Psychosocial Development in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence : A Handbook for Icehearts’ Educators

Abstract

Christian Bode. Psychosocial Development in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence: A Handbook for Icehearts’ Educators. Helsinki 2015, 157 pages plus appendices. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki. Degree Programme in Social Services. The aim of this study was to develop a handbook for Icehearts’ educators, a Finnish third sector organization for children and youth work, and for other educators and caregivers. The focus lies on major psychosocial development phases during middle childhood and adolescence. This study is a functional thesis. The thesis product is based on an adapted literature review method and on qualitative data analysis techniques for the analysis of literature. Various textbooks and scientific articles were used for the study. The handbook introduces a framework model for the psychosocial development, describes important theories and concepts, and highlights development processes per year of age. An information database developed for the literature review and the literature analyses complements the information in the handbook. The thesis product outlines various psychosocial development domains and proposes focus areas for future children and youth work. It is a platform for the development of training concepts for educators and it is a knowledge basis for further Icehearts’ studies on external influence factors during children’s and adolescents’ development.