PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

MODULE 3: DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

Fig. 1. Filipino Teens

Photo taken from: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
NVI7hhPjgew/TntF_OkcJVI/AAAAAAAAA5E/Sfs6I6LQSGA/s1600/teens.jpg

INTRODUCTION

How does it feel like a teenager? What are the changes you have experienced during this
stage in your life since you’ve left childhood? What are the different tasks that are expected of
you? Were you able to cope up with the different demands and challenges brought by
adolescence?
The Department of Education acknowledges the need to include a subject in the
curriculum that will educate students like you regarding the nature and demands of the
developmental stage you are going through so that you can have a better understanding of the
change and challenges you face and can be able to cope up with them.
Personal Development subject in the senior high school is specifically designed to help
you understand yourself better along with the changes in your physical, emotional and social
aspects of your whole being. In this module, you are going to explore on the nature of
adolescence and the different developmental tasks that go along in this stage. At the end of the
lesson, this module aim that you can better cope up with this stage of life and be prepared for
the next.

Learning Targets:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to
 discuss developmental tasks and challenges being experienced during
adolescence; and
 evaluate one’s development through the help of significant people around
him/her ( peers, parents, siblings, friends, teachers, community leaders)list
ways to become responsible adolescents prepared for adult life.

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Try This!

Let’s challenge what you know! Match column A with column B. Write the letter of the correct
answer on your notebook.

1. Roles include raising a family and being a breadwinner. a. infancy

2. Learning to take solid foods b. childhood
3. Adjusting to retirement c. adolescence
4. Transition age from childhood to adulthood d. adulthood
5. School skills, social skills and play skills are developed. e. late adulthood

LESSON 1: Understanding Stages of Life

Do This!
Create a personal timeline just like what the picture below shows.

A personal timeline portrays the influential events and happenings of a person’s life so
that he can understand the stages he/she have been through. It helps to plan the future in a
better constructive way.
Using a bond paper, write the major events in your life and the significant people in your
life. You may add your age, specific dates and places. Be creative in your representations. You
may also use symbols, figures and drawings. Think of a title for your personal timeline. You
may use crayons or art materials depending on the available resources or just a simple paper
and pen may be fine. You can also go for the personal timeline website template samples
available online. The link is https://www.template.net/business/timeline-
templates/personal-timeline-template/.

Explore!
Answer the questions based on the previous activity. Copy and answer on your notebook.
1. Based on your personal timeline, describe the following stages of your development
and share the important details that went through these stages.

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 Stage of Development Highlights and important happenings
Infancy
Early Childhood
Late Childhood
Adolescence
*Activity adopted from Personal Development Teacher’s Guide

Keep this in Mind!

A human person undergoes several changes across lifespan. From the moment you were
up to this stage of teenage years, you have witnessed development and changes on your
physical appearance, abilities, way of thinking and many more. In this lesson, you will learn
how a human person develop and change from one stage to another.
Human Development is the study of human growth and changes across the lifespan,
including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional
growth. The study of human development is essential to understanding how humans learn,
mature and adapt. Throughout their lives, humans go through various stages of development.

Developmental Stages
Let us have a quick overlook of the different stages you have been through and the
stages you are about to go through on this life journey. Upon learning each stages of
development, you will be able to understand how and why you have become what you are today
and will be able to learn how to prepare for the demands of the future stages of life.

Pre-natal (Conception to birth)

It is the age when your hereditary endowments and sex were
fixed and all of your body features, both external and internal were
developed.

Infancy (Birth to 2 years)

In this stage, you as an infant rely on the care of your guardian.
According to Erick Erickson’s Psychosocial stages of development, if
the baby is well- taken care of, then he/she will be trusting and
comfortable with anyone in the environment. On the contrary, if the
caregiver fail to provide the basic needs and affection the baby needs,
then the baby may develop mistrust among others, withdrawal and
other negative behaviors.
When the infant aged 18 months, he/she will have to be trained to control their bodies
and their environment such as controlling their bowel movement, learning to walk and
manipulating objects. If guardians lead them successfully and in a wholesome manner, they
will develop autonomy, self-control and will. On the other hand, if children in this stage
experience shame and were not given chance to do things they are already capable of doing on
their own, they will develop shame and doubt on one’s capabilities.

