life changes, and the new school, has led
how this influences the him to perceive everything
adolescent’s wellbeing else in a negative light,
which causes him to feel
down
3 categories of stressors:
 Micro-
 Meso-
 Macro levels.
Micro level:
Stress linked to:
 the emerging of the self

 forming of self-identity
 physical development
 physical appearance
 personality traits
Meso level:
 relations with parents, family members, peer groups and teachers may bring on stress
 related to family (abuse, moves, death, divorce), peer group (rivalry, loneliness, competition),
school (sport, tests, teacher attitude)
Macro level:
 related to outside world (disasters, environmental) and cultural (politics, theft, religion)

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Coping with stress:
HOW TO HELP LEARNERS DEAL WITH STRESS

 Teach them a wide range of stress-handling techniques and exercises
 Teach them how to gain and display personal control
 Assist them in adopting a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and sports, and a healthy
diet and eating habits
 Help them to achieve a positive outlook on life
 Assist them in understanding their stress experiences, and together explore ways in
identifying and strengthening existing positive emotions to build resilience to negative stress
 Refer more severe cases to a professional
 Consequences of stress
 Divided into mental and physical
 Physical
Headaches, tension, stomach aches, tight muscles, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue,
hypertension peptic ulcers no appetite, craving, insomnia, sweating,
 Mental:
Anxiety, depression, no motivation, withdrawal, mood swings, unhappiness, suicidal thoughts,

nightmares, irritability, restless, poor eating, over eating, aggression
 Coping with stress

 Effect of one stressor is enhanced if combined with others – this doubles the effect of
psychological problems.
 If support from friends / family is available, it protects against ill effects of stress
Coping strategies:
1. Problem-focused coping – active measures to influence or change the source of stress

(treatment
of the problem). Better adjusted and less impacted by harmful effects of stress.
2. Emotion-focused coping – changing emotional responses to stress, try and avoid it and rather
focus on something else. Can be effective in specific situations.
 Assisted by educators who:
● Instill problem focused coping strategies
● Teach stress handling techniques (breath & relaxation)
● Teach sense of personal control
● Realize importance of healthy immune system
● Adapt positive outlook on life
● Refer serious cases to professional
 Behaviour due to stress is often seen as misconduct and punished which adds to stress, but
the problem is not addressed.

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 Depression:
 = a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect an adolescent’s thinking,
feelings and behaviour
Symptoms of adolescent depression:
EMOTIONAL MOTIVATIONAL COGNITIVE SOMATIC

SYMPTOMS SYMPTOMS SYMPTOMS SYMPTOMS
• Sadness • Loss of interest • Negative cognition • Loss of appetite
• Happiness • Lack of drive about the self • Lack of energy
• Anxiety • Difficult starting • Negative cognition • Sleep difficulties
• Misery anything about the world • Weight loss
• Inability to enjoy • Difficult to focus on • Negative cognition
anything about the future
THEORIES OF ADOLESCENT DEPRESSION
THEORY DESCRIPTION
Psychoanalytical  Emphasizes the idea of object loss
(e.g. Sigmund Freud)  Regard loss as real
 Regard loss of self-esteem and feeling of helplessness as
relevant
Biological  Hormonal changes is major cause
 influence of genetic factors and chemical imbalances
Learned helplessness  Perceive self as having little control over environment
Cognitive  Beginning of hypothetical thought opens up new, depressing
(e.g. Beck’s theory) ways to perceive the world
Environmental and social  Demands imposed by society
(e.g. family systems theory)
Holistic approach  Interaction of all theories
 Emphasize interactive nature of environmental factors and
circumstances as
 well as individual susceptibility to depression
Helping adolescents with depression:
 medication
 cognitive behaviour interventions
 family and interpersonal therapy
 suicide:
Increase in suicide (more stress, more depressed, environmental support less).

