LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Activity 1

1. How many developmental stages were described by Santrock? How do these stages compare to
Havighurst’s developmental stage given below?
 There are 8 stages of development that was described by Santrock that is the pre-natal period,
infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood,
and late adulthood. Santrock has identified 8 stages of human development, while Havighurst has
identified 6 major age periods the infancy and late childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early
adulthood, middle adulthood and later maturity and does not include the pre-natal period.
HAVIGHURST’s six major age periods:
i. Infancy and early childhood (0-5 years)

Havighurst describe the first stage of development through the combination of the infancy
and childhood or from birth to 5 years old. In this stage the child learns to coordinate his or her motor
skills like walking, instead of drinking milk for the only source of food it is now capable of eating solid
foods, starting to talk (baby talk), capable of controlling when to eliminate baby wastes, and able to
differentiate sex differences and develop sexual modesty. While in Santrock’s developmental stages,
his first is the pre-natal period and categorize this stage as the second and the third stage of
development were an infant that ranges from 0 to 2 years old that has extreme dependence on
adults, beginning psychological activities: language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination,
and social learning, language of new-born, usually eats every 2-3 hours, uncoordinated movements,
toothless, poor vision (focusing range 8-12 inches), usually doubles weight by 9 months, respond to
human voice or touch. A 1 year old change from plump baby to leaner more muscular toddlers
begins to walk and talk, ability for passive language (better understanding of what’s being said),
tentative sense of independence, determined explorer. And the 2 years old baby begins to
communicate verbally, can usually speak in 3-4 sentences, famous for negative behaviour, will play
side by side other children but not actively play with them, great imitators. Then, the early childhood
that ages ranges is from 3 to 5 years old. A3 years old child wants to be just like parents, vocabulary
and pronunciation continue or expand, climbs stairs with alternating feet and can briefly stand on
one foot. A 4 years old child sentences are more complex, speaks well enough for strangers to
understand, imagination is vivid, line between reality and imaginary is often indistinct, develops fear
(common fears). And a 5 years old can hop on one foot and skip, can accurately copy figure, may
begin to read, socialize to with other children their age.
ii. Middle childhood (6-12 years)

This is the second stage of development that is described by Havighurst. The child is now
learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games, to get along with other children with the same
age and getting to know appropriate sex role. They are developing their fundamental skills in
reading, writing and calculating, concepts necessary for every- day living, conscience, morality, and
values, building a wholesome attitude toward oneself and achieving personal independence. In
Santrock’s developmental stage this is the fourth stage along with the late childhood known as the
elementary years of the child. In this stage both large and small muscles of the child are well
developed, development of complex motor skills, from independent activities to same sex group
activities, acceptance by peers, parental approval still important. They began to have a lot physical
changes. As well as, they begin to discover their own identity. Children learn to interact with other
children, and how they will manage emotions and behaviours.

iii. Adolescence (13-18 years)

This development is for the children that age are ranges from 13 to eighteen years old
according to Havighurst and Santrock. This is the third developmental stage according to
Havighurst. At this stage the older child is now achieving his or her mature relations with both sexes,
a masculine or feminine social role, emotional independence of adults, preparing for marriage and
family life, an economic career, accepting one’s physique, acquiring values and an ethical system to
guide behavior and desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour. While in Santrock’s
developmental stages it is fifth stage of development that is the traumatic life stage for child and
parent, puberty occurs, extremely concerned with appearance, trying to establish self-identity,
confrontations with authority. In this stage there are a lot more responsibilities to take on, and a lot of
peer pressure.

iv. Early adulthood (19-29 years)

This stage is for the late twenties and thirties or the 19 to 29 years old. This is the fourth
stage of development that was described by Havighurst. The young adult will first establish
emotional, personal and social and economic independence as he takes the responsibility for his
own actions for selecting a mate, learning to live with someone in an intimate way, starting a family,
rearing children, career development and is no longer reliant on his parents for support in terms of
decision making and building new commitments. While in Santrock’s developmental stage this is the
sixth stage were the young adult’s physical development complete, emotional maturation continue to
 develop, usually learned to accept responsibility, accept criticism, usually knows how to profit from
errors, socially related from age-related peer groups to people with similar interests.

v. Middle adulthood (30-60 years)

