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24 Jan 2018
Journal Article

Drivers of Human Development: How Relationships and Context Shape Learning and Development

David Osher, AIR
Pamela Cantor, Turnaround for Children; Harvard Graduate School of Education
Juliette Berg, AIR
Lily Steyer, Turnaround for Children
Todd Rose, Harvard Graduate School of Education; The Center for Individual Opportunity

This article was published online on January 24, 2018 in Applied Developmental Science.

Positive and negative developmental factors (e.g., stress, attunement, and support) can affect how individuals and contexts come together through relationships. The Developmental Systems Theories perspective offers a framework to integrate the underlying processes of neural malleability and plasticity with the dynamic relational interconnectedness of children and the adults with whom they interact in their social, cultural, and physical contexts. This framework leads to the view that children age as individuals, both in context and in culture, resulting in individual developmental pathways over their lifespans.

This article presents a picture of the macro- and micro-contexts that shape developing brains and their overall development. A companion article, Malleability, Plasticity, and Individuality: How Children Learn and Develop in Context, examines how children learn, change, and grow using the developmental systems theories framework.

Drivers of Human Development: How Relationships and Context Shape Learning and Development

Related Projects

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Image of teacher high-fiving a student
Project

The Potential of Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) to Transform Education Systems

The Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) initiative began in 2016 with a shared commitment to a better and more equitable education for each and every child—and a hypothesis that a synthesis of the knowledge from multiple disciplines could provide critical insights and solutions to persistent and growing inequity and underperformance in the U.S. education system. An overarching goal of all SoLD partnerships, projects, and practices is to support the effective learning, educational attainment, and positive development of all children.

Related Work

24 Jan 2018
Journal Article

Malleability, Plasticity, and Individuality: How Children Learn and Develop in Context

Recent decades have witnessed an explosion of knowledge about how children develop into whole individuals, how they become learners, and how contextual factors nourish or hinder their development. This article shows how a developmental system theories approach provides a framework for viewing the effects of multiple factors within micro- and macro-environments on the shaping of how children learn, change, and grow throughout their development.
Topic: 
Education, Social and Emotional Learning, Health
1 Jan 2017
Report

Science of Learning and Development: A Synthesis

Human development can be influenced by a myriad of factors that include individual, biological, contextual, cultural, and historical factors. By synthesizing research across multiple disciples, it is possible to develop new approaches aimed at solving chronic learning and social problems experienced by children and youth.
Topic: 
Education, Social and Emotional Learning, Health

Further Reading

  • Malleability, Plasticity, and Individuality: How Children Learn and Develop in Context
  • Science of Learning and Development: A Synthesis
  • The Potential of Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) to Transform Education Systems
  • Spotlight on the Science of Learning and Development
  • Identifying, Defining, and Measuring Social and Emotional Competencies
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David Osher

David Osher

Vice President and Institute Fellow
Juliette Berg

Juliette Berg

Senior Researcher

Topic

Education
Social and Emotional Learning
Health

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