A DOL E S C E NC E

S C H O O L L E A R N E R )
(T H E H I G H
 I CA L D EV EL O P M EN T
PH YS
OF
S CH O O L LE A R N ERS
HIG H
DEFINING ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence is a period of transition in terms of physical,
cognitive and socio-emotional changes. The period of
adolescence begins with the biological changes of puberty.

THE SPECIFIC AGES FOR THIS PERIOD

(i) Early adolescence characterized by puberty -ages of 11 and 13
(ii) Middle adolescence may meet identity issues -ages of 14 and 16
(iii) Late adolescence marks the transition into adulthood -ages 17 and 20.
FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT
 In the male, testosterone stimulates male characteristics comprised by (i)
spermarche enlargement of the testis gland that produces sperm in the scrotum,
growth of the penis male organ for copulation (ii) capacity for ejaculation of male
sperms (iii) voice change (iii) facial hair development or beard growth, and continuing
growth of pubic hair.

 In girls, estrogen secretion triggers the beginning of breast enlargement, appearance

of pubic hair, widening of the hips, and menarche or first menstruation. The elevation
of the female breast is the first external sign of puberty in girls, accompanied by
growth of the uterus and vagina. Generally, girls achieve menarche beginning age 11
until age 13.
THE SECULAR TREND

The secular trend is a phenomenon of more rapid physical

maturation during this century.

The secular trend is ascribed to varied factors, such as:

interaction of genetic and environmental influences,

improved health care and living conditions, and
control of infectious diseases.
SEXUAL IDENTITY
How do adolescents develop a sexual identity?
An adolescent's sexual identity involves sexual orientation, activities,
interests, and styles of behavior (bugwell & rosenthal, 1996). Some
adolescents are very anxious about sex and sexually active. Others
are only a bit anxious about sex and are sexually inactive.
Sexual orientation is a person's tendency to be attracted to people of
the same sex (homosexual orientations), of the opposite sex
(heterosexual orientation) or of both sexes (bisexual
orientation)
SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem is defined as one's thoughts and feelings about one's self-
concept and identity. Most theories on self-esteem state that there is a
grand desire across all genders and ages to maintain, protect and
enhance self-esteem.

Girls enjoy self-esteem through supportive relationship with friends or

others who can provide social and moral support. In contrast, boys are
more prone to assert independence in defining their relationships, deriving
self-esteem from their ability to successfully influence others.
 IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILD CARE,
EDUCATION AND PARENTING
To meet the physical development of adolescent children, parents need to
be aware of manifestations of behavioral patterns that require closer
communication, guidance and support. The teen is especially addictive to
modern gadgets for music listening, video games, mobile phone
communication, and social media posting. These activities cause shorter
sleeping time that may contribute to increased levels of daytime
drowsiness, sleeping problems and depression. In school, teachers need to
be aware of the possible drop in self-esteem among adolescent learners.
The teacher's support is crucial to protect adolescent learners against
severe distress and anxiety over their school work and social relationships.
 I T I VE D EV EL OP M EN T
COGN
OF
S C H OO L L EA R NE R S
HIGH
PIAGET'S FORMAL OPERATIONAL THINKER
Piaget formulated the theory of Formal Operational Thinking which demonstrates how
the cognitive capacity of the adolescent allows him/ her to go beyond the sensible and
concrete in order to dwell on what is abstract, hypothetical and possible.

(a) Propositional thinking- making assertions outside visual evidence, and stating
what may be possible in things not seen by the eyes (for example, whether an unseen
object is red or green, big or small, flat or round).
(b) Relativistic thinking- subjectively making an opinion on facts - involving one's own
bias, prejudice of distortion of facts - which may be either right or wrong (for example,
arguing for or against the superiority of the races, whether white, brown, yellow or
black).
(c) Real versus possible- examining a situation and exploring the possible in terms of
situations or solutions (e.g., possible success in implementing a student project or a
school policy).
METACOGNITION

Among the cognitive advances in adolescence which is the ability to

identify one's own thinking processes and metacognition strategies
inclusive of perception, memory, understanding, application, analysis,
assessment and innovation. The adolescent is able to state "I know that
among the memory data stored in his mind; also, able to state "I know
how" referring to procedural processes that improves memory recall
through the use of a mnemonic device.
OVERACHIEVEMENT
During adolescence, he/she can achieve very high academic grades, in
spite of not getting IQ grades that are at the top 3 or 5 percent of the bell
curve. The case of overachievers is a reminder that the Intelligence
Quotient test is not the only determinant in school achievement. There
are other factors such as motivation interest, work habits, and personality
development. Beyond statistical achievement in curricular subjects
(English, Math, Science, Araling Panlipunan, etc.) the overachieving
adolescent may demonstrate superior work habits, greater interest in
school work, more consistency in doing assignments, and more grade/
performance consciousness. Overall, they show more responsibility,
consciousness and planning compared with "normal" achievers.
UNDERACHIEVEMENT
 The adolescent may perform below the standards set.
Underachievement may become more pronounced when high school
class work becomes more demanding.
 Withdrawn underachievers refer to those who have a more
pronounced tendency to be passive resulting in being submissive and
docile. They follow the path of no resistance, not reacting to given
assignments and school regulations. Generally quiet, they do not
participate in class activities.
 Aggressive underachievers are those who tend to be talkative,
disruptive and rebellious.
BEHAVIOR AND ADOLESCENT COGNITIVE GROWTH

