ABSTRACT
Middle childhood (ages six to twelve) is a time “when most of all the child develops (or fails to develop) mastery of his environment” (Rutter, 1975, p. 86). It is characterized by the child’s increased involvement in the outside world (through school and other social activities) and the integration of intellectual and psychological capacities. Erikson refers to this stage as “industry vs. inferiority”; the child is ready for the “ ‘entrance into life,’ except that life must first be school life, whether school is field or jungle or classroom” (1963, p. 255). The child learns to master skills, and if unable to do this, will develop a sense of inferiority. In our country, the world of the latency-aged child centers around school, which “seems to be a culture all by itself, with its own goals and limits, its achievements and disappointment[s]” (Erickson, 1963, p. 256).
