AGES AND DEVELOPMENT

Effects of Age on Development

Andrea F. Hardy
Bridgewater College

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Abstract
In the minds of many today, the elderly and any age group that is not ones own is not
important and is inferior. It is the job of educators to get rid of this belief in their own minds, and
the minds of their students every single year they teach. Through this paper, I discuss how this
topic relates to Multicultural Education, which was the whole point of EDUC 215, why it is
important to me, and how teachers can combat beliefs in their students. This paper draws from
research from many textbooks, a college source and an interview with a professional to show that
although people from different ages are not the same, it does not make one any more superior to
another. Developments are important in any age and to every individual. Without reaching
developmental stages, society could not function because of the small-mindedness of its
population.

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Introduction
Throughout the semester, our EDUC 215 class has discussed the prejudices and
superiority felt by some groups when compared to others. Examples of this are the higher classes
compared to lower, white people compared to blacks and other minorities, and the nondisabled
compared to the disabled. This paper focuses on ageism, the belief that one age (generally the
one currently being experienced) is better than another. This can be between children and
teenagers, young adults and the elderly, adults and the generation before them, and any other
combination of ages. We will look mainly at childrens development, as well as elderly
development to help show that although the processes are different, neither can be considered
superior.
I selected the topic of human development throughout different ages because of my
experience as an activities assistant in an assisted living facilitys memory care unit. Ageism
between the residents and workers was very persistent there, and I wanted to find information
that can help combat those superior beliefs. I also wanted to know more about the ways in which
we develop the way we do, and to figure out the norms for different age groups, especially the
elderly. Although I may not work at the facility again, I can help my future students see that
every age has something to offer, and that no one age is greater than the others.
Research
Jean Piaget, a Swiss biologist, began working with children in the early 1920s and found
that there are many developmental levels that children must go through in order to understand
and use the logic that many adults use on a regular basis. His work has been incredibly useful to

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educators, who use many of his assumptions in order to help their students learn more easily and
effectively. One is that children learn by being very active and motivated (Ormrod, 2011, p. 26).
Children naturally want to find out more about the world in which they live, although that may
not be very inclusive, as generally they have not seen much of it yet. Another of Piagets
assumptions is that children construct their knowledge rather than absorbing it (Ormrod, 2011, p.
26). In order for a student to really grasp a concept, the best thing to do is to relate it back to his
life or something that he already knows. This also applies to older generations; mindless facts do
not stay in an adults long term memory unless they are repeated over and over or are connected
with something already known.
Piaget also proposed that children go through four states of cognitive development:
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations. The sensorimotor stage
is from birth until age two. The major development during this stage is that children develop
object permanence, the understanding that objects exist and behave independently of their
actions or awareness (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2010, p. 307). The next stage, preoperational is
from about ages two to seven, and is marked by egocentrism, the inability to take the perspective
of another person and the belief that oneself is more important than everyone else. This is quite
similar to the term ethnocentrism, defined by the view that ones cultural group is superior to all
others in the textbook used during EDUC 215, Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society.
Once a child understands conservation, the understanding that physical properties do not change
when nothing is added or taken away, even though appearances may change, (Gerrig and
Zimbardo, 2010, p. 308) he has passed into the concrete operations stage, which happens from
about ages seven through eleven. Lastly, a child, almost a teenager, passes into the formal
operation stage and can use abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking. Through these stages,

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children mature cognitively into the people that they must become in order to succeed in middle
and high school, as well as during college and afterwards.
According to Erik Erikson, all individuals must go through eight psychosocial stages
which presents a crisis that must be resolved before they can move on to the next stage. The
stages are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Competence vs.
Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and
Integrity vs. Despair. After stage five, the conflicts are directed towards adults as they live their
lives. Intimacy versus Isolation refers to relationships with friends and romantic partners. If a
person is not capable of having intimacy with someone else, he may retreat into isolation, and
cannot move on to generativity vs. stagnation, where adults need to help care for the next
generation or any others. If not accomplished, the individual will stay self-centered throughout
the rest of his life. Once an individual has transferred into late adulthood, he may feel fulfillment
with the life that he has lived, and can accept the rest of his life and eventually death with
integrity (Eriksons stages of development).
The adults of society now are part of Generation Y, as they were born between 1978 and
2000. These people have grown up in the age of technology, and have never had to have the
threat of Russia annihilating the United States with nuclear missiles. Globalization is prominent
and self-esteem is very important to those belonging to this group, as they have been praised
constantly by those in their homes and the school systems. Members are also very close to their
parents, and very tolerant of those that are different from themselves (Gollnick & Chin, 2013,
319-321). Many already have children, but there are also many that waiting to get married and
start a family. This group has made aging quite different; however, the life stages are still very
similar to those experienced in the past.

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The elderly, generally anyone aged over sixty-five, has been viewed as the worst age to
deal with, as lifes prime has usually been accomplished, and the onset of degradation has begun
to take place in areas such as bone structure, muscle mass, and in the mind. According to
Occupational Therapist Karen Hardy, once an individual starts this process, it is common for the
brain to lose many of its cells. It is still producing them, just not as quickly as before (Hardy,
2013). This slow loss of brain cells can be one of the main causes of Alzheimers, a disease that
causes an individual to first lose their memories of recent activities and then less and less recent
from there on. One might think that the elderly do not need much attention and are therefore less
superior to individuals from other ages, however they have already been through every life stage
and can therefore give wisdom to others, and are still capable of most things that younger people
do, just not always as easily.
Conclusion
This research will help me to become a culturally responsive teacher because I can
promote the learning of different developments during different ages. I will be able to show that
adults go through challenges and crises, just like children do, although the way that we deal with
them will probably be different. I can also use this knowledge to guide my students to whom
they need to be, and to help them develop in ways that are not generally taught in schools.
It is a teachers responsibility to introduce students to many concepts that they would not
otherwise learn in the classroom that are necessary to live in the society of which they are a part.
This includes communication and acceptance of others that are different than what they are used
to, such as each dominant group. By helping them to see that despite their differences, they are
normal and like everyone else, their self-esteem will be boosted, as well as their sense of

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community with the other students in their classroom, the entire school and all of the area in
which they reside.
In terms of academic achievement, one of the characteristics of culturally responsive
pedagogy, I will be able to help my students use metacognition, the beliefs about human
cognitive processes including ones own, to think about their own thinking and beliefs, and why
they think the way they do about different groups. They can then use that knowledge in their
school work, which will help to do well on assignments. Personal development is easily attained
through this subject matter. I would love to have a field trip to go visit the elderly, or have my
students have a pen-pal from a nursing home. This will help them grow and see that they are no
better than anyone else, and that they can learn much from those that are older than them,
whether that is an age difference of five years or fifty years. Citizenship will also been enhanced
because of the level of caring my students will have about those of different ages. This will
influence how they treat their elders and juniors in the future, and will ensure that they will care
about all others around them.
Word Count: 1,565

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References
Erikson's stages of development. Unpublished manuscript, University of Arkansas
Phillips Community College, Dewitt.
Gerrig, R., & Zimbardo, P. (2010). Psychology and life. (19th ed., pp. 307-308). Pearson.
Gollnick, D., & Chinn, P. (2013). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society. (9th ed.,
pp. 319-321)
Hardy, K. D. (2013, December 01). Interview by A.F. Hardy.
Ormrod, J. (2011). Educational psychology, developing learners. (7th ed., pp. 26-29).
Pearson.