30

The Development of
Children Ages 6 to 14
Jacquelynne S. Eccles
Abstract
Jacquelynne S. Eccles,
Ph.D., is professor of psychology, education, and
womens studies at the
University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor.

The years between 6 and 14middle childhood and early adolescenceare a time of
important developmental advances that establish childrens sense of identity. During
these years, children make strides toward adulthood by becoming competent, independent, self-aware, and involved in the world beyond their families. Biological and
cognitive changes transform childrens bodies and minds. Social relationships and roles
change dramatically as children enter school, join programs, and become involved
with peers and adults outside their families. During middle childhood, children
develop a sense of self-esteem and individuality, comparing themselves with their
peers. They come to expect they will succeed or fail at different tasks. They may
develop an orientation toward achievement that will color their response to school
and other challenges for many years. In early adolescence, the tumultuous physical
and social changes that accompany puberty, the desire for autonomy and distance
from the family, and the transition from elementary school to middle school or junior
high can all cause problems for young people. When adolescents are in settings (in
school, at home, or in community programs) that are not attuned to their needs and
emerging independence, they can lose confidence in themselves and slip into negative behavior patterns such as truancy and school dropout. This article examines the
developmental changes that characterize the years from 6 to 14, and it highlights ways
in which the organization of programs, schools, and family life can better support positive outcomes for youths.

hen people think of dramatic changes in children over time,

they typically think about the first two or three years of life.
Although these years are marked by striking changes, the
developmental and social changes that occur between ages 6 and 14 are
dramatic, as well. Imagine a six-year-old girl starting first grademaybe
she has braids in her hair and is wearing a cute dress; she looks like a
little girl and she is likely to be quite excited about going off to school.
Her parents still exercise great control over her comings and goings;
their biggest worries are likely to be about her safety when crossing
streets and about her adjustment to elementary school. Now imagine
that same girl as a 14-year-old starting the ninth grade: She now looks
like a full-grown woman, leading her parents to worry about the negative
influences of peers, premature sexual relationships, and the risk that she
The Future of Children WHEN SCHOOL IS OUT Vol. 9 No. 2 Fall 1999

31

may come to physical harm during the many hours that she is away
from home.
Equally dramatic changes occur in the social contexts where youngsters spend time. A six-year-old boy is likely to be enrolled in a local
neighborhood elementary schoolperhaps within walking distance
from home. By age 14, he will have changed schools at least once,
moving into a junior high school or middle school. He may be looking
forward to his classes, or he may have already psychologically turned his
back on formal schooling. He may have sampled out-of-school activities
from Scouts to basketball to handling a paper route. Because the experiences both boys and girls have in school and other activities will shape
their development through this pivotal age period, efforts should be
made to optimize these experiences, as recommended in the other articles included in this journal issue.
This article provides an overview of the kinds of biological, psychological, and social changes that characterize the years between 6 and 14. To
facilitate the presentation, those years are divided into two broad periods:
middle childhood (approximately ages 6 to 10) and early adolescence
(approximately ages 11 to 14). Childrens development during both periods is driven by basic psychological needs to achieve competence, autonomy, and relatedness. They seek opportunities to master and demonstrate
new skills, to make independent decisions and control their own behavior,
and to form good social relationships with peers and adults outside
the family.1
Each period is marked by basic biological and cognitive changes, as
well as changes in the social surroundings where childrens daily lives
unfold. Exercising their growing autonomy in school and organized programs, children learn about the world outside the family, match themselves against the expectations of others, compare their performance
with that of their peers, and develop customary ways of responding to
challenges and learning opportunities. Through these years, they forge
a personal identity, a self-concept, and an orientation toward achievement that will play a significant role in shaping their success in school,
work, and life. Although researchers and policymakers have focused on
the school as the critical arena in which development occurs and childrens futures are sculpted, out-of-school programs offer alternative
environments in which children can learn about themselves and their
worlds, and can discover opportunities for carving their own versions
of success.

