The Adolescent Development - Article Example

The Adolescent Development
Adolescence is undoubtedly one of the strenuous, if not the most difficult phase in a person’s life. This is where identity and interpersonal understanding is at one of its most formative development and can at times be compromised without proper guidance. This stage is accompanied by a number of dilemmas. The current Western trend is known for its prolonged adolescence stage which brings forth the question of when it ends as another predicament. Developmental adjustments may be varied but the changes that are progressively specifically focused on peers are seemingly constant.
It is said that 1 out of every 5 students enrolled in the public education system of the United States came from an immigrant family. This number is believed to be ever-increasing so much so that it is projected that by 2020 the ratio will be 1 out of 3. The subject of immigration comes along with a number of other debates that is indispensable when discussing the subject. The issue, no matter the stance is a different discussion altogether. Immigration is considered as the secondary reason for a nation’s increase in population other than natural means. But the question on the other hand of the diversity in the development of adolescents belonging to this background is a concern that is not tackled as explicitly.
The importance of understanding how they adapt and develop base on their varied personal history creates a necessity for the study thereof. How do the people around them respond to the different needs they require? In the same way that the query of how do these adolescents interact and differ from those who are around them, both in the question of their relations with peers and others, vary?
Studies such as ‘Beyond the Family: Contexts of Immigrant Children's Development, New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development’ edited by Hirokazu Yoshikawa. Charles A. Ellwood’s ‘Sociology and Modern Social Problems’ will also be valuable in assessing the inherent sociological diversity at play in an adolescent’s life. Studies on adolescent development and immigration issues that go along with it available on www.cciserver.ums.maine.edu may also prove to be contributory for this research. “Do Undocumented Students Play by the Rules?” a journal article by Julian Jefferies will also be at hand as it contains information regarding the educational process of immigrant adolescents. Other related literature will also be reviewed for this study. Since it encompasses various psychological, sociological, political and educational segments it is understandable that the topic will cover a lot of ground for the study to be comprehensive.
Adolescents belonging to immigrant families will be the core subject of this research. They will be interviewed and examined through the course of this case study. Adults surrounding their everyday life will also be part of the research. This includes family members, especially their parents, teachers, guidance counselors and their peers. Peer groups can be distinguished and classified whether or not the subject and the peer belong in the same category of immigrant origins or not.
Some of the questions that will be asked are as follows:
1. Are there inimitable characteristics present in an immigrant adolescent’s development?
2. Is there a change, relative to the adolescent’s development, with regards to the family dynamics to cope with the prevalent culture?
3. What influences the formation of the adolescent’s identities?
4. What can be said of the community and overall surrounding in connection to the adolescent’s psychological development?
5. How does their family’s culture, base on their country of origin, deviate and/or counterbalance from the current culture ubiquitous to the country of migration? Read More