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This paper explores the development of social competence by examining examples of research interviews conducted with 35 British undergraduate students on work placements. Work placement schemes are a characteristic of contemporary higher education, which is particularly geared towards students’ development of employability and transferable skills. Among these skills is that of social competence which is often taken for granted as emerging from normative adult developmental processes. Research on social competence is mostly confined to developmental psychology and focused on studying children and adolescents in their social settings. Moreover, the methodology of social competence is often developed from a child-developmental perspective, neglecting the situation-specific development beyond childhood. The paper argues that social competence is examinable as situated discursive practice and that it is essential to understanding career development. Membership categorisation analysis identifies the participant’s fluid positioning in narrating experiences of work and university. Lastly the paper addresses implications for theories of development and learning and considers ways in which this study can be expanded in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a normative pedagogical model that integrates leadership theory, student development, and cognitive/ego development. The first step, assessment of students' developmental stage/needs, uses a developmental model to assess students' developmental and motivational needs. The second step, selection of teaching style, incorporates leadership literature to develop teaching styles selected based on the developmental and motivational needs of students. The third step in the continuous process, evaluation of outcomes, involves assessment of either continued development and/or increased student motivation and improved student learning. Research and teaching implications of the proposed model are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on leadership program participants' experience of, and readiness for, stage transition (when one adult developmental stage gives way to another-as in Loevinger's (Ego development. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, ) stage theory of consciousness, or ego, development). This appears to be the first study reporting the subjective experience of recent shifts in consciousness specifically within the context of leadership development programs. Using qualitative thematic methods to analyse survey responses from 84 individuals graduating from three Australian community leadership programs, we compared the accounts of those who had shifted a stage of consciousness ('shifters'), those who had changed but not transitioned ('movers'), and those who had not experienced change ('non-shifters'). We found support for theoretical predictions concerning the types of changes shifters noticed in themselves, consistent with the small but growing body of research showing positive associations between consciousness development and better leadership performance and organisational outcomes. The data additionally provide support for the conceptual framework of consciousness development articulated by Manners and Durkin (Dev Rev 20:475-513, . doi:), and contextual information which may help explain and predict the differing responses to leadership training of people with Myers Briggs Type Indicator Sensing and Intuition preferences-thus contributing to program selection and design. An important, if preliminary, finding was that when selecting candidates for developmental training programs, people who are experiencing significant work or other life changes and challenges should arguably be prioritised rather than sidelined: our shifters cited such challenges as influences promoting readiness for change. Although these conclusions are based on an analysis of survey data, they provide direction for future in-depth qualitative and quantitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has demonstrated that males outperform females in mathematics (Hyde, J. S., Fennema, E., & Lamon, S. J., Psychol Bull 107:139–155, ). Research has also shown that encouraging mindful learning–learning information in a conditional rather than an absolute way–can increase mathematics performance in females (Ritchhart, R., & Perkins, D. N., J Social Issues 56:27–47, ). This paper examines the moderating role of mindful learning for gender differences, by manipulating mindful learning for females’ and males’ performance on a novel math task. The results from this study show that males performed better than females when mindful learning was not encouraged (absolute instruction), but males and females performed equally well when mindful learning was encouraged (conditional instruction). Thus we find that mindful learning moderates gender differences in math performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a series of five studies conducted between the year 1994 and the year 2000. A common goal shared by all five studies is to validate the Perry scheme as measured by the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory. Involved in the studies were 2,269 (937 males, 1321 females, and 11 did not indicate gender) students from 12 universities in three cultures. All research participants responded to the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory. Participants from one of the studies also responded to the Study Process Questionnaire. Still, participants from another one of the studies also responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory. Three of the major findings are: (1) the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory has reasonably good reliability and good internal and external validity, (2) the cognitive-developmental pattern of the mainland Chinese students was opposite to that described by Perry, and (3) the cognitivedevelopmental pattern described by Perry was not identified in either of the two U.S. samples. Recommendations were made as they relate to future studies using the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, established adulthood (ages 30–45) often represents the most intense and demanding years of adult life. During this time, most individuals settle into adult roles and responsibilities, negotiating the intersecting demands of work and family obligations. While discrete topics relevant to this period have been investigated by developmental scientists, the subjective experience of established adulthood as a whole remains largely overlooked. In the present study, we aim to provide the foundation for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of established adulthood by interviewing participants (n = 127) aged 30–45 from across the United States about the nature of their current lived experience. In general, participants described the Experience of Established Adulthood as a time of establishing their adulthood, stability, changes in priorities, and shifting perceptions of time. They also noted a number of Responsibilities and Commitments, describing an increase in obligations, and feeling a "career and care crunch. Participants also reported experiencing Evolution, noting that they continued to grow and learn, explore their beliefs and values, and make course corrections as needed. Finally, participants described Actualization in terms of gained wisdom, self-understanding, self- confidence, and life satisfaction. Taken together, our results suggest that established adults in the USA face challenges and opportunities distinct from those faced during emerging adulthood or midlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate what appears to be a grounding assumption in some adult developmental and educational research: persons of differing epistemologies who are grouped together will understand one another less well than persons who are grouped homogeneously. A robust effect is discussed within the context of adult development theory, research on collaborative learning groups, and Bruffee's social constructionist challenge (K. A. Bruffee, 1993) to Perry and to cognitive development theory. Collateral research questions relating to covariates of developmental position (according to the Perry scheme) are entertained; confirmatory qualitative data are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this Special European Issue is to investigate some topical aspects of recent research on adult development in Europe. More specifically, the issue offers a detailed discussion of questions involved in complex forms of adult cognition, scientific thinking, responses to the demands of everyday life, the effects of various life events on well-being, and the construction of an integrated model of the cognitive, social, and personality domains. Theo- retically, the articles are based on various viewpoints such as the neo-Piagetian perspectives on thinking, although others have connections with the Vygotskian approach to learning. In conclusion, we assert that the developmental processes of adulthood should always be viewed multidimensionally, contextually, and holistically, as the articles themselves clearly demonstrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between an adult's learning capabilities and an organization's learning and adaptation is highlighted in this study of workers in a new training program. Studies have found that worker productivity differences are rooted in psychological factors. The most successful firms have supportive workplace psychologies that foster perspective transformation, yield high productivity, high involvement, high job satisfaction, low cost, and high profits. This study suggests the importance of workers having a whole-organization perspective. The findings of this study are generalizable to other organizations making the transition from training to learning in which individuals learn to continuously grow, develop, and problem solve to the benefit of all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]