Early Childhood (2 – 6 years)

Remember when you were a child and you were so fond
of exploring and questioning things about your environment?
This is the stage when language and elementary
reasoning are acquired and initial socialization is experienced.
Children in this stage needs to feel free of doing tasks on their
own. When guardians are successful in providing
opportunities for this need to be exercised, initiative develops.

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Letting them express their feelings and encouraging them to communicate their ideas can also
help build initiative and sense of purpose. On the other hand, if children will be deprived of
independence to accomplish things, guilt may be built on them.

Late Childhood (6 to 12 years)

Gang and creativity age when self-help
skills, social skills, school skills, and play are
developed. This is the stage where older children
loves learning new skills and strives to excel.
These older children needs support and
encouragement. If guardians are successful in
doing so, they will develop industry and
competence. On the other hand, if guardians fail
to give opportunities for them to enhance their
potential, lacks time to support or motivate, then,
they may develop inferiority and low self-concept.

Adolescence (Puberty to 18 years)

Transition age from childhood to adulthood when sex
maturation and rapid physical development occur resulting to
changes in ways of feeling, thinking and acting. This is the stage
you are going through right now that is characterized by a stage
where tasks gets more challenging and demanding. The society
(including your family, friends, education, etc.) tends to expect
more of you and organization of your tasks and alignment of your
goals to your actual self is a necessary to maintain a healthy
identity. According to Erick Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory, the conflict that you face is
Identity vs. Identity Confusion. At one point in your teenage years you may or have asked
yourself questions like, “Who am I?” and “What is my place in society?” Erikson believes that
if you are able to choose your own values and path, it will lead you to have a strong identity.
But if not, you will have difficulty identifying a path (career choice, goals, priorities, etc.) that
you will take in the future.

Early Adulthood (18 to 40 years)

This is the stage that you are about to take for the next
few years. It is an age of adjustment to new patterns of life
and roles such as being a bread winner, spouse and being
a parent. You are being trained as a teenager to acquire life
skills such as self- management skills, home management
skills, career- specific skills and social skills to be able to
prepare for these more demanding tasks. Your success in
acquiring such skills while you are in your teenage years will determine your capacity to be a
future provider and manager of your own family.

Middle Age (40 years to retirement)

Your parents or guardians would probably be on this
stage this time. This stage is a transition age when adjustments
to initial physical and mental decline are experienced. Showing
your understanding and assistance for people in this stage of
life will help them cope up with the sudden changes they are
going through.

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Old Age (Retirement to death)
This is a retirement age when increasingly rapid physical
and mental decline are experienced. Be very understanding when
dealing with loved ones and other people in this age. The sudden
decline in their physical and mental capabilities makes them
emotionally sensitive. Making them feel that we are grateful of their
efforts and contributions with their loved ones’ lives can make
them feel a sense of satisfaction for a life lived well.

Lesson 2: Understanding Adolescence

According to Robert J. Havighurst, every person that goes through the stages of life have
to successfully accomplish the developmental tasks that goes along with that specific
developmental stage to be able to gain the society’s approval. Mastery of the developmental
tasks will determine success of accomplishing tasks that will be encountered to future stages.
On the other hand, individuals who will fail to master what is expected
of them in their developmental stage may cause them difficulty to cope
up with more demanding tasks and will result to disapproval of the
society.
For instance, a 6 year old child is expected to have develop
fundamental skills like reading and writing. Accomplishing this
developmental task will give the guardians sense of satisfaction and will
give the child a solid foundation to accomplish more complicated skills
in the latter tasks.
On the contrary, if the child aged pass through the childhood years
(6-12 years) and is still not capable of reading and writing, people
surrounding the child may feel worried and dissatisfied and will have
difficulty for the next tasks of the succeeding stages.