Variety of factors:
 Disturbed family background – conflict with parents and between parents, family violence,
negative attitude toward children, economic stress (unemployment), loss of parent
 Absence of warm, parental figure to identify and feeling isolated (emotionally and socially) -
don’t feel close to an adult, difficult to communicate with others, don’t have anyone to turn to,
poor relationships and feel socially isolated
 Depression – loss of love object lead to mourning, crying, withdrawal, lack of motivation
 Alcohol and drug abuse – act impulsively when under the influence
 Stress – negative life events lead to increased stress and may not have support system

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 Immature personality with poor impulse control – lack positive ego identity development (no
self-worth, meaningfulness and purposefulness)
 Highly suggestible to follow others – lead to suicide epidemic
 Mental illness – hallucinations and feel urged to kill themselves
 Guilt or anger and hostility – punish self or others
 Interpersonal problems – aggression, expressed inwardly (direct violent act of suicide to self,
society and others)
 Need to attract attention or sympathy or manipulate – communicate hurt and need for help
4 risk factors:
 Psychiatric problems – depression or substance abuse
 History of suicide
 Under stress, especially in achievement or sexuality
 Parental rejection, family disruption or extensive family conflict
-
Preventing suicide
Not true that teens who speak about committing suicide will not do it.
Talk of suicide to be taken seriously.
Early warning signs:
 Direct suicide threats
 Previous suicide attempts
 Talk of death or afterlife (letters, essays etc)
 Questions about weapons, poison, pills or drugs
 Sense of gloom, helplessness and hopelessness
 “I wish I was dead” statements
 Dramatic changes in behavior (shy then outgoing / neat then untidy / frantic then boredom)
 Loss of interests in hobbies, sport
 Problem with school work and under achievement
 Sleeping and eating disorders, neglect physical appearance
 Breach of communication
 Giving away possessions
 Reckless, self-destructive behavior
 Family disruptions (unemployment, serious illness, divorce, death)
Educators should do:

 Address direct questions calmly
 Question to ascertain emotional state and determine relations and if action plan is developed
 Encourage to seek help
 Never leave alone when going through crisis
 Tell other people (parents, teachers)
 Help to handle difficult situations and relieve stress (support & understand)
 Alternative ways of dealing with problems
Educators should NOT:
 Don’t Ignore danger signals or dismiss as means to get attention
 Don’t refuse to talk about suicide
 Don’t show shock, fear, disapproval
 Don’t leave alone during crisis
 Don’t say thing like “I know how you feel”, “it will blow over”
Principles to be sensitive
 Be observant to help children cope with suicidal thought
 Enhance self-concept where possible through encouragement, caring, focus attention,
 personal regard
 Encourage to develop interest and skill to serve as inner pride and self-esteem
 Proactive intervention to avoid stress
 Help adolescents to form support groups (friendships, discussion groups)
 Acknowledge feelings and encourage verbalizing thoughts

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 Anxiety disorders:
3 types of or anxiety disorders –
 Separation anxiety disorder

 Overanxious disorder
 Avoidant disorder
Complex pattern of reactions to a threat (motor responses, physiological responses and subjective
responses)
TYPES AND EXAMPLES OF PERCEIVED THREAT:
MOTORIC RESPONSES PSYCHOLOGICAL SUBJECTIVE RESPONSES

RESPONSES
 Avoidance  Heart rate  Thoughts of being
 Trembling voice  Muscle tension scared
 Crying  Sweating  Thoughts of being hurt
 Nail biting  Palpitations  Thoughts of danger
 Avoidance of eye  Breathlessness  Self-deprecatory
contact  Nausea thoughts
 Rigid posture  Headache  Self-critical thoughts
 Stuttering  Thoughts of inadequacy
 Images of bodily injury
Separation anxiety (from parents) also result in:
 worrying about separation

 reluctance to sleep away from home.
 Could be brought on by major stressor (death, moving) and is only episodic.

 Concurrent could be over-anxious disorder (unrealistic worry about events, self-
consciousness, general anxiety, anxiety about behaviour in past). More of a chronic
disorder and could lead to anxiety as an adult.
 Avoidance disorder is the persistent avoidance of unfamiliar people (goes with over-
anxious) and can be worse during other stressful times – could result in social phobia in
adulthood.
 Any childhood anxiety could lead to adulthood disorders:
 Phobic disorder – fear or avoidance of objects
 Panic disorder – panic and anxiety attacks
 Obsessive – compulsive disorder – thought or urges to engage in repetitive and irrational
behaviour
 Post-traumatic stress disorder – linked to catastrophic event which is re-experienced

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CHAPTER 9:
TEACHING, LEARNING AND MOTIVATION
 MOTIVATION:
 Motivation is the activation of a person’s motivational situation by himself or another,
engendering heightened activity on the part of that person as a means of realising a goal
 = process that influences the direction, persistence, and vigour of goal-directed behaviour
 = a concepts used as an explanation or rationale for the way a person or organism behaves
 = the reason why individuals behave, think and feel the way they do
 = refers to needs, goals and desires that spur or drive an individual to action
 2 components:
 Movement – action
 Purpose – determines direction of movement
 Motive = want/need that causes us to act
 Motivation = linked to an objective
 Motivation is directed towards the satisfaction of needs and drives, and if unsatisfied, might
generate a state of physiological and/or psychological arousal
 Lear er s oti atio deter i es su ess of lear i g.