This is the stage of human development that when a human reach the age of 30 to 60
years old. This is the fifth stage of development according to Havighurst that middle adult has a time
of expanding his or her personal and social involvement & responsibilities, helping and assisting the
next generation in becoming competent and mature individuals, reaching and maintaining
satisfaction in a career. While in Santrock’d developmental stages this is the seventh and second to
the last stage of development. That the physical changes of the middle adult are begins to occur like
their hair begins to become thin and grey, wrinkles appear, hearing and vision decrease. Muscles
lose tone, their main concerns are their children, and health, job security, aging parents, and fear of
aging, love and acceptance still take a major role.

vi. Later maturity (61+)

In both, Havighurst and Santrock’s developmental stages this is categorized as the last
stage were the ages span is from 60s and above. Hughurst stated that this development the adults
are has a lot of time for adjustment to their decreasing strength and health, life review, retirement,
and adjustment to new social roles. While in Santrocks’s this is called as the late adulthood. This is
the fastest growing age of bracket of society, physical deterioration, some memory problems, coping
with retirement and forms of entertainment, very concern with health and finances, become
depressed and suicide rate is high.

2. What is an outstanding trait or behaviour of each stage?

 Infancy and early childhood (0-5 years)

In this stage, the child begins to learn different physical activities like walking, crawling as
well as starting to read and forming concepts.
 Middle childhood (6-12 years)
This is when were the child learns different physical skills for simple games; as well as
developing concepts for everyday living.
 Adolescence (13-18 years)
During this period, the child achieves more mature relations with others. The child gets to
knows oneself and prepares himself for the coming years.
 Early adulthood (19-29 years)
The child develops and grows. Now he or she is ready to settle down and begin a family as
well as new life.
 Middle adulthood (30-60 years) and
 He or she is able to see clearly to his or her future. Helps hir or her children as well as other
teenagers to become more responsible.
 Later maturity (61+)
The one who is adjusting to the happenings of his or her life, the decreasing of strength and
health.

3. What task/s is/are expected of each developmental stage?

a. Infancy and early childhood (0-5 years)

· Learning to walk, to take solid foods, to control the elimination of body washes, sex and
differences and sexual modesty.
 Acquiring concepts and language to describe social and physical reality.
 Readiness for reading
 Learning to distinguish right from wrong and developing conscience

b. Middle childhood (6-12 years)

 Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games

 Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself.
 Learning to get along with age mates
 Learning an appropriate sex role
 Developing fundamental skill in reading, writing and calculating
 Developing concepts necessary for everyday living
 Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
 Achieving personal independence
 Developing acceptable attitudes toward society

c. Adolescence (13-18 years)

 Achieving mature relations with both sexes

 Achieving a masculine or feminine social role

 Accepting one’s physique

  Achieving emotional independence of adults

 Preparing for marriage and family life

 Preparing economic career

 Acquiring values and an ethical system to guide behaviour

 Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour

d. Early adulthood (19-29 years)

 Selecting mate

 Learning to live with a partner

 Starting a family

 Rearing children

 Managing home

 Starting occupation

 Assuming civic responsibility

e. Middle adulthood (30-60 years)

 Helping teenage children to become happy and responsible adults

 Achieving adult social and civic responsibility

 Satisfactory career achievement

 Developing adult leisure time activities

 Relating one’s spouse as a person

 Accepting the physiological changes of middle age

 Adjusting to aging parent

f. Later maturity (61+)

  Adjusting to decreasing strength and health

 Adjusting to retirement and reduced income

 Adjusting to death of spouse

 Establishing relations with one’s own age group

 Meeting social and civic obligations

 Establishing satisfactory living quarters

4. Does a developmental task in a higher level require accomplishment of the lower level developmental
tasks?
Sometimes, a baby can skip crawling stage and start walking. Also, many kids skip the
babbling stage of learning to speak. It depends on us if we want to accomplish the lower
developmental task before we go unto the higher level of development task because some
developmental stages can be skipped.

Activity 2

As future educator, answer the following:

1. What are the implications of these developmental tasks to the roles of teachers? How about to
parents? Please pay attention to each developmental stage- prenatal, infancy, early childhood, middle
and late childhood and adolescence
Ex. Infancy – what do parents supposed to do and not to do to help infants develop normally and
healthily.