32

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

Middle Childhood
The importance of middle childhood, as a
developmental period, was not always recognized by scholars. The grand theorists Freud
and Piaget saw middle childhood as a
plateau in development, a time when children consolidated the gains they made
during the rapid growth of the preschool
period, and when they prepared for the dramatic changes of adolescence. Erik Erikson,
however, who proposed the eight stages of
man depicted in Table 1, stressed the
importance of middle childhood as a time
when children move from home into wider
social contexts that strongly influence their
development.2 Erikson viewed the years
between 7 and 11 as the time when children

Middle childhood gives children the

opportunity to develop competencies,
interests, and a healthy sense of confidence
that they can master and control their worlds.
should develop what he called sense of
industry and learn to cooperate with their
peers and adults. The involvement in formal
schooling and organized activities that
begins during these years, introduces children to new social roles in which they earn
social status by their competence and performance.3 Children who do not master the
skills required in these new settings are likely
to develop what Erikson called a sense of
inferiority, which can lead, in turn, to longlasting intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal consequences.

and long-term behavioral, academic, and

psychiatric difficulties. They are likely to be
retained in grade and to drop out before
completing high school.812 Childrens experiences of success or frustration when they
participate in organized activities outside
school can also play a crucial role in development, as they either exacerbate or compensate for childrens experiences in school.
Successful experiences in a wide range of settings can help to give a child a healthy, positive view of his or her competence, and a
positive attitude toward learning and
engagement in lifes activities and challenges. Bearing in mind how important successful experiences can be to children of
these ages may help the leaders and staff of
out-of-school programs to maximize the benefits their programs provide.
Three key forces combine to influence
childrens self-confidence and engagement
in tasks and activities during the middlechildhood years: (1) cognitive changes that
heighten childrens ability to reflect on their
own successes and failures; (2) a broadening
of childrens worlds to encompass peers,
adults, and activities outside the family; and
(3) exposure to social comparison and competition in school classrooms and peer
groups. Middle childhood gives children the
opportunity to develop competencies and
interests in a wide array of domains. For
most children this is a positive period of
growth: With the right kinds of experiences,
they develop a healthy sense of industry and
a confidence that they can master and control their worlds.

Development Changes in
Researchers have corroborated Eriksons Middle Childhood

notion that feelings of competence and personal esteem are of central importance for a
childs well-being.4,5 For instance, children
who do not see themselves as competent in
academic, social, or other domains (such as
athletics, music, drama, or scouting) during
their elementary school years report depression and social isolation more often than
their peers,6 as well as anger and aggression.7
Frequent feelings of frustration and incompetence early in a childs school career may
coalesce into a negative pattern of adaptation toward schooling. Compared to children who feel competent, those who
experience early learning difficulties in
school are at increased risk for short-term

A crucial shift in childrens cognitive skills

occurs at around age six. Although the cognitive changes that occur during infancy
and the preschool years are dramatic (as
children learn their native language, for
instance), almost all theories of development point to age six as the time when children begin to actually reason in the
commonsense meaning of the word. All
cultures that provide formal schooling for
their children begin it between ages five
and seven.13 Although the origin of the
change is not well understood, there is a
broad consensus that children develop key
thinking or conceptual skills during this
transition period, which are then refined

33

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

Table 1
Stages of Development According to Erik Erikson
Approximate Age

Developmental Task or Conflict to Be Resolved

Birth to 1 year

Trust vs. mistrust: Babies learn either to trust or to mistrust that others will
care for their basic needs, including nourishment, sucking, warmth,
cleanliness, and physical contact.

1 to 3 years

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt: Children learn either to be selfsufficient in many activities, including toileting, feeding, walking, and
talking, or to doubt their own abilities.

3 to 6 years

Initiative vs. guilt: Children want to undertake many adultlike activities,

sometimes overstepping the limits set by parents and feeling guilty.

7 to 11 years

Industry vs. inferiority: Children busily learn to be competent and

productive or feel inferior and unable to do anything well.

Adolescence

Identity vs. role confusion: Adolescents try to figure out,Who am I?

They establish sexual, ethnic, and career identities, or are confused
about what future roles to play.

Young adulthood

Intimacy vs. isolation: Young adults seek companionship and love with
another person or become isolated from others.

Adulthood

Generativity vs. stagnation: Middle-age adults are productive, performing meaningful work and raising a family, or become stagnant
and inactive.