Do This!

The first column in the table below describes the developmental task of an adolescent.
Copy the table on your notebook and then rate yourself from 1-5 (1 being the lowest and 5 is
the highest) based on how much you have already accomplished the stated developmental
tasks. Answer the follow up questions after.
Tasks you have
Developmental Tasks of an Adolescent successfully
accomplished
1. Learning to get along with friends of both sexes.
 Developing appropriate relationship with males and females of
the same age
 To learn to look upon girls as women and boys as men
 Learning to get along with friends of both sexes.
 To learn to work with others for a common purpose
 To lead without dominating.
2. Accepting one's physical body and keeping it healthy.

 Accepting changes in the body and appearance

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  To keep the body healthy through good nutrition, exercise,
disease prevention, and other health practices.
3. Becoming more self-sufficient.

 To develop affection for parents without dependence upon them

 To develop respect for older adults without dependence upon

them.
4. Practicing skills necessary for home management
 Taking initiative to do household chores
 Acquiring skills such as simple repairing
 Practicing financial management such as simple budgeting
 Developing attitudes towards family life
5. Preparing for a job or career.
 Successful transition to secondary schooling
 Learning skills for needed for higher education or work
 Developing career goals
 Setting plans and takes action towards achieving career goals.
 Starting to explore ways to earn and make a living
6. Acquiring a set of values to guide behavior.
 Focusing one’s time and energy to what is only important and
productive
 Developing morals, attitudes and values needed for functioning
in society
7. Becoming socially responsible.

 Participating as a responsible person at home

 Developing personal moral values to guide behavior.

 Achieving socially responsible behavior

 Taking initiative and actions as service to others and the

community
 Finding and joining social groups for community service and
engagement

Explore!

Guide Questions:

1. What are the tasks that you still need to work on as an adolescent?
2. What do you think is the reason why these identified tasks are weak?
3. What do you think are the actions you can take to improve them?

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Keep this in Mind
Adolescence is a stage where a child transforms into a young adult. Aside from the rapid
physical change you have experienced or is experiencing in this stage, this transitional period
is also characterized by the maturity and development of your cognitive skills and abilities.

Domain of Development Early to Middle Late Adolescence

adolescence (17 to 19 years old)
(13 to 16 years old)
Physical Male: Continuous height and Male: Still has continuous
weight gain from early growth
adolescence
Female: Most are fully
Female: Growth slows down developed
Cognitive -Questions and analyzes -Realize the practicality of
more extensively actions for their future

- Understands cause and - Organizes thoughts and

effect better ideas

- Has more defined work -Has more defined work

habits habits

Moreover, adolescence is a crucial stage when teens like you becomes egocentric. You
tend to focus more of yourself and believe that other people focus on you too. Read the following
socio-emotional changes in this stage and check if each description applies to you.

Socio-emotional change during Early to Middle adolescence Check if it applies to

(13 to 16 years old) you
1. Develops high expectations for him/herself and worries too
much about failing
2. Highly conscious on one’s appearance
3. Withdrawal from parents seeing them as interference from their
independence
4. Builds social circle
5. Peers may influence on trying risky habits

Have you experienced the different socio-emotional changes stated on the table above?
These socio-emotional changes becomes more refined as you mature more in to being a young
adult. Below are the milestones you may experience as you near adulthood.

Socio-emotional change during Late Adolescence

(17 to 19 years old)
 Establishes career and future decisions more firmly which comes with having a firm
grasp of their identity
 Becomes more self-reliant and less influenced by his/her peers
 Risk-taking behavior lessens
 Considers parental opinion

 Develops an idealistic and philosophical view on certain topics

 Begins to focus on role in adult society

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Apply what you have learned!

