Characteristics of

Early Adolescents
Notes for EdSe 4120
“A growing body of knowledge shows
that what happens to students between
the ages of 10 and 14 determines not
only their future success in school, but
success in life as well.”
Characteristics of Early
Adolescence
 Physical Changes
 Social Changes (Psychosocial)
 Emotional Changes
 Cognitive (Intellectual)
Human Development

 Infancy
 Young childhood
 Later childhood
 PREADOLESCENCE – more change
occurs during adolescence than any
other stage in life except infancy
 Adolescence
 adulthood
Physical Changes
 Growth Spurts – girls – 12, boys – 14
increase in weight, height, heart size, lung capacity, muscular strength. Bone
growth is faster than muscle development – can result in lack of coordination and
awkwardness.
 In girls, sex characteristics continue to develop
with breasts enlarging and menstruation
beginning
 Glandular imbalances resulting in acne
 Fluctuation in metabolism may cause extreme
restlessness at times
 Ravenous appetites
Social and Emotional
Changes
Social (Psychosocial)
Changes
 Allegiance shifts from parents to peers
 Peers become sources for standards and
models of behavior
 Puppy love emerges
 Pre-occupied with themselves
 Yearning to be accepted
Three Theories Related to
Adolescent Change:
 Erik Erikson
 Abraham Maslow
 Jean Piaget

 David Elkind is a Piagetian student of

Adolescence.
Psychosocial Changes
 They copy and display fads of extremes in clothing,
speech, mannerisms, and handwriting; very
susceptible to media advertising

 Erratic and inconsistent behavior common

 Anxiety and fear contrast with reassuring bravado

 Students have many fears, real and imagined

 Young adolescents believe their experiences are

unique and dramatic
Erick Erikson: Identity
(1968)
 Each stage of life represents a crisis of
identity to be negotiated. Success at this
determines healthy adult identity.

 Adolescence represents best chance to

revisit unresolved crises of identity from
infancy, early childhood, and elementary
years.
Maslow (1967)
Self-fulfillment Individual growth
Increased responsibility
Achievement
Self-esteem Recognition
Status
Sense of belonging Interpersonal relationships
External expectations Work performance
Rules, regulations

Security Classroom conditions

School conditions
Home conditions
Intellectual Changes
Piaget
 Concrete Operations 7-11 years

 Masters logical operations / concrete

 Unable to think abstractly
 Understands principle of conservation
 Uses various approaches
 Understands parts to whole
 Serializing
 Uses sociocentric language / vs. egocentric language
 Understands “combinativity,” “reversibility,” “associativity,” “ identity /
nullafability”
Piaget
 Formal Operations 11-15 years

 Comprehends abstract ideas / ideation and reasoning about the

future
 Ability to handle contrary to fact propositions, ability to develop
and test hypotheses
 Substage A – preparatory / approach to formal operations can be
cumbersome. Difficulty with systematic proof
 Substage B – formulating elegant generalizations; high degree of
mastery or formal operations
Cognitive Changes

 Prefer active over passive learning

activities and interacting with peers
 Very curious and exhibit a strong
willingness to learn things they consider
useful.
 Independent, critical thinking emerges
from arguing
 Gardner – multiple intelligences