As research in child and adolescent development evolves, it becomes more possible to engage and meet the academic abilities of students with various learning abilities with evidence-based practice interventions. In an overview of over four decades’ worth of research in child and adolescent development, Luthar (2015) discusses the importance of resilience and protective factors, which apply to every single stage of development. The matrix serves as an ideal guide for developing ways to meet the needs of exceptional students through evidence-based practice. Using the matrix, educators can consider the wide range of biological, cultural, familial, and peer/school factors impacting development in the student populations they serve (Hamre, Hatfield, Pianta, et al., 2014).
Even though researchers have generally moved beyond a strict interpretation of developmental stages, developmental stages are the benchmarks by which disabilities of any type are assessed and measured. However, it is important to retain an approach to child and adolescent development that is not bound to pathology, which takes into account individual differences and offers a strengths-based approach. Educators can help students to locate sources of strength rather than to attempt to be exactly like their peers on measures that are deemed normative in the society. The only exception would be prosocial behaviors, which remain critical to teach.
Educators can use research to create appropriate instructional strategies and classroom management techniques that encourage prosocial behavior in all students (Hamre-Hatfield, Pianta, et al., 2014). Some students with disabilities may need additional supports that help with impulse control or emotional self-masgtery (Eisenberg, Spinrad & Knafo-Noam, 2015). The major concepts that have emerged in the research include those related to the stages of development, evidence-based practice techniques, and strategies used to motivate students to perform at their highest capacity.
References
Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., & Knafo?Noam, A. (2015). Prosocial development. Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, 1-47.
Hamre, B., Hatfield, B., Pianta, R., & Jamil, F. (2014). Evidence for general and domain?specific elements of teacher–child interactions: Associations with preschool children's development. Child development, 85(3), 1257-1274.
Luthar, S. S. (2015). Resilience in development: A synthesis of research across five decades. Developmental Psychopathology: Volume Three: Risk, Disorder, and Adaptation, 739-795.