Maturity

Integrity vs. despair: Older adults try to make sense out of their lives,
either seeing life as a meaningful whole or despairing at goals never
reached and questions never answered.

Source: Berger, K.S. The developing person through the life span. New York: Worth Publishers, 1988, p. 37.

and consolidated throughout the middlechildhood years.

modify their plans and strategies based on

reflection and evaluation.

Middle childhood is marked by several

types of advances in learning and understanding. During this period, in school and
wherever they spend time, children acquire
the fundamental skills considered to be
important by their culture, such as reading
and arithmetic. Skills of self-awareness also
develop dramatically in middle childhood.
For instance, children develop a notion of
how one goes about learning, and they
discover that strategies such as studying and
practicing can improve learning and performance. They become more able to retrieve
information and use it to solve new problems or cope with new situations. Both of
these skills require the ability to reflect on
what one is doing and what one wants to
accomplish, and that ability increases dramatically during middle childhood.
Children begin to plan consciously, coordinate actions, evaluate their progress, and

Finally, alongside their increasing ability

to reflect on themselves, children also
develop the ability to take the perspective of
others. They come to understand that others
have a different point of view and different
knowledge than they have, and they come to
understand that these differences have consequences for their interactions with other
people. Through their growing understanding of other peoples behavior and through
their grasp of written materials, children
take in information that builds their knowledge base and stretches their reasoning
capacities. The basic mental capacity for all
of these skills is in place at a very young age,
but it is during middle childhood that these
abilities become salient and conscious.14

Changes in Social Surroundings

The cognitive changes just described give
children an expanded view of their social

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

34
world and of themselves, providing the foundation for important social and emotional
changes that also begin in these years. Along
with their broadened exposure to adults and
peers outside the family, children of these
ages are typically given more freedom, more
responsibilities, and more rights. This
period is therefore marked by tensions
between the new autonomy and the increasing expectations children encounter, which
can either support or hamper the development of self-confidence.
Broadening Social Worlds
In the middle-childhood years, children
spend less time under the supervision of
their parents and come increasingly under
the influence of teachers and activity leaders
such as Sunday school teachers, coaches of
Little League sports, instructors of dance or

Children earn status in school depending

on their performance. They also experience
failure and frustration, especially if they are
less skilled than their peers.
ballet, music teachers, camp counselors,
scout leaders, and directors of various classes
at youth organizations such as the YMCA
and YWCA. In contrast with the intimacy
and familiarity that characterize family relationships, participation in school and formal
programs exposes children to different religious and ethnic groups, as well as diverse
personal styles. They see adults acting in various social roles, and they see different
adults acting in the same roleas teacher or
camp counselor, for example. These experiences give children a chance to compare
adults with one another and to observe how
authority figures judge the behaviors and
personalities of their peers.
Increasingly, children spend time with
their peers outside the orbit of parental
control. Members of peer groups are
responsible for managing their own relationships by controlling group dynamics,
providing nurturance to each other, and
sometimes establishing hierarchies within
the group. As children get older, they also
seek to contribute to their best friends happiness, and they become sensitive to what
matters to other people.7,15 There is a

beginning of a we feeling that goes

beyond cooperation; children begin to
adjust to the needs of others in pursuit of
mutual interests. At the same time, of
course, children are concerned with winning acceptance from their peers, and they
must manage conflicts between the behavior expected of them by adults and the
social goals of the peer group. Entering
formal organizations such as schools and
after-school programs represents a shift for
children: In the preschool years, their social
roles were defined for them at birth (as a
daughter or a brother). In middle childhood, their roles in school, programs, and
friendship groups reflect their personal
qualities and achievements.3
Schools and Formal Programs
The key social event that divides middle
childhood from the preschool period is childrens entry into elementary school, an
event that coincides for many with participation in other formal organizations and programs outside of the family. As children
enter school and join programs, they experience both increased individual freedom and
heightened demands that they control their
behavior. On the one hand, they are allowed
to move about more freely, for instance, to
ride bicycles to school and the YMCA, or
take the bus alone to and from school or
activities. On the other hand, parents, teachers, and other adults put increasing pressure
on children to be good, to show respect for
adults, and to cooperate with their peers.16
In school, in particular, children are
expected to control themselves, cultivating
good work habits, sitting quietly for long
periods of time, and complying with rules
and expectations for personal conduct that
are set by adults.
Schools and many after-school and summer programs tend to be age-segregated;
that is, children of a certain age are
grouped together. In such groups, the differences among the children in the group
are fairly narrow, especially when contrasted with the differences among family
members whose ages vary widely. The
homogeneity of the school class or peer
group focuses childrens attention on individual strengths and liabilities, and on differences in personality or social skill. By
heightening childrens attention to social
comparison, age-segregated programs and

35

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

PHOTO OMITTED

classes can undermine childrens selfconfidence.