 Therefor motivation = 1 of most critical components in learning
 Maslow’s self-actualisation theory:

 Human motives organised into hierarchy of needs
 = a pyramid : basic needs (physiological needs) at the bottom, and self-actualisation
(needs to fulfil one’s potential) is highest need
 = used to show that some needs are more basic and powerful than others and that
one needs to fulfil the basic needs first before one goes about fulfilling higher-order
needs

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 Maslow designed 2 categories of needs:

 Physiological needs:
• Satisfying physiological needs seen as motivated behaviour at lowest
level.
• Satisfying these basic needs of learner is a prerequisite for
motivation to learning
• Example: if learner is hungry and hasn’t had anything to eat he will
not be motivated to learn
 Psychological needs:
• Need for protection and safety and social needs of learner has
influence on academic achievement
• Adolescent phase manly characterised by need for love, acceptance
and belonging
• Failure to meet need for safety and social needs may result in
deviant behaviour
• Need for appreciation and self-esteem = central to adolescent
development.
• This need includes 2 groups:
 Respect and self-esteem
 Respect and approval
• Need for self-actualisation = highest in Maslow’s pyramid
 if this need is fulfilled, it shows that one has become everything one is
capable of becoming
 need can never be completely satisfied : the more you know and understand
the world around you and own role in it, the greater the motivation may be to
still learn more
 self-actualised people show they are intrinsically motivated since behaviour emanates
from source located within themselves (internal locus of control)
 people who operate from this internal locus of control don’t have to impress other in
the process of their self-actualisation, but are fee to be themselves in a way that
satisfies them best
 Achievement motivation
 = desire to experience success and participate in activities in which success depends
on personal effort and abilities
 Result from following tendencies:
 Need/expectation to achieve success (striving towards pleasure)
 Need to avoid failure (avoiding the unpleasant)
 Theory differentiates 3 needs: need for performance, need for affiliation and need for power
 Achievement motivation has the following 3 components:
 Cognitive drive: need to know, understand and solve problems
 Need to strengthen the ego: can be satisfied through academic achievement and
status that results from it
 Affiliation component: directed at a person with whom the learner identifies
(parents or peers).
 Achievement motivated learners want and expect to succeed, and if they fail, they try again
until they succeed

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 Motivation and attribution theory:

 Focuses on how people explain the causes of own success or failure (i.o.w individuals are
motivated to discover the underlying causes of their success or failure)
 Most explanations for failure or success have the following 4 factors:
 Ability
 Effort
 Task difficulty
 Luck
 Ability + effort = internal factors
 Task difficulty + luck = external factors’
 Learners fail – like to believe they had bad luck or task was too difficult. When they succeed –
like to believe it’s because they’re smart
 Best strategy to help adolescents who attribute poor performance to external factors, is to
help them to attribute their poor performance to internal factors
 Locus of control is a concept central to attribution theory. (locus = location)

 This is a personality trait that determines whether a person attributes his failure or success to
internal or external factors
 Adolescents who succeed and attribute their success to internal factors (ability and effort) are
more likely to approach future tasks with confidence and self-assurance, and when they
attribute their success to outside factors (easy task or luck) they remain unsure of their
abilities
 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation:
 “inner drive which urges an individual on, fuelled by own intrinsic goals, curiosity and interests
(an activity people enjoy and therefore find motivating)
 Inner drive comes from self- and metacognitive systems of brain
 Self-cognitive system is guided by self-concept and self-efficacy and belief that one can
achieve
 Meta-cognitive system is built around personal goal setting and follow-through, which
happens outside reward
 = therefore based on internal factors (self-determination, curiosity, challenge and effort)
 Intrinsically motivated people want to perform because they would like to and because they
find the task in hand interesting and informative and derive a sense of self-actualisation from
it
 Interest and intrinsic motivation= closely linked
 Intrinsically motivated person derives satisfaction from success of studying than from the idea
that he will pass matric
 = primarily located in a person’s will to be enriched inwardly
Extrinsically motivation:
 Take action because of:

 Something/someone other than themselves has prompted them to do something
 Someone else will reward them
 They merely want to impress or satisfy someone else
 They will be punished if they don’t take action

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 They have to be impelled

 Person himself isn’t enthusiastic, but must be admonished or continually encouraged to
perform a task
 Little initiative or creativity within an extrinsically motivated person
CHARACTERISTICS OF INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

• Anticipate realisation of goal concerned • Tend to be uncertain and doubt own
• Want to enrich themselves inwardly and abilities, and aren’t creative
are goal-directed • No desire to know more about matter
• Concentrate learning task than necessary
• Persevere and practice • Tend to be pessimistic about chances of
• Interested in object or theme and in success
independent study • Mainly seek to realise short-term goals
• Regard learning as a meaningful activity; • Often anxious and tense because of
have intellectual curiosity danger of possible failure
• Have strong will to carry out task • Strive for social approval from peers,
successfully parents and other adults
• Set own standards
Ways learners can be motivated to change particular behaviour:
 Positive reinforcement
 Punishment
 Negative reinforcement
 Extinction : no consequence for behaviour, example: undesirable behaviour is ignored and
after a while it tend to decrease
HOW TO MOTIVATE LEARNERS

• Present well-prepared, meaningful lessons and adopt an original and creative approach
• Present lessons at learners’ cognitive level with meaningful and attainable objective
• Present lessons in an appealing way that both satisfies and increases learners’ curiosity
about content of lesson
• Be goal-directed and clearly state immediate and long-term goals
• Present lessons that challenge learners’ cognitive skills
• Make encouraging comments and give appropriate praise and criticism
• Make use of a variety of interesting presentation modes, and use technology
• Help learners make own choices and set own goals
• Provide immediate and frequent feedback on learners; work
• Involve learners in learning task
• Give individual recognition and attention
• Use praise effectively

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 ADOLESCENT TEACHING AND LEARNING:
 A culture of teaching and learning:
 Learning doesn’t only depend on individual learner, but also on friends, parents, social
context of teaching and learning, and on affective factors, such as attitudes and values held
by individual role-players
 Culture that gives positive meaning to school’s educational programme = learning culture
 Teaching and learning culture characterised by following:
 There’s collaboration in all contexts, relationships and experiences among learner
stakeholders
 Principal, teachers, parents, learners and community agree on what constitutes most
important values
 There is a stated and shared sense of purpose and mission about teaching and
learning
 There’s a developed learning programme that focuses on all aspects of academic
achievement
 There’s a positive school atmosphere that encourages teaching and learning
 Constructivist theory:
st
 Constructivist learning theory encourages type of learning that is required for 21
century needs
 Constructivism refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves,
rather than being passive receives or information
 Implies that learners must understand what they are learning if learning is to
meaningful and permanents
 Formalisation of theory generally attributed to Piaget
 Piaget theory often seen as theory of development, rather than the basis for cognitive
constructivist approach
 General principles of constructivism largely based on Piaget’s processes of
assimilation and accommodation
 When assimilating, learners react to and interpret new information in terms of their
existing cognitive schemes, while accommodation is the process through which
existing cognitive schemes and cognitive structures are changed and extended in
order to accommodate new information
 Accommodation can therefore be understood as the mechanism we use to fit theory
to practice
 Constructivism as a description of human cognition is often associated with
pedagogic approaches that promote learners’ active involvement
 Theory suggest that learners construct knowledge and it describes how meaningful
learning should be
The constructivist view is that for too long in education settings, learners have been required to sit still, be
passive, and rote learn and memorise irrelevant information

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 Constructivist teaching also based on Vygotsky’s theory, namely that learning occurs as new
knowledge is internalised by learners through participation in discussions of new concepts
and skills
 Example: if learner grows up with computers at home and then as to do 1
st
assignment on computer in school, learning is going through process of assimilation

because he merely adds to already existing knowledge and skills.
 However, a learner who has never used a computer before, will have to go through
process of accommodation, because use of computers is entirely new to learner
 Social constructivism views each learner as a unique individual with unique needs and
backgrounds
 Social constructivism not only acknowledges the uniqueness and complexity of the learner,
but actually encourages, utilises and rewards it as an integral part of the learning process
 This in in line with Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), which can be described
as the distance between the actual development level and level of potential development
 Vygotsky emphasises the role and importance of guidance of an adult or older peer during
process of learning.
 Social constructivism more than just interaction between learner and physical world – also
includes people who provide support through verbal interactions
 3 main characteristics of constructivist view of learning:
 Notion that knowledge is not a product of accumulation, but a product of active and
evolving processes in which learners’ attempts to make sense of their world come to
bear
 Notion that people “conditionalise”/ assimilate their knowledge in personal ways that
enable them to use knowledge later
 The importance of collaboration and social negotiation of meaning in that learning
happens within a social context and that conceptual growth comes from sharing our
perspectives and testing our ideas against others, modifying our internal
representation in response to this process of negotiating
TEACHING IN THE CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASSROOM

 Use hands-on material when appropriate
 Encourage learners to choose some of their learning activities when possible
 Follow up on learners’ questions. Talk less and listen more and ask more questions than
giving answers
 Allow time after posing a question, n order to promote thinking (intelligent response require
thinking time)
 Present learners with puzzling or unexpected information that causes them to revise their
schemas
 Ask learners to justify or explain their answers regardless of whether their answers are correct
of incorrect
 Encourage learners to discuss answers to questions among themselves and to come to their
own conclusions
 Encourage learners to explain their thinking process and how they come up with a particular
answer
 Constructivism based on theory that there are multiple perspectives on the world
 Individuals construct their own knowledge, which in turn affects their perception of
experiences they have

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 Information processing and memory:
 Information processing is the process of how a student obtains, stores and uses knowledge.
 When people sense and understand large amounts of information, they look for specific units
of information, analyse the information and express their conclusions for others to
understand.
 There are three parts of the mental system that are involved in processing information:
sensory register (encoding information) ; working or short-term memory (information
undergoes consolidation to process and organise it into a suitable form for long-term storage)
and long-term memory (information is stored)
 The conscious, reflective part of the working memory, which is responsible for directing the
flow of the information and deciding what to attend to, is called the central executive; it also
directs activities such as comprehension, reasoning and solving problems, and the longer the
information is in die short- term memory, the more likely it will transfer to the long-term
memory.
 Development affects each of the three steps in the memory process, and during the
adolescent phase the following is noteworthy:
 During adolescence, the processing speed escalated, (at the age of 15, it peaks, and then at
the age of 18 it starts to slow down).
 During adolescence, executive functions increase, and that is why adolescents are better in
controlling their thinking, and they are faster and more accurate on tests of inhibitory control
 Around the ages of 14 – 16 the top levels of performance on complex working memory tasks
that require the use of strategies, incorporating new information and monitoring progress, are
reached.
 Individual differences in information processing, vary from learner to learner of the same age,
because some learners have a larger working memory and can control their thinking better
than other learners, they process information faster.

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 Long-term memory stores all information a learner truly knows, such as concepts and
philosophies
Strategies for remembering:
 External memory aids : making shopping list or writing down telephone number
 Rehearsal: conscious repetition, such as repeating a telephone number couple of times
before dialing it
 Organisation: grouping by categories, such as mentally placing information into meaningful
categories
 Elaboration: associating items to be remembered by something else, such as a phrase,
scene or story, such as remembering the sequence of the colours green, blue, red, orange
and yellow, by the acronym GB Roy
Methods to simulate memory:
 Breaking mental routines

 De Bono’s thinking tools: makes use of abbreviations to specify thinking procedures we have
to follow to master a specific thinking skill. One of thinking tools/ thinking procedures =
Plus-Minus- Interesting (PMI) thinking tool where one categorises all the possible outcomes of
taking action
 Mind maps
 Puzzles and games
 Teaching Generation Y:
 Technology plays a key role in education and is transforming instructional practices in the
classroom
 Generation Y values teamwork and seek the input and affirmation of others
 They want to complete meaningful work and experience a solid learning curve
 Therefore they prefer technology to traditional lecture-based presentations,
 They crave attention in the form of feedback, encouragement and guidance and they may
benefit greatly from mentors who can guide them and help them develop their knowledge and
skills to cope with the increasing pressure and escalating competitiveness of a global
economy,
 Theyre being raised in the age of the “active parent”, and fathers have also entered the child-
rearing equation. This type of parent views the child as the centre of the family.
TIPS ON TEACHING GENERATION Y

