ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

TOPIC: ECOLOGICAL APPROACH

PREPARED BY: NUROL SHUHADA BINTI MUKHTAR 809005

ECOLOGICAL APPROACH
1. The adolescent in the family-child rearing practices. 2. The adolescent at school teachers & peers. 3. The adolescent and the society. 4. Growing up in multicultural society.

1- The adolescent in the family child rearing practices.

Parenting styles characterize parents and their relations with specific children. Authoritative parenting- denotes a complex amalgam of actions and attitudes that give priority to the childs needs and abilities while at the same time implying age- appropriate maturity demands. Authoritarian parenting- is typified by interactions implying relative neglect of the childs needs in favor of the parents agenda, strong demands for child compliance, and forceful methods for gaining compliance and punishing infractions.

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Permissive parenting implies low demands from parents related to child centered indulgence and self-direction on the part of the child. Involved parenting refers to parent-centered inattentiveness and neglect of the child. (Baumrind, 1991; Darling & Steinberg 1993). These concepts almost certainly gain their explanatory power from diverse interactions whose influence is often mistakenly attributed to parents alone. Parenting styles are defined in terms of the attitudes that parents have toward children and child rearing, the tenor of interactions between parents and children, and expressions of warmth and discipline.

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For example, Maccoby and Martin (1983) identified the defining features of authoritativeness as interactions that are high in reciprocity and bidirectional communication, whereas authoritarian and indulgent styles imply relationships in which reciprocity and communication are disrupted by the dominance by the parent (in the authoritarian style) or the child (in indulgent style). As initially conceived, interactions between parents and children were both a marker and a product of different styles of parenting. Darling and Steinbergs (1993)- parental styles are global attitudes and emotional stances, and parental practices are specific strategies for gaining childrens compliance, maintaining control, and enforcing expectations.

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authoritative parenting and indulgent parenting are more Practices are postulated to be an outgrowth of styles, so styles have more influence over the overall quality of the relationship than practices. In North American samples, the prevalent than authoritarian parenting and neglectful parenting. Most studies that describe parents of adolescents focus on mothers; some report the average of maternal and parental scores; few examine mothers and fathers separately. There is some evidence to suggest that mothers and fathers in the same household tend to adopt similar or pure parenting styles (Steinberg, 2001).

2- The adolescent at the school-teachers & peers.

Teachers Teachers play a significant role in the lives of adolescents. Knowledge of adolescence equips them to be sensitive to the diversity in youths experiences and competing forces in their lives. Arms with this knowledge, teachers can offer safe spaces for youth to explore and test their emerging ideas of who they are and who they want to be. Teachers can help youth manage the learning experiences through active listening, authoritative management styles, and by helping youth feel like they belong and have safe places in which to explore.

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Teachers and other school staff can provide a level of developmentally appropriate support to troubled students within the day-to-day interactions and learning experiences in their classroom, using what they know about adolescent identity development. Teachers can help students by creating a positive classroom climate that features clear expectations for student behaviors, including consistent schedule and routine that is communicated regularly, and flexibility in timelines and due dates when symptom flare up. Other academic supports, such as visual organizers, daily planners, access to technology, and scribes for written assignments, can be particularly helpful to students struggling with mental health conditions.

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Students claim that a teacher can create a positive classroom climate by simply displaying respect during interactions with students. Teachers can develop proactive systems of support within their classrooms while remaining attentive to the signs and symptoms of students who may struggling with mental health conditions. Peers Adolescents who engage in positive interactions with peers also reflect higher academic motivation, academic engagement, general self-esteem and academic performance.

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Peer groups are especially important during adolescence, a period of development characterized by a dramatic increase in time spent with peers and a decrease in adult supervision. Adolescents also associate with friends of the opposite sex much more than in childhood and tend to identify with larger groups of peers based on share characteristics. Common for adolescents to use friends as coping devices in different situations. Peer groups offer members the opportunity to develop social skills such as empathy, sharing and leadership. Peer groups can have positive influences on an individual, such as on academic motivation and performance.

 But they can also have negative influences, like encouraging experimentation with drugs, drinking, vandalism, and stealing through peer pressure. During early adolescence, adolescents often associate in cliques, exclusive, single-sex groups of peers with whom they are particularly close. A study published in February in the Journal of Early Adolescence showed that friendships can also make the difference between good and bad grades at school. Researchers at the University of Oregon surveyed more than 1,200 middle school students and asked them to identify three best friends. They found that students whose friends were prone to misbehave didnt do as well in school as kids whose friends were socially active in positive ways, such as participating in sports at school or completing their homework on time.

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3- The adolescent and the society

One of the most consistent findings is that adolescents from high SES families are more likely to participate in organized activities than adolescent from low SES families. These differences tend to be pronounced in activities that require high investments, such as sports and lessons. The school and neighbourhood are important contexts of youth development than can both directly and indirectly influence adolescent adjustment by the affecting proximal processes in other nested setting. Participation rates are lower at large schools, in part because the ratio of open slots to the student population is more favourable in a small school than a large school.

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Features of the school environment seem to affect participation rates. School or neighbourhood qualities, such as safety, may impact adolescent participation. For example, parents in neighbourhoods they consider unsafe often engage in higher management behaviours that restrict their adolescents activities. Other aspects of the activity, such as relationships with staff and learning experiences influence adolescents continued interest. Staff who exhibit interaction styles akin to the authoritative parenting style is associated with higher adolescent interest in the activity.

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Activities that provide supportive relationships and appropriate offerings are likely to increase adolescents interest and decrease their negative reactions to the environment (e.g.; unhappiness, stress) are also associated with continued participation.

4- Growing up in multicultural society

There are certain characteristics of adolescent development that are more rooted in culture than in human biology or cognitive structure. Culture has been defined as the symbolic and behavioral inheritance received from the past that provides a community framework for what is valued. Culture is learned and socially shared and it affects all aspects of an individuals life. Furthermore, distinguishing characteristics of youth, including dress, music and other uses media, employment, art, food and beverage choices, recreation, and language, all constitute a youth culture.

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The lifestyle of an adolescent in a given culture is profoundly shaped by the roles and responsibilities he or she is expected to assume. For instance, adolescents in certain cultures are expected to contribute significantly to household chores and responsibilities. Household chores are frequently divided into self-care tasks and family-care tasks. Some research has shown that adolescent participation in family work and routines has a positive influence on the development of an adolescent's feelings of self-worth, care, and concern for others. Certain cultures expect adolescents to share in their family's financial responsibilities.

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For instance, in many developing countries it is common for children to attend fewer years of formal schooling so that, when they reach adolescence, they can begin working. The amount of time adolescents spend on work and leisure activities varies greatly by culture as a result of cultural norms and expectations, as well as various socioeconomic factors. American teenagers spend less time spent in school or working and more time on leisure activitieswhich include playing sports, socializing, and caring for their appearance than do adolescents in many other countries.

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