This effect is evident in school classrooms. The experiences children have in
elementary and middle school, and in organized activities, tend to focus on skills (intellectual, athletic, artistic, etc.) and tend to
make a childs success and failure relatively
public. The performance of an elementary
school student is systematically evaluated
against preset standards of excellence,
progress, and acceptable style; and children
earn status in school depending on their
performance. They also experience failure
and frustration, especially if they are less
skilled than their peers. Growing up in
their families, children observe that older
individuals are usually more competent
and may conclude that they, too, will
become more proficient over time. Afterschool programs that mix children of different ages can create a family-like
environment that encourages children to
master new skills and try activities even if
success is unlikely at first. Competition and
social comparison, in their many forms, are
key threads of development during the
middle-childhood period.

The Developing Self-Concept

School achievement and success in other
arenas do not take place in a vacuum. The
influence of psychological factors such as
motivation, self-concept, and readiness to
take on challenges has attracted the attention of researchers. Typically, children enter

the middle-childhood years very optimistic

about their ability to master a wide array of
tasks and activities, including their schoolwork.4 For example, when asked if they will
be able to solve a complex puzzle, the vast
majority of six-year-olds say yes, even after
they just failed to solve a similar puzzle.17,18
When asked how good they are at reading,
math, musical instruments, and athletics,
most first graders rank themselves near the
top of the class, and there is essentially no
relation between their own ability ratings
and actual performance levels.19,20 By age 10,
however, children are typically far less optimistic, and there is a much stronger relation
between their self-ratings and their actual
performance. Their ability self-concepts and
their expectations for success tend to
decline over the elementary school years.
For school subjects, this decline in self-confidence and motivation continues through
adolescence, when it may lead students to
avoid certain courses or to withdraw from
school altogether.
A number of factors contribute to the
drop in confidence during middle childhood. In part, the optimistic comments of
kindergarten and first-grade children reflect
hoped-for outcomes rather than real expectations.18 Moreover, young childrens skills
improve quite rapidly, so for them it is not
unrealistic to expect to shift from failure to
success on any particular task.17 With time,
children receive more failure feedback and
they become more able to reflect on their
performances and compare those with the

36

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

performances of other children. They learn
that current failures are likely to be clues to
future performances.
As some children pass through middle
childhood, experiencing more frustration
and becoming more pessimistic about their
abilities, they may shy away from activities in
which they are unlikely to succeed at first.
This hesitancy to try new things depends,
partly, on the meaning children attach to
failure. Under usual circumstances in the
American culture, children come to conclude that failure is an indication of their
incompetence, not a condition that can be
modified by learning or practicing.21 If they

Out-of-school programs can allow children

to safely explore independence, peer
relationships, and leadership; and to form
long-lasting relationships with adults
outside their families.
believe they lack innate ability (especially
intellectual, athletic, or artistic ability), children understandably become discouraged
and withdraw from the activity or task. By
contrast, if children view abilities as subject
to incremental improvement, it is plausible
that they can become more competent with
practice and development. When it is coupled with appropriate help from supportive
adults, a belief that ability can be cultivated
reduces childrens frustration with failure
and allows them to maintain high expectations for future success.
Expectations of success help to explain
childrens willingness to engage in tasks and
to strive to succeed, but engagement is also
influenced by childrens interests and by the
belief that a given task is important. Even if
people are certain they can do a task, they
may not want to engage in it. Both childrens
interests and their evaluation of specific
tasks typically change during middle childhood.22 For instance, during the preschool
years, children become more aware of their
identity as male or female, and they often
take up gender-stereotyped behaviors, attitudes, and interests.23 Studies have also
shown that the value children assign to activities such as reading, music, math, or sports
drops as they go through this period,4 and

their judgments of how useful and important these subjects are also decrease.20
Especially valuable are school activities and
courses that provide children with (1) the
opportunity to learn without continual
social comparison norms, (2) chances to
control their own learning, (3) respect for
all participants, and (4) strong emotional
and social support.