Middle and Late Childhood

Elementary school teachers ought to help their pupils by

The elementary school teachers ought to help their pupils or the children that are from the early
childhood and middle childhood by developing and improving their physical, socio-emotional and
cognitive. Also they can help by improving the pupil’s literacy, talents, behaviour, as well as their
knowledge. Developing also the child’s foundational skills for building social relationships and learn
the roles that will prepare them for adolescence and adulthood. Teachers ought to help their students
to become a professional too.

Parents on the other hand, ought to help their children

On the other hand, parents ought to help their children from conception until the rest of their lives,
by providing encouragement, support, protection, guidance, love, care and access to activities that
enable their child to master key developmental task. They are the first teacher of their child and
should remain their best teacher in life. They teach their students through experiences.
Adolescence
High school teachers ought to help their students by

The high school teachers ought to help their students or the adolescence stage of human by
assessing their abilities, strengths and weaknesses and also to become the second parent that will
guide, motivate and inspires to their students and also by helping them to prepare them in the future.

Parents ought to help their teenage children by

The parents ought to help their teenage children by guiding and protecting them. They also give
support in everything that their child will do. This is the stage were the older child wants freedom but
the parents ought to guide their children until the rest of their lives. A parent aims to prepare their
children to become prepared in every challenges and responsibilities as they grow older.

Early Adulthood College

Teachers ought to help their students by

The college professors ought to help their students at the middle of adolescence and early
adulthood by means of providing information that their students missed during absences. To listen to
their students complains and problems and also, support them to achieve their dreams. They also
ought to help the students to train them to become a professional too.

Parents help their children who are now young adults by

The parents help their children that who are now adult to achieve their dream by giving inspiration
and motivation for their child to hold on so they won’t give up in every challenges that they have.
They ought also to help their younger adult child to choice the best career for them.

Middle adulthood
 What should adults do to obtain satisfaction in their career?

Adults should know what they like and don’t like about working. Then research a
job that meets your expectations that match your personality. Have a realistic job
expectation because the more you expect, the more you will be disappointed. These 3 key
points will help the adults to obtain satisfaction in their career.
 What should schools teach for students to be prepared for middle adulthood?

Educations primary goal is to prepare students to aid in their navigation through

adulthood. The school teach the students to equip them with knowledge and skills that they
can use throughout their lives. School helps the students together with the teachers to
develop and improve the students one step at a time.

 In their retirement, adults should

Late adulthood
In their retirement, adults should

Retirement is a major transition of late adulthood. It means of withdrawal from one’s position
or occupation or from active working life. It is for the old peoples that ages ranges from 60 plus. The
adults who are retired already should spend their time to enjoy the rest of their lives. They can
 volunteer in charities, travel the world, give their selves more time and also for their family and other
useful things.

 How should children relate to their parents in their late adulthood stage? What should
teachers teach to students on how they should treat and relate to parent, grandparents in
their late adulthood?

Late adulthood is a developmental stage that is when you reach the age of 60 and above.
Children should relate to their parents in their late adulthood stage because we are all going to
experience that stage. We are all going to get older. We should relate to them so we already to
know how to cope on the same situation that they are experiencing right now and when we are
the adult one. The teachers should teach the students on how they should treat and relate to their
parents and grandparents in their adulthood in a good way. They should build up the good
behaviour and attitudes of their students so they could take care, protect and guide their parents
and grandparents as they did it to them.

2. Discuss the meaning of the following quotation; relate it to stages of development. “Who are you?”,
asked the caterpillar. Alice replied rather shyly, “I – I hardly know, Sir, just at present – at least I know
who I was when I got up this morning, but I must have changed several times since then” – Lewis
Carroll

This quotation of Lewis Carroll wants us to learn that every development or the progressive
series of changes that we experience brings confusion to us from the first stage unto the last. Like
what happen to Alice when she was ask by the caterpillar, “Who are you?” and that time she find out
that she doesn’t know herself anymore. The caterpillar can be described as the maturity for us. As
we grow alder the maturity of us upgrades to. For example is when we are a teenager, many
changes or development that happens to us, It can be our physical, emotional or the other aspect of
life. We should accept all of this development and changes for us to not be confused of what are the
things happen to us like what happen to Alice. She change and develop but she did not figure it out
early and when she does, she become confused.

