Current perspectives in developmental science: Introduction to the special issue

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moin Syed
Keyword(s):  
Special Issue ◽  
Developmental Science

Resilience in the Context of Development: Introduction to the Special Issue

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1205-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Cutuli ◽  
Janette E. Herbers
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic System ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
New Work ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Developmental Principles ◽  
Resilience Science

As an introduction to this special issue, we define resilience as the capacity of a dynamic system to adapt successfully to threatening circumstances, and we briefly note the history of resilience studies as embedded within the broader field of developmental science. We then elaborate on four developmental principles central for the study of resilience and highlight the importance of early adolescence as a developmental period of particular opportunity for change. Finally, we introduce the five articles of this special issue, each of which presents exciting new work on resilience processes during early adolescence and speaks to aspects of core developmental principles of resilience science.

Acknowledging Bias and Pursuing Protections to Support Anti-Racist Developmental Science: Critical Contributions of Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 569-583
Author(s):  
Margaret Beale Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Systems Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Ecological Systems Theory ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
American Racism

American racism is deeply engrained in the nation’s ecology including its chronosystem and contributes to the nation’s unavoidably shared vulnerability. Interrogating an accurate portrayal of the nation’s history is informative for securing anti-racist research. This special issue commentary discusses the role of Spencer’s phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) as a means of providing an epistemic framing for disentangling and directly addressing the problem of structural racism in the conduct of science. Additionally it demonstrates the efficacy of PVEST and offers conclusions as opportunities for achieving anti-racist scholarship especially significant to adolescents’ well-being and the improved conduct of developmental science.

Doing Anti-Racist Scholarship With Adolescents: Empirical Examples and Lessons Learned

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-436
Author(s):  
Mariah Kornbluh ◽  
Leoandra Onnie Rogers ◽  
Joanna Lee Williams
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Development ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
Critical Qualitative Research ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Conducting Research

The goal of this two-part special issue is to present and engage theories and methods for pursuing anti-racist developmental science and to provide a critical self-evaluation of the field of adolescent development. The first volume in this series encompasses empirical-focused manuscripts that engage in doing anti-racist scholarship through critical methodological approaches (e.g., QuantCrit, Critical Qualitative Research, and Youth-Participatory Action Research) with opportunities for critical self-reflection for scholars, as well as centering research around adolescents who are systematically marginalized in scholarship within the field of adolescent development. In this introduction, we stress the value of engaging in anti-racist research within the field of developmental science and provide an overview of the articles, placing these manuscripts in conversation with one another and gleaning insights with respect to the who, what, how, and why of anti-racist developmental research with adolescents. This special issue intentionally features manuscripts that embrace plurality in methodology, exhibit an openness to challenging dominant research paradigms (i.e., intentionally rooting out racist ideologies, methods, and theories within the field), and place an introspective spotlight on the process of conducting research. We conclude by offering our collective considerations and points of reflection for pursuing anti-racist research.

scholarly journals What and How We See Matters: Critical Theories for Anti-Racist Adolescent Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 074355842110451
Author(s):  
Mariah Kornbluh ◽  
Leoandra Onnie Rogers ◽  
Joanna Lee Williams
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Development ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Critical Theories ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
The Status ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Multiple Ways Of Knowing

The second installment of the Special Issue “Critical Approaches to Adolescent Development: Reflections on theories and methods for pursuing anti-