Out-of-School Programs in
Middle Childhood
Middle childhood is an exciting time of
development. Typically, children begin this
period with great optimism and enthusiasm
for learning their place in their culture. It is
often a time of enjoyable and productive
relationships between children and adults,
because children have acquired skills and
knowledge that make them interesting companions to adults. In addition, in this culture
adults may see this period as the calm before
the storm of adolescence.24 Nonetheless,
problems with anxiety, low self-esteem, and
withdrawal in the face of challenges begin
to emerge during this period as children
respond to the new demands placed on
them by the complex social institutions
(school, programs, peer groups) to which
they must adjust.25 These problems can
affect the childrens lives for a very long
time.
Out-of-school programs can play a valuable role in buffering children against some
of these problems. Such programs have
more autonomy than the schools to design
settings that support skill acquisition without emphasizing differences in childrens
abilities and talents. These programs can
allow children to safely explore independence, peer relationships, and leadership.
They can provide opportunities for children
to form long-lasting relationships with
adults outside their families. Programs with
these characteristics will not only support
healthy, positive development during
middle childhood, they will also put in place
the kind of safety net needed to support
healthy, positive passage through early and
middle adolescence.

Early Adolescence
Few developmental periods are characterized by so many changes at so many different
levels as early adolescence, when children
face the biological transformations of

37

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

puberty, the educational transition from elementary to secondary school, and the psychological shifts that accompany the
emergence of sexuality. With rapid change
comes a heightened potential for both positive and negative outcomes, creating important opportunities for families, schools, and
out-of-school programs to interact with adolescents in a way that fosters growth and
development.
Adolescence was once labeled a time of
sturm und drang or storm and stress. It is now
understood that most youngsters pass
through this developmental period without
undue stress, although many do experience
difficulty. For example, between 15% and
30% of young people drop out of school
before completing high school; adolescents
have the highest arrest rate of any age group;
and increasing numbers of adolescents consume alcohol and other drugs on a regular
basis.26 Many of these behavioral problems
begin during the early adolescent years,27
when psychological problems also increase.28
For example, depression and eating disorders increase in prevalence and seriousness,
particularly among females, and the incidence of attempted and completed suicides
rises. Some researchers believe that it is the
combination of so many changes occurring
simultaneously that makes early adolescence
problematic for many young people.29,30
Coping with the stresses of pubertal change,
school transitions, and the dynamics of
dating at the same time puts young adolescents at risk for developmental problems
such as lowered self-esteem and early sexual
activity.
For some children, the early-adolescent
years mark the beginning of a downward
spiral leading to academic failure and
school dropout. Some early adolescents see
their school grades decline markedly when
they enter junior high school, along with
their interest in school, intrinsic motivation,
and confidence in their intellectual abilities.30 Negative responses to school increase
as well, as youngsters become more prone
to test anxiety, learned helplessness, and
self-consciousness that impedes concentration on learning tasks. Rates of both truancy
and school dropout rise during these years.4
Although these changes are not extreme for
most adolescents, there is sufficient evidence of gradual decline in various indica-

tors of academic motivation, behavior, and

self-perception over the early-adolescent
years to raise alarm.
The negative motivational and behavioral changes described above might result
from the psychological upheaval assumed to
be associated with early-adolescent development24 or from the simultaneous occurrence
of multiple life changes.30 Another factor is
the failure of some families and schools to
provide flexible environments that respond
to the adolescents emerging maturity and

Between 15% and 30% of young people

drop out of school before completing high
school; adolescents have the highest arrest
rate of any age group; and increasing
numbers consume alcohol regularly.
independence. Theory suggests that the fit
between the features of the social environment and an individuals characteristics can
influence behavior, motivation, and mental
health.31 Individuals are not likely to do very
well, or to be very motivated, if they are in
social environments that do not fit their psychological needs. The next section of this
article summarizes the basic changes young
adolescents are facing and examines how the
family and the junior high school respond to
those changes.

