ABSTRACT

A central theme throughout childhood is "becoming"- becoming less childlike, less dependent, and less naive while simultaneously becoming more skilled, more knowledgeable, and more cooperative. The foundations for lifelong learning are established as children develop abilities to select and direct their own behavior. Schooling fosters these accomplishments because it enculturates children into progressively larger spheres of society, with each new level providing more challenges and more responsibilities. Schooling encompasses socialization processes as well as the cognitive acquisition of knowledge; it includes the "hidden curriculum" attained by students as well as the explicit curriculum taught by teachers and educational materials. The focus in this chapter is student centered because we want to examine children developing within the context of schools. In particular, we examine how they acquire learning strategies and motivational orientations that help them become successful students. It is the intersection of maturation and learning, of development and education, that defines critical themes of becoming and that undergirds many issues in educational psychology, practice, and policy.