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21 OCTOBER 2009

NO 1503

Development

All developmental theories organize human growth and capability in a series of stages that occur in a predetermined pattern. A person moves through these stages by mastering the tasks or competencies of each stage in a predictable order. The usefulness of knowing about developmental stages is that it assists you as the helper to focus support where the person being helped is most capable of learning and growing. By understanding the behaviours and beliefs prevalent during any stage, you can determine what stage the other person is in and how to create learning and support for growth into the next stage. For example, a person who is struggling with personal safety needs to feel safe and secure before any other growth can occur. Using Erikson's formats (Berk, 2006), the focus after feeling safe is to struggle with personal power. Instead of directing our efforts to create, in general, some ideal or problem-free person, we are able to support growth in manageable steps. Developmental theory can also assist you, as a continually growing professional, to manage your own attempts at helping by enabling you to accurately determine your own constantly evolving competencies. A final use for developmental approaches is that they can create a Line in the Sand — a goal or target for your overall helping efforts, a critical point of developmental growth — that will determine future self-directed success.

JACK PHELAN

Phelan, J. (2008). Building developmental capacities: A developmentally responsive approach to Child and Youth Care intervention. In G. Bellefeuille and F. Ricks (Eds.) Standing on the Precipice. Edmonton, Alberta. MacEwan Press. p. 74.

REFERENCES

Berk, L. (2006). Development through the lifespan (4th ed.) New York. Allyn and Bacon.

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