Developmental Changes in
Early Adolescence
A central task of adolescence is to develop a
sense of oneself as an autonomous individual. The drive for such autonomy derives
from the internal, biological processes marking the transition to a more adult role
(puberty and increasing cognitive maturity)
and from the shifts in social roles and expectations that accompany these underlying
physiological and cognitive changes. Compared to children under age 10, teenagers
are given new opportunities to experience
independence outside of the home. They
spend much more unsupervised time with
peers which (compared to adult-child relationships) are relatively equal in terms of
interpersonal power and authority.3,29 At the
same time, however, they continue to rely on
the support and guidance offered by adults

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

38
in the family, in school, and in communitybased programs or activities.
Puberty
The biological changes associated with the
transition of early adolescence are marked.
When the hormones controlling physical
development are activated in early puberty,
most children undergo a growth spurt,
develop primary and secondary sex characteristics, become fertile, and experience
increased sexual libido. Girls begin to experience these pubertal changes earlier than
boys (by approximately 18 months), so girls
and boys of the same chronological age are
likely to be at quite different points in physical and social development between the ages

Although early adolescents want a certain

amount of distance from their parents,
they often want to fill this space with close
relationships with other, nonfamilial adults.
of 10 and 14. In any sixth-grade classroom,
there will be girls who are fully mature and
dress like adult women, girls who still look
and dress like children, and boys whose
bodies have not even begun to change. It is
easy to imagine how this variation in physical
maturity complicates the social interactions
in classrooms and organized coeducational
programs.
The varied timing of pubertal development also creates different psychological
dilemmas for early-maturing girls versus
early-maturing boys. Early maturation tends
to be advantageous for boys, enhancing their
participation in sports and their social standing in school. It can be problematic, however,
for girls. Early-maturing girls are the first individuals in their cohort to begin changing,
and the resulting female physical changes
(such as increasing body fat) do not fit the
valued image of the slim, androgynous fashion model.30,32 In fact, early maturing white
females have the lowest self-esteem and the
most difficulty adjusting to school transitions,
particularly the transition from elementary
to junior high school.25 These difficulties can
have long-term consequences. One study
found that early-maturing girls were more
likely than their later-maturing peers to date
older males and then to drop out of school

and marry.33 Despite the intensity and universality of changes associated with puberty,
however, school activities and out-of-school
programs seldom focus explicitly on helping
adolescents adjust to their changing bodies
and relationships without losing sight of
their goals.
Changes in Cognition
The most important cognitive changes
during early adolescence relate to the increasing ability of children to think abstractly, consider the hypothetical as well as the real,
consider multiple dimensions of a problem at
the same time, and reflect on themselves and
on complicated problems.34,35 There is also a
steady increase in the sophistication of childrens information-processing and learning
skills, their knowledge of different subjects,
their ability to apply their knowledge to new
learning situations, and their awareness of
their own strengths and weaknesses as learners.36,37 These higher-order cognitive abilities
help adolescents regulate their learning and
behavior better to accomplish more complicated and elaborate tasks.
The same cognitive changes can also
affect childrens self-concepts, thoughts
about their future, and understanding of
others. During early adolescence, young
people focus more on understanding the
internal psychological characteristics of
others, and they increasingly base their
friendships on perceived compatibility in
such personal characteristics.14 The middlechildhood and early-adolescent years are
viewed by developmental psychologists as a
time of change in the way children view
themselves, as they consider what possibilities are available to them and try to come to
a deeper understanding of themselves and
others around them.5,38

Relationships with Peers and

Family
There is little question that parent-child relations change during early adolescence,
although the extent of actual disruption in
those relationships is a subject of debate.39,40
As adolescents become physically mature,
they often seek more independence and
autonomy, and they may question family
rules and roles, leading to conflicts over
issues such as dress and appearance, chores,
and dating. Parents and adolescents also
have fewer interactions and do fewer things

