1. “An intermediary inventive
mind”
 “Psychology is a science, and
teaching is an art; and sciences
never generate arts directly out of
themselves. An intermediary
inventive mind must make the
application, by using its originality”
James, 1892, p. 24
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2. Types of research designs
 Descriptive, .e.g. Piaget (1920s-1970s)
 Correlational
 Experimental, e.g. reciprocal teaching
(Brown & Palinscar, 1986)
 Single-subject case studies
 Micro-genetic, e.g. Inside Classrooms
(Lyons et al, 2004)
 Moment-to-moment
 Ethnography
 Meta-analyses
 Review many studies, e.g. Inside Black Box
(Black & Wiliam, 1998)
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3. II. Growing Up: Social
context of adolescence
 Changing social context
 Family
 School-to-work
 Globalisation, e.g. new media, mobility,
‘glocalisation’
 Health
 Challenges for education systems
 Complexity
 Diversity
 ‘Flow’ of:
 People & ideas (f) globalisation, sustainable
development & knowledge society
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4. Adolescence in Ireland: 1950,
1980 & 2010
 Points of comparison
 Population
 Age of puberty
 Family
 Gender & social expectations
 Travel
 Leisure e.g. sport, music, media…etc.
 School-to-work
 % completing post-primary education & entering
third level
 Sexuality,
 e.g. changing norms, age of consent
 Health,
 e.g. obesity
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5. Changing contexts:
demographics
 Population: Immigrant pop (Smyth et al,
2009, ESRI)
 3% (1993), 6% (2002), 10% (2006)
 Issues: identity
 e.g. in-group/out-group, bi-culturalism,
stereotyping, some bullying (see CRC Report,
2009), funds of knowledge (Moll, 1991)
 Issues of identity especially salient in adolescence
(Erikson, 1968, Identity Youth and Crisis - a classic
psychological study)
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6. Identity: “search for something
and somebody to be true to”
 “The evidence in young lives of the search for
something and somebody to be true to can be
seen in a variety of pursuits more or less
sanctioned by society. It is often hidden in a
bewildering combination of shifting devotion and
sudden perversity, sometimes more devotedly
perverse, sometimes more perversely devoted.
Yet in all youth’s seeming shiftiness, a seeking
after some durability in change can be detected…”
 Erikson (1968) Identity: Youth and Crisis
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7. Age of puberty: growth spurt
& reproductive maturity
 Physical and sexual maturation:
 Younger than in the past
 In Ireland menarche decrease from 13.5
(mid 80s) yrs to 12.5 yrs (2008)
 Timing & spread: Starts earlier for girls than
boys but
 Timing: Girls (10-14 yrs); Boys (12-18yrs)
 Spread: e.g. Girls, 1.1yrs SD thus 66% either within
2.2yrs
 Issues:
 Imaginary audience (Elkind, 1985):
 Body changes and centrality of body-image
 to sense of self (i.e. self-concept) & value on self (I.e.
self-worth or self-esteem) (Feldman, 2008)
 Social comparison e.g. own and other gender
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8. Changing adolescents in a
changing family systems
 More diverse family structures in Ireland
(& other Western countries, Coleman,
2010) now than in past
 Parental work patterns (changing - boom to
bust), blended families, smaller, more single
parent households, separation & divorce
 Issues:
 Earlier “bio-psycho-social” maturity among
adolescents,
 e.g. pressure to be more independent earlier
(Feldman, 2008)
 Family boundaries & roles more changing
blurred,e.g. adolescents as workers, online
lives, access to money
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9. P Conway, PDE @ UCC 9

10. Marcia’s 4 identity statuses
 Diffusion:I haven't chosen the occupation I really want
to get into, but I'm working toward becoming a _____
until something better comes along. When it comes to
religion, I just haven't found any that I'm really into
myself.
 Foreclosure:I guess I'm pretty much like my parents
when it comes to politics. I follow what they do in terms
of voting and such. I've never really questioned my
religion. If it's right for my parents, it must be right for
me.
 Moratorium: I just can't decide how capable I am as a
person and what jobs I'll be right for. There are so
many different political parties and ideals, I can't decide
which to follow until I figure it all out.
 Identity Achievement: A person's faith is unique to each
individual. I've considered and reconsidered it myself
and know what I can believe.
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11. Adolescence as period of
identity transition
 Self, family, peers…
“This search is easily misunderstood, and often it is
only dimly perceived by the individual himself, because
youth, always set to grasp both diversity in principle
and principle in diversity, must often test extremes
before setting on a considered course. These
extremes, particularly in times of ideological confusion
and widespread marginality of identity, may include not
only rebellious but also deviant, delinquent, and self-
destructive tendencies. However, all of this can be in
the nature of a moratorium, a period of delay in which
to test the rock bottom of some truth before committing
the powers of the mind and body to a segment of the
existing (or a coming) order”
(Erikson, 1968, p. 235-36).
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12. Changing contexts and
identity
 Cognitive influences
 E.g. Piaget’s concrete & formal operations
 Parenting influences
 E.g. authoritative parents; provide opportunities for
responsible freedom while providing a foundation of support
 Next steps & sense of time
 “What are you going to be when you grow up?”
 push people toward setting career goals and making stable
vocational commitments, but may delay political and religious
commitments
 Peer influences
 Peer social networks and associated values, e.g. ???
 Online and off-line lives
 Schooling as age-graded micro-cultures
 Cultural-historical influences
 Did identity crises occur in our hunter-gatherer history as a
human species?
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