Look for at least 5 researches related to developmental tasks. Have here attached the
abstracts/summaries of said researches, with a paragraph of your reflection/ conclusion/ learning’s
about the findings in each research relative to your future career as teacher.

Reflection:

i. Does Successful Attainment of Developmental Tasks Lead to Happiness and Success in Later
Developmental Tasks?
A Test of Havighurst's (1948) Theses.

Author(s): Inge Seiffge-Krenke; Tim Gelhaar

Date Published: February 2008

Annotation:
This longitudinal study of 146 individuals from adolescence into young adulthood tested
Havighurst's (1948) contention that the successful attainment of age-specific developmental
 tasks is linked to happiness and success in achieving subsequent developmental task.

Abstract:
The study provides mixed support for Havighurst's thesis that successful achievement of
developmental tasks leads to happiness and success with later developmental tasks. Although
developmental progression in adolescence was positively related to happiness, as Havighurst
predicted, the attainment of tasks was linked to a time-related happiness over the short term or
at least within the particular developmental stage successfully negotiated. Gender was also a
factor, in that the link between developmental status and later positive self-esteem was much
stronger for males than for females. The results clearly show an association between
developmental status and happiness within specific time frames; however, positive self-esteem
at earlier developmental stages was the most enduring factor from adolescence into young
adulthood, and it was more predictive of long-term inner satisfaction (happiness) than the
achievement of specified developmental tasks. One of the difficulties of testing Havighurst's
theory was the difference between his listing of developmental tasks for various age-related
periods and the actual occurrence of these tasks for the current sample. For the current
sample, the developmental tasks of later adolescence listed by Havighurst occurred much
earlier; whereas, the developmental tasks of young adulthood, such as marriage and child-
rearing, occurred later than indicated by Havighurst. This suggests a revision of the
measurement of age-related developmental achievements in interaction with self-esteem and
symptoms of maladjustment. The sample size was 125 for the 4 adolescent waves of
measurement of self-esteem and symptoms of maladjustment (ages 14-17); and the sample
size was 102 for the 2 waves of measurement of the same variables in young adulthood (ages
21-23). 4 tables, 1 figure, and 55 references
 This research is mainly about the support to Havighurst’s that the successful achievement
of development tasks cab leads to happiness and success with later development task. It is
really true that when we accomplish our task in life it will lead us to happiness. Happiness
that no one can stop. As a future educator I will use this findings and learning in teaching
my students by helping them to develop their positive self-esteem in order to achieve their
optimum self and will result in gasping true happiness and dreams.

ii. The Relationship of Developmental Tasks to Life Satisfaction, Moral Reasoning, and
Occupational Attainment at Age 28
By: Ruth A. Schiller

Journal of Adult Development volume 5, pages239–254(1998)Cite this article

Abstract
This study was conducted to empirically investigate the relationship of several
developmental tasks to the developmental outcomes of Life Satisfaction, Moral Reasoning, and
Occupational Attainment at age 28. Structured retrospective interviews of 62 Midwestern men and
ganalyses. The results indicated differing patterns of influence on each of the outcomes, clarifying
the relative importance of each developmental task, and also highlighting the multi-faceted nature of
human development.

 This research focuses on the relationship between moral reasoning, life satisfaction and
occupational attainment at age 28. This age was categorized as an early adulthood.
Through reading this research I learned that at that early age you can become successful
 individual in your own way just enjoy and be satisfied on how your life goes and learn to
have moral reasoning in order to achieve successful life. I will use the knowledge that I
gained in this research to teach my future students have enjoyable and happy life with
satisfaction, to have moral reasoning’s so that when they become an adult so that they can
use it to attain a good, best and stable occupation that they want and interests them. It will
surely inspire me to inspire other people to set goals even though it was not 28 years old at
least a goal and a person who knows how to seek his dreams will surely face satisfaction.

iii.
Finding a Meaningful Life as a Developmental Task in Emerging Adulthood: The Domains
of Love and Work Across Cultures

Ofra Mayseless, Einat Keren

First Published December 16, 2013

Two central life domains, love and work, are described as the focus of identity exploration
in emerging adulthood. The present theoretical overview suggests an additional perspective.
Current postmodern processes in Western industrialized countries set the stage for the saliency
of a new developmental task in emerging adulthood: finding the meaningful life. This task is
enacted in various domains of life including love and work. The pursuit in either domain is
different in diverse cultures that ascribe different levels of importance and allow different levels
of autonomy in each domain. Thus, a given domain may be more or less salient as a source of
meaning in life. The studies in this special issue accord with this new viewpoint even though
they were not conceptualized from this perspective. Current research has just begun to examine
the search for meaningful life in emerging adulthood. Research is therefore called for to address
this lacuna.