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

39

PHOTO OMITTED

together outside the home than they did at

an earlier periodas illustrated by the
horror many adolescents express at seeing
their parents at shopping malls. This distancing in the relations between adolescents and parents may be a natural,
evolutionary part of puberty: There is evidence from nonhuman primates that
puberty is the time at which parents and offspring go their separate ways.41 Even without
taking an evolutionary perspective, one can
argue that distancing in parent-adolescent
relations has a functional value for adolescents in that it fosters their independence,
prompts them to try more things on their
own, and develops their sense of efficacy.42
Out-of-school programs can play a very
important role in this distancing process.
Evidence from a variety of sources suggests
that although early adolescents want a certain amount of distance from their parents,
they often want to fill this space with
close relationships with other, nonfamilial
adults.32 They want to share their ideas with
adults and to benefit from adult wisdom. It is
likely that adolescents turn disproportionately to their peers for guidance through the
separation process only when they do not
have opportunities to bond with nonfamilial
adults. Out-of-school programs are ideal settings for such interactions and relationships
to flourish.
Friendships and Peer Conformity
The most controversial change during early
adolescence may be the young persons

increasing focus on peers. To the chagrin of

parents and teachers, many adolescents give
priority to social activities with peers, peer
acceptance, and appearance rather than
academic courses and other organized activities.43 Further, early adolescents confidence
in their physical appearance and social
acceptance is often a more important predictor of their self-esteem than is confidence
in their cognitive/academic competence.5
Childrens conformity to their peers
peaks during early adolescence, reflecting
the importance of social acceptance to
youngsters of this age. Much has been written about how peer conformity can create
problems for early adolescents and about
how good children often are corrupted by
the negative influences of peers (particularly by gangs). However, although pressure
from peers to engage in misconduct
increases during early adolescence, the view
that peer groups are mostly a bad influence
during this period is overly simplistic.15
More often than not, early adolescents
agree with their parents views on important issues such as morality, educational
goals, politics, and religion, while peers
have more influence on things such as dress
and clothing styles, music, and activity
choice. In addition, adolescents usually
seek out friends who are similar to them
(fellow athletes or honor students). Thus,
they are likely to choose friends whose views
on important issues resemble those that are
espoused at home. One expert concludes
that it is poor parenting that usually leads

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

40
children to get in with a bad peer group,
rather than the peer group pulling a good
child into difficulties.15 The peer group acts
more to reinforce existing strengths and
weaknesses than to change adolescents
characteristics.
Family Support for Growing Autonomy
In thinking about how the family environment shapes early-adolescent development,
it is useful to recall that the key task confronting the adolescent is to develop a sense
of self as an autonomous individual. The
accelerating effort by youths to control their
own lives is accompanied by pressure on the
family to renegotiate the power balance

It is useful to recall that the key task

confronting the adolescent is to develop a
sense of self as an autonomous individual.
between parent and child.24,29,40,42,44 It is the
fit between an early adolescents family environment and his or her developmental
needs that is critical to successful adaptation
by both parents and early adolescents in this
transitional period.29
Achieving a good match requires that
parents be able to adjust to their early adolescents changing needs with relatively little
conflict. Studies show that family environments offer opportunities for personal
autonomy and encourage the early adolescents role in family decision making are
associated with positive outcomes, such as
self-esteem, self-reliance, satisfaction with
school and student-teacher relations, positive school adjustment, and advanced moral
reasoning.25 Conversely, a parenting style
that is coercive, authoritarian, and not
attuned to the adolescents need for autonomy and input is associated with self-consciousness and lowered self-esteem.45
Adaptations within the family may also influence how well the young person negotiates
changes in other realms of life, such as
changing peer relationships or the transition to junior high school.29

Contexts That Promote

Development
The educational environments that preteens enter are often not very responsive to

