The Role of Education in Stimulating Adult Development

Abstract

A study tried to determine if development can continue through middle age, if education can stimulate adult development, and, if so, what the contributing factors are. The subjects were 60 men and women who had begun doctoral studies between ages 37 and 48, half et whom had just finished and half of whom had just started. Half of the students were from an array of traditionally structured schools, half from a single school (Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, California) organized along principles of self-directed learning. All subjects completed the Sentence Completion Test of ego development (SCT), a projective measure that has been used for more than 30 years. Subjects also completed comprehensive questionnaires, and 17 were interviewed in depth. The study found that students in the nontraditiona] school experienc'd significant ego growth, whereas those in traditional schools manifested ego regression. Pacing (the exposure to a level of cognitive or moral complexity that is just beyond the student's current developmental level) was found to be a significant factor in ego growth. Unconditional acceptance also was found to be an important element. The study concluded that a learning environment can be designed that will foster not only content mastery and skill acquisition but also human development. (32 references.) (KC) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. f, ***********************************************************x*********** 1989 Western College Reading and Learning Association Conference THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN STIMULATING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Dorothy D. Billington Adult learners are precisely those whose intellectual aspirations are least likely to be aroused by the rigid, uncompromising requirements of authoritative, conventionalized institutions of learning. (Lindeman, 1926, p. 28) Today these words are more pertinent than ever, for we humans resist change. We resist the questioning of our established ways of thinking and doing (Kuhn, 1970). Thus traditional ways of teaching have changed little in this century. Yet college students are changing. Their ranks are aging as more adults return to school each year (National Center for Education Statistics, 1988). The era of completing one's education at age 21 is past; the rapid proliferation of knowledge in our technological world makes continuous lifelong learning a necessity. Without it most adult knowledge and skills would quickly become obsolete. As the demand for adult learning has accelerated, so has the need for research and knowledge on how adults learn best. Few studies have examined this question. Along with recognition of the necessity for lifelong learning has emerged an awareness that significant learning and human development go hand-inhand. That development must be the primary goal of education is a major theme of a growing number of psychologists and educators such as Dewey (1963), Rogers (1969), Kohlberg (Kohlberg & Mayer, 1972), Perry (1981), Piaget (1967), Da loz (1986), Kurfiss (1983), and others, who have proposed that education of the right kind can stimulate development. Yet even today we know little about whether, how, and why adults continue to grow, for until recently developmental psychologists studied only children. The concept of adult development is only beginning to emerge. Even now most research has been limited to traditional-aged college students; few studies have seriously examined development beyond that age (Loevinger, Cohn, Redmore, Bonneville, Streich, & Sargent, 1985). Thus this study asked: 1. Can development continue through middle age? 2. Can education stimulate adult development? 3. If so, what are contributing factors? U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it ; Minor changes rave Coen made to Improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in INS dOCu men? do not necessarily represent official OERi position or policy 1 4, PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY (r/ TO THE EDUCATIONAL-RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). BEST COPY AVAILM311.