ABSTRACT
Middle childhood is one of the least studied and yet one of the most exciting periods of life. Imagine a 5-year-old girl going to kindergarten for her first day of formal school Now imagine this same girl at 12 years when she goes to secondary school At 5 years, she is a cute child still anxious about separating from her parents as they leave her at the school By 12, she will have grown into a young woman with secondary sex characteristics. In some populations, she will already have begun dating and she certainly will have begun menstruating in most American populations. In addition to start ing school she is likely to have experienced other institutional settings without her parents, settings in which she will be exposed to a variety of peers and adults as wrell as many opportunities learn new skills. Each of these new institutional settings (e.g., primary school, scouting, recreational programs, music lessons, etc.) will provide her with a series of new life experiences-experiences that will en courage the development of intellectual and interpersonal competencies, and introduce the child to new7 social roles in wiiich status is conferred based upon competence and performance (e.g., Higgins & Parsons, 1983).