adolescent development. In some ways, the

academic environments in typical junior
high and middle schools are less well
matched to the needs and capacities of
youths than are elementary schools,29 and
the transition to junior high triggers negative changes for some youths, although not
for all.30,46,47
For example, the structure of junior high
schools reduces opportunities for adolescents to form close relationships with their
teachers at precisely the point in the early
adolescents development when they have a
great need for guidance and support from
nonfamilial adults. Because most junior
high schools are larger than elementary
schools, and instruction is organized by
department, teachers work with several
groups of students each day and seldom
teach a student for more than one year.30
Interactions between teacher and student
usually focus on the academic content of
what is being taught or on disciplinary issues,
and teachers at this level tend to feel less
effective as teachers.31 These structural factors can undermine the sense of community
and trust between early adolescents and
their teachersleading in turn to a greater
reliance by teachers on authoritarian control and increased alienation among the
students.
Classroom practices may also undermine
early adolescents school motivation. Junior
high school teachers use a higher standard
in judging their students competence and
in grading their performance than that used
by elementary school teachers,30 and declining grades strongly predict declines in the
self-perceptions and academic motivation of
early-adolescent students. When teachers
and students are not close to one another, it
is unlikely that any one students difficulties
will be noticed early, increasing the chance
that students on the edge will slip onto negative trajectories leading to school failure
and dropout.
The environmental changes that students experience as they move into
middle-grade schools are particularly
harmful in that they emphasize competition, social comparison, and self-assessment
at a time when the adolescents focus on
himself or herself is at its height. The
junior high schools emphasis on discipline

The Development of Children Ages 6 to 14

and teacher control, and its limited opportunities for student decision making, come
at a time in development when adolescents
are beginning to think of themselves as
young adults who are becoming more
responsible and deserve greater adult
respect. A poor fit between the early adolescent and the classroom environment
increases the risk of disengagement and
school problems, especially for those early
adolescents who were having difficulty succeeding in school academically prior to
this school transition.31
As the preceding discussion explains,
early-adolescent development is characterized by an increasing capacity for abstract
thinking, desire for autonomy, orientation
toward peers, and self-consciousness. It is a
time when identity issues and concern over
heterosexual relationships are salient.
When they are adapting to these internal
changes, adolescents need an environment
that is both reasonably safe and intellectually challengingone that provides a zone
of comfort as well as challenging new
opportunities for growth. The research
studies reviewed here suggest that family,
school, and other organized environments
that are responsive and developmentally
sensitive to the changes in young adolescents needs and desires can facilitate positive development during the turbulent
early-adolescent years.32

Conclusion
This article summarized the major developmental changes that take place from age 6
to age 14 and reviewed transformations in
childrens reasoning during middle childhood and in physical development during
puberty. It discussed the dramatic shifts in
childrens participation in the world
beyond the family. In addition, it examined
the key psychological challenges that mark
the middle-childhood years (self-awareness,
social comparison, and self-esteem) and
the early-adolescent years (a drive for
autonomy paired with a continuing need
for close, trusting relationships with
adults).
For most children this is an exciting time
of positive growth and development, but for
some (estimates range as high as 25% to
40%),27 it is a time of declining motivation,
mental health, and involvement with

41
schools and organized activity programs.
The fit between the individuals psychological needs and the opportunities provided by
the family, the school, and other programs
contributes significantly to an individual
childs response to the pressures of this
period. For example, if there is a mismatch
between the young persons desire for
autonomy and the amount of independence offered at school or in other program
settings, children and young adolescents are
likely to develop a more negative view of
these contexts and of themselves as participants. Similarly, if these settings produce
stressful or superficial social relationships
between youths and adults, children and
young adolescents will not look to the adults
in these settings as a source of emotional
support and guidance.
There are clear implications of these
findings for out-of-school programs. First,
such programs provide a major nonfamilial

Out-of-school programs can provide a

place where children and early adolescents
can experiment, but where the adults are
available to catch them if they start to get
into trouble.
setting in which children and early adolescents can express their individuality, master
new skills, and seek emotional support
from adults. Second, programs that offer
mixed-age groups and activities that highlight effort rather than competition can
support the childrens confidence in their
ability to become productive, positive
members of their communities. Such programs can offer the zone of safety and comfort that is crucial for healthy development
by providing a place where children and
early adolescents can experiment, but
where the adults are available to catch
them if they start to get into trouble. Third,
the programs can design activities for children and early adolescents that are sensitive to the development that is so dramatic
during this period by combining security
and comfort with expanding leadership
opportunities that recognize and respect
childrens increasing maturity. For
instance, focus groups and rap sessions give

THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN FALL 1999

42
children and early adolescents a chance to
discuss the issues that concern them while
allowing significant adults to learn about
their lives. Opportunities to engage in com-

munity service show young people new

avenues for responsibility, while helping
them feel like valued members of their
community.

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