 As a future teacher I will become a second mother to my students. I will teach them this
learning of two central domains in life described as the love and work and prepare them to
their second stage of life. So, when they getting old and emerging into adulthood they will
have a meaningful life that has a new developmental task to accomplish and achieve

iv. Children’s and Adolescents’ Conceptions of Adulthood: The Changing View of a Crucial
Developmental Task
Abstract
Some years ago, Bronfenbrenner defined traditional developmental psychology as “the science
of the strange behavior of children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest
possible period of time,” (Bronfenbrenner 1979, p. 19). This is no longer true. Individuals now
are more often studied in their natural environments, and interactions between the environment
and the individual are taken into consideration, even though many features of such studies
remain at odds with the requirements of ecological research. However, the ecological approach
neglects the cognitive development of the individual to a certain extent; it does not comply with
the first part of Bronfenbrenner’s definition of human development as the “process through
which the growing person acquires a more extended differentiated and valid conception of the
environment” (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 25). This process has been examined extensively by
another research tradition, that of Piaget and the neo-Piagetians, who tried to describe the
construction or reconstruction of the outer world through the individual’s cognitive activity.
Another approach came from sociology and ethnomethodology (Me-han & Wood, 1975).
  An individual doesn’t develop solely by himself but with the help of his environmental factors
too. It somehow changes someone’s development was not independent because it was also
dependent in its surroundings. This was an essential factor on my teaching technique
because I will understand why my student acts like that and I can fully dissect information that
can be equally significant to me and to my students. Understanding where my students were
coming was a great start of a great teaching technique.

v.
Pathways to adulthood: Developmental tasks, financial resources and agency

This research focused on young Finnish adults’ personal financial situation and
individual agency across young adulthood and their concurrent and longitudinal
effects on key developmental tasks related to career and social relations as well as life
satisfaction development. Furthermore, the separate studies analysed transitions of 18–25-year-
olds in the context of the global economic downturn that has been taking place since 2008. The
key theoretical perspective was the life course theory (Elder, 1998) and multidisciplinary
frameworks addressing the notion of agency. The research had three aims: to examine how
financial resources influence youth development and life satisfaction; to give an overview of life
situations and multifaceted transitions in the midst of personal and societal change; and
toexplain the role of agency in managing financial issues and developmental tasks. The
research used data from the Finnish Educational Transitions Studies (FinEdu) longitudinal
research project; specifically, questionnaire data on young adults aged 18 to 25. The
quantitative analyses used variable- and person-oriented approaches. The results showed that
individual agency, indicated by the use of achievement approach strategies and social approach
strategies, was especially important in shaping life course transitions, success and satisfaction
regarding developmental tasks at age 25, especially concerning use of social strategies.
Participants’ financial situation improved on an objective level from age 20 to 25, but the
subjective perception did not; furthermore, financial issues did not have an effect on success
and satisfaction regarding developmental tasks. The results also showed that there was no
change in life satisfaction during the educational transition from general upper secondary school
to further education and/or employment, but the analyses revealed a significant heterogeneity
among the young adults’ life satisfaction reflected in five life satisfaction trajectories. A high level
of agency at age 19 was related to having a high life satisfaction trajectory, as was higher
subjective financial situation at age 22. The results also showed that the highest frequency
categories and profiles of personal goals and concerns at ages 20 and 23 were in the career
domain, comprised of education, work and finances, with education prioritized at age 20 and
work at age 23; romantic relationships were less frequent. The goal profiles were associated
with related life status cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and to personal concerns –especially
in the career domain

 This study focuses in its three aims. To examine how financial resources influence youth
development and life satisfaction; to give an overview of life situations and multifaceted
transitions in the midst of personal and societal change; and to explain the role of agency in
managing financial issues and developmental tasks. As a future teacher and knowing the
source of financial assistance of my students will help me to make them open up to me and
to start sharing the story of their lives.