Erikson’s Stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion
“During adolescence, the transition from childhood to adulthood is most important. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. The individual wants to belong to a society and fit in.
“The fifth stage is identity vs. role confusion, and it occurs during adolescence, from about 12-18 years. During this stage, adolescents search for a sense of self and personal identity, through an intense exploration of personal values, beliefs, and goals. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of fidelity.
“Fidelity involves being able to commit one’s self to others on the basis of accepting others, even when there may be ideological differences.
“During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. Failure to establish a sense of identity within society (“I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”) can lead to role confusion. Role confusion involves the individual not being sure about themselves or their place in society.”
My commentary:
What Erikson says above is “big” for all middle and high school language teachers. Instead of first focusing merely on academic gains for a test and in fact in order to achieve those language gains, the place of the child in the society/classroom community must be clearly established by the conscious effort of the teacher to do so. If what Erikson posits as true, only then, only when the child knows that their role in the community, can they be expected to make gains academically.
It is the position of this author that that last sentence goes a long way in explaining why in our country we have to a very large degree failed our students at the middle and high school levels. By denying most of them a place in a community, we allow the few to take over, so how can the large percentage of the class be expected to behave in a loyal way to the classroom process desired by the instructor, since they neither trust nor have any sense of fidelity to their peers?
I believe that the best way to do address the virtues of competence and fidelity described in Erikson’s stages 4 and 5 is through the curriculum offered in ANATS and ANATTY.