Guide Question:
Teenagers like you may go through a conflict between a
strong an established identity versus identity confusion.
Give specific ways that can help you on establishing a strong
self-identity. Write your responses on your notebook.

Assess What You Have Learned

This generation of adolescents you are in is either shaped by highly involved and
protective parents, institutions, social media, targeted marketing and advertising. You belong
to the generation of digital citizens who may tend to push through what you desire and can
become culturally liberal and idealistic. On the other hand, this generation you are in are said
to be a generation of team players and community servers.

Journal Writing for Reflection: Examine the pictures and afterwards, answer the guide
questions.

1. How do social media, marketing and advertising

affect the way you feel and think about yourself?

2. Does it help you in establishing your sense of

identity? Why or why not?

Photo taken from:

https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/B3
-AH628_SOCIAL_M_20180504085354.jpg

3. Can you relate yourself to the picture?

What do you think is the disadvantage of this
kind of behavior?

Photo taken from:

https://www.hotelnetwork.com.au/wp-
content/uploads/2019/07/Instant-Gratification-
Homer-Simpson.jpg

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4. According to David Elkind’s Imaginary Audience theory,
teenagers like you tend to think that every person that surrounds
you focus on you and in everything you do. You then become
sensitive to the criticism of other people and you may tend to
exaggerate simple happenings in your life.
Does this theory apply to you? If yes, give specific experiences
related to the theory. If not, justify your answer.

https://smhsponyexpress.org/2019/01/
11/opinion-my-perceived-imaginary-
audience-influences-my-feelings-and-
actions/

5. Examine the pictures below. What do you

think is the message of the pictures to a
teenager like you?

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/social-
media-and-teen-anxiety

You will be graded based on the following criteria:

 Depth of reflection – 5pts

 Connection to experiences - 5pts
 Connection to the lesson - 5pts
Total 15 pts

Self-check!
Answer the following questions for your reflection.
Reflect

Today I have learned that ________________________________________________________.

I find __________________________ the most interesting because ______________________.

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References:

Department of Education. 2016. Personal Development First Edition 2016.

Psychology Today. 2020. Sussex Publishers, LLC. Retrieved from:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/adolescence
Developmental Tasks of Adolescence. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/modules/man/man-res3.htm

Coatsworth, J.D. 1998. Examples of Developmental Tasks Age period Task. Research Gate.
Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Examples-of-Developmental-Tasks-
Age-period-Task_tbl1_13739433

Kumar, K. 2019. Developmental Tasks – Guidelines for us. Retrieved from:

https://drkumarpsychologist.wordpress.com/2019/04/06/developmental-tasks-guidelines-
for-us/

Hussain, N. 2013. Development of Personality. Slide Share. Retrieved from:

https://www.slideshare.net/noshadhussain357/noshad-hussain-pres

Photo References

https://publicdomainvectors.org/en/free-clipart/Reading-with-mother/73983.html

https://pixabay.com/vectors/discipline-angry-woman-mother-4145087/

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/identity-mask-disguise-mindset-510866/

https://smhsponyexpress.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/viv-graphic-by-paige-modified-cuz-
i-messed-up-e1547234240978.jpg?w=639

THE AUTHOR

MACY ELARDE-FRESNOZA is a Master Teacher I from

Meycauayan National High School. She graduated Bachelor in
Physical Education at Polytechnic University of the
Philippines – Manila. She finished her master’s degree
program, Master of Arts in Education with Specialization in
Physical Education at Philippine Normal University – Manila.
At present, she is pursuing her doctoral degree program, PhD
in Curriculum and Instruction in the same university. She
served as a Content Consultant for Physical Education and
Health subjects at Quipper International, Ltd. and is serving
as a writer and validator for the DepEd Special Program for
Sports Lesson Exemplars and DepEd Sports Manual. She is a
Registered Yoga Teacher, an American College of Sports
Medicine Certified Clinical Fitness Professional and an
International Cheer Union Accredited Performance Cheer
Judge.

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