THE EFFECT OF THEORIES ON ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT IN AN EDUCATIONAL SETTING

Adolescence is the year between childhood and adulthood when youth grow restlessly, moody, worried, hilarious, yet striving towards maturity (McGraw-Hill, 1954).

At the early stage of my adolescence (10–14 years), I felt loved and accomplished. My father predefined my destiny when I got to grade 8, but when he passed away, everything collapsed. My grades dropped, and I lost confidence in myself and my ability to make it in life. Also, what I saw as heaven turned to hell at an instant. I was forced to quickly adjust to the changes around me that I felt acceptable to me and the rest of the world. My perspectives vis-à-vis the five adjustments identified by McGraw-Hill faced by teenagers striving towards maturity changed (McGraw-Hill,1954).

Also, it was not easy to get along with my family. Our relationship changed as a result of the death of my father. My mother saw no need to continue paying my tuition. She kept referring to me as a stranger, and as a son forced onto her to take care of, things became tense, and distance was forged. I found myself alone in this vast world with the decision to continue or abandoned school.

As for my classmates and friends, I was not quite sure of the relationship with them. In that uncertainty, I wanted to be and do like the rest of the crowd. I was utterly conventional, no more by my parent’s standards and practices but by that of my friends. At that transition stage, my friends and classmates were the most important people in my life.

In my effort to assert my independence, I resisted the authority my mother was unwilling to relinquish. At that time, she wanted me no good despite my attempt to gain her love and attention. I was a restless, moody, and worried kid whose whole life just crashed thrown into the forest infested with wild animals. I had to adapt and adjust to the changes around me, and my teachers, with the lack of knowledge and understanding of such behavior, dealt with the situation the way they could. Being a truant and making fun of my classroom teachers to attract my friends’ and classmates’ attention resulted in suspensions, lashing, and punishments. So, I would not say I was a good or bad student. Instead, I was a lost child who needed help.

Despite my callous behavior, my identity as a man was not questioned but reinforced my view, of people and the rest of the world. The maltreatment perpetrated on me by my mother made me see the world differently. As a child, I accepted my parents’ religion, beliefs, and rules without questioning. A sound basis was laid during my childhood for religious experience as an adolescent. With increased knowledge and intelligence, I started having doubts, asking questions, and seeking evidence to justify my mother’s irrational behavior towards me.

Moreover, in making the five adjustments identified by McGraw-Hill, I faced difficulties foreseeing or projecting myself in the future. So, setting goals was a luxury I could not afford. I lived every day as the last, but one thing was sure, education was the key to success to a breakthrough. As a teenager, I did not have a typical experience: going out and having fun with friends after school and on weekends was not opportune to have adolescent worries like boys do girls like and vice versa. I was more concerned with how to pay my tuition and continue my education while working.

Also, I had doubts about God’s existence and started asking questions like why God allows suffering, why he could not be a parent and a helper to orphans, and the less privileged. My conclusion was God is not so merciful as described in the scriptures. So, as a response to these doubts, I set up a moral code reflected in sound personal adjustment and helped me face social attitudes.

Were the ideas discussed in your readings representative of your experience during your adolescent years? Think about the theories and factors associated with adolescent development.

The ideas discussed above represent my experience as a teenager. As adolescents grow and develop, outside factors influence their behavior, such as their environment, culture, religion, school, and the media. Each teenager has a unique personality, special interests, and likes and dislikes, with numerous developmental issues that everyone faces during the early, middle, and late adolescent years (Spano, 2004). Great researchers have proposed many different theories or views of looking at adolescent development. These views are biological (G. Stanley Hall), psychological (Freud), psychosocial (Erikson), cognitive (Piaget), ecological (Bronfenbrenner), social cognitive learning (Bandura), and cultural (Mead) (Muuss et al., 1996; Rice and Dolgin, 2002). Despite the difference in point of views, they all boil down to one thing “adolescent development.”

In reflecting on your adolescent years, do you feel that today’s youth experience many of the same challenges and discoveries that young people did in previous generations? Think of the history of adolescence.

From my personal experience, it isn’t easy to assert this point. I always see my experience as an exception to the rule, but I will base my opinion on the McGraw-Hill Text film’s historical facts (1954). According to the documentary, customs developed through century of experience demonstrate that children were prepared for adulthood. In the past, parents new what was expected of their children when they reach puberty and were prepared in that regard. Conversely, adulthood’s achievement in our 21st century, the word puberty has only a physical meaning. Responsibility and privileges are withheld despite their physical changes. So, I will say that today’s youths do not experience the same challenges and discoveries as previous generations because, in the past, children were prepared for manhood. Our today’s teenagers are left unprepared with less or no guidance to explore the unknown. Also, teenagers do vary slightly, but the feelings and behaviors are, in general, considered typical for each stage of adolescence.

How does linking your experiences to theory increase your knowledge of the adolescent experience?

Adolescent development theories focus on explaining how teenagers change and grow throughout adolescence. Such theories center on various aspects of their development: social, biological, emotional, and cognitive growth. Without argument, we all have experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand how and why young people grow, learn, and act the way they do. To understand and help teenagers in this transition stage, we have to link our personal experience to existing theories that explain aspects of adolescent development.

How will you utilize this information in your work with adolescents in an educational setting?

Understanding adolescent development will help design interesting and captivating lessons in which students will develop the need and the interest to participate in my course/topic. Designing lessons oriented to stated goals will motivate the students if they see a direct connection of how the learning course equips them with the skills needed to resolve issues and clear doubts.

References

McGraw-Hill (1954). Meaning of Adolescence. Film. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GGEdIUShEU4

Muuss, R., Velder, E., & Porton, H. (1996). Theories of adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Rice, P. and Dolgin, K. (2002). Adolescents in theoretical context. In The adolescent: Development, relationships and culture (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Spano, S. (2004). Stages of Adolescent Development. Retrieved from www.actforyouth.net website: https://www.actforyouth.net/resources/rf/rf_stages_0504.cfm