- Youth Development
- Theories of Youth Development
- Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
- Vygotsky's Sociocultural Learning Theory
- Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model Theory
- Other Theories of Youth Development
- Connecting Youth Development to Library Services
- The SEL Competencies
- The SEL Settings
- Tying it All Together
Other Theories of Youth Development
There are more theories of youth development than we can cover in a single module. Here are a few other theories that are relevant to connected learning.
| Constructionism Theory Seymour Papert | Informed by both Piaget and Vygotsky, Seymour Papert (1928-2016), a founding faculty member of the MIT Media Lab, developed the concept of constructionism. Constructionism depicts learning as an active process that happens as children create new artifacts in their environment. Papert developed one of the first educational programming languages, known as LOGO, which inspired the popular programming language Scratch. Papert’s work also led to the Computer Clubhouse project, a network of over 100 learning centers where youth from underserved communities learn to create and express themselves using emerging technologies. |
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| Social Cognitive Learning Theory Albert Bandura | In the early 1960s, Albert Bandura’s (1925-1921) classic Bobo doll experiments demonstrated how children mimic or “model” actions and behaviors that they have seen adults perform. Bandura’s social cognitive learning theory describes how learning can occur through observation, not just direct experience. |
| Psychosocial Theory Erik Erikson | Pyschosocial theory, developed by German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson (1902-1994), emphasizes a person’s development over the entire span of their life. Psychosocial theory is composed of eight stages of interaction with the social environment, with each stage building upon the previous ones. |
Worksheet #2: Apply Your Understanding
Think of a program or service that your library offers to teens. How does your new knowledge of youth development change your understanding of the program’s value or impact? How can you use the science of youth development to improve your programs and services for teens?
- Describe the program or service you are thinking of in one or two sentences:
- What stage of cognitive development are the participants in, according to Piaget?
- How does your program or service provide scaffolding and cognitive tools for teens?
- Are there opportunities to create a mesosystem by connecting the library to another context in teens’ lives?
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Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model Theory