 Millennials know that they are all different, so don’t treat them as if they are all the same
 Gain learners’ trust and loyalty
 Although Millennials are perceived to be street-smart, arrogant and “know-it-alls”, they are
also young, lonely and insecure. They need a lot of support and encouragement
 Use varied methodologies for teaching and provide plenty of visual stimulation
 They need to understand the application of facts. The skills of helping learners to see how
theoretical information can be applied practically are the cornerstone to their success
 Provide plenty of feedback and encouragement
 Use computers and mobile phones as learning tools
 Use computer-based testing and encourage them to use internet to do research

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 Individual differences:
 Apply Gardner’s multiple intelligences (MI) theory

 MI theory affords teachers opportunities to use varied teaching and learning strategies,
and assessment techniques that are conductive to creative and active learning, engaging
all learners in construction of their own learning
 Teaching and learning strategies have to be adapted to a new conceptual framework that
caters for different types of intelligences of adolescents
 Learners with different types of intelligence react differently to traditional type of teacher-
orientated teaching that is still so prevalent in schools:
Linguistic • Need to speak and communicate

• Example: Often writing and passing notes instead of concentrating
on maths lesson
Logical-mathematical • Understand a new concept in math and other related subjects
(science, science) quickly
• Gets irritated, restless and fidgety when teacher re-explains the
concept or do multiple examples
Visual/spatial • Think and learn visually in pictures, graphs an diagrams
• Easily lost or bored in purely verbal lesson
• Constantly drawing
Musical (intuitive) • Tend to drum on desk, or hum or sing under breath when forced to
sit still
Bodily-kinaesthetic • Most restless of all
• Need to move – very disruptive
Intrapersonal • Least disruptive in class
• More introspective and may daydream or be lost in own world
Interpersonal • Socialites, constant talkers
• and the ones who cannot avoid becoming involved in whatever is
happening in class, even if it is an argument they have nothing to
do with
• Tend to comment on others in class
Naturalistic • Want to be in nature, outside – not in class
• Battel to focus their attention on the here and now
Existential • Pose and ponder about questions
• Tend to be daydreamers and pay little attention in class

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CHAPTER 10:
RESILIENCE:
 Resilience is defined as the process of positive adjustment when facing adversity, and to
have the ability to do well in life despite adversity and difficult situations
 Research has shown that someone being in a negative situation, does not necessarily have a
negative outcome.
 During the adolescent years, resilience can be influences by the individuals support system,
which can include family members as well as friends.
 In order to describe an adolescent as resilient, the following two criteria of significant adversity
and positive adjustment must be present.
 Significant adversity: there must be significant adversity that puts the adolescent at
risk for a negative outcome, for example suicide, criminal behaviour etc.
 Positive adjustment: the adolescent should adapt to a risk or show a positive
development that was unexpected, given the risks threatening the adolescent

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Exam summaries - Summary Child Development

Child Development (University of South Africa)

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CHILD DEVELOPMENT (EDT 1601)

 Teenage years = the years of the storm and stress

 To develop a sense of identity Adolescents must :

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHYSICAL GROWTH OF THE ADOLESCENT:

 = Characterised by various changes in the child that lead to reproductive maturity.

 Accelerated growth during adolescence:

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 Primary and secondary sexual characteristics:

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 Early and late development:

Early development: Boys

 Beneficial for boys

Late development: boys

 Tend to be physically active

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Early development: Girls:

Early development increases girls’ vulnerability to number of problems like:

 smoking and drinking alcohol

Late development: girls

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 Erection, ejaculation and nocturnal semen emissions:

 Breaking of the voice:

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THE IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:

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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:

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 Healthy eating (nutrition):

 All body cells contain protein

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 Vitamin requirements increase during adolescence

The food pyramid:

GUIDELINES FOR GOOD NUTRITION:

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THEORIES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:

 Cognitive development theories focus on human capabilities.

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 Piaget’s development approach:

 Piaget s theor of de elop e t represents constructivism.

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Phases in the cognitive development of the child:

PHASE AGE CHARACTERISTICS

 As seen above, intellectual development culminates in the formal-operational phase, which is

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FORMAL-OPERATIONAL PHASE:

 Formal-operational phase has the following characteristics:

 Adolescents in the concrete-operational phase:

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PROPOSITIONAL THOUGHT (real compared to the possible):

 In contrast, concrete-operational adolescents:

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HYPOTHETICAL-DEDUCTIVE / COMBINATORY THOUGHT:

FORMAL-OPERATIONAL PHASE: GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING ADOLESCENTS:

There is no sudden movement from the concrete-operational phase to the

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