1. Egocentrism. This is the adolescents' tendency to think too much of

themselves, while being too sensitive to social acceptance of their appearance,
actions, feelings, ideas, etc.

2. Idealism. This refers to imagining the far-fetched and less ideal situations
at home, in school, and in society. The teen may imagine a utopia or heaven
on earth leading to discouragement when social realities become harsh (e.g.,
unexpected low grades, family discord, etc.)

3. Increased argumentativeness. Teens enjoy learning through the use of

group dynamics including role play, discussion, debate, and drama.
DEVELOPING OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS
John Holland has identified basic personality factors that match with attitude and work preferences:

 Realistic - this personality type prefers practical tasks, including those requiring
physical labor and motor: coordination, and less of interpersonal skills (e.G.,
Carpentry, driving, etc.).
 Investigative - this prefers tasks that are conceptual such as in the fields of
science and technology as chemists, scientists, technologists, etc.
 Conventional - this prefers structured tasks that cater to the needs of others,
such as in office jobs and manual labor.
 Enterprising - this prefers independence and innovation in. Business and other
enterprises that reflect autonomy and personal initiative.
 Artistic - this prefers unstructured tasks that show ability for self-expression such
as from artists, musicians, and performers.
Early on adolescents may show abilities for gainful work, later on
becoming self-supporting in college, by entering the service sector as
fast-food employees, sales clerks, office messengers, and utility
personnel. These adolescent attitudes and abilities demonstrate:
• self-reliance -working independently without stress;
• money management - not spending money on luxuries, much less on
alcohol and drugs;
• social responsibility -cooperation and respect for others including
superiors; mature work orientation - pride in work and quality of work,
• personal responsibility -assuming tasks independently and
competitively; and
• positive attitude to work - Work is seen as a gainful and wholesome
activity and not a burden.
IMPLICATIONS TO ADOLESCENT CARE, EDUCATION
AND PARENTING
Parents and teachers must be able to recognize the cognitive
development paths among adolescents and create situations that will
foster higher thinking skills through:
a. Activities at home e.g. asking teenage children for suggestions a on
family matters- house physical arrangements, things to buy, places to go
to for family outing, etc.
b. Allowing more independence e.g. use of school allowances, choice
on what to wear, etc.
c. Activities in school that allow participation, such as projects, field
trips, joint internet research, etc., and
d. Develop reading skills through magazine articles, Internet blogs
 SOCIO-E M O T I O N A L
DE V E LO P M E N T
OF
L L E A R N E R S
HIGH SCHOO
 HUMAN EMOTIONS
 human feelings that are manifested by varied conscious or unconscious
moods. A more accurate description is that it is a subjective reaction to
internal or external stimulus that involves physical change, action or
appraisal.

Positive and negative

 emotions
Positive emotions like interest and joy motivate the individual to continue his/her
behavior.
 negative emotions may cause withdrawal from what may be perceived as bad or
dangerous.
 For Charles Darwin there are six basic emotions, namely interest, joy/ happiness,
sadness, anger, disgust and fear. Other scientists expanded the list to include
love, pride, hope, gratitude, compassion, jealousy and anxiety.
SOCIAL EMOTIONS
Adolescents especially feel stress, usually from relationships with
parents, friends, sweethearts, also from pressure of school work. Thus,
adolescents are stereotyped as moody and negative, poor emotion
control. Some studies argue against stereotyping adolescents pointing at
other emotions among teens such as feeling bored, tired, sleepy, social
discomfort like awkwardness and loneliness. Generally, adolescents are
seen to tend to emotions from social evaluation such as feeling
embarrassed when being looked at, also only fairly happy most of the
time.
 IMPLICATION TO ADOLESCENT
CARE EDUCATION AND PARENTING

The overall implication is that emotional skills influence the adolescent learner's success
in class work. Learners who are able to regulate their emotions tend to be happier, better
liked and better able to pay attention and learn. Interventions by the teacher and the
school can reduce learner's emotional distress, while raising test scores and grades. The
teacher plays a most important role in promoting positive changes for the adolescent. As
the teen is susceptible to peer pressure, the negative influence of social media, drug use
and addiction, early romantic sexual adventurism, the teacher and the school can
conduct interventions to assist the youths with focus on risky and inappropriate behavior
while promoting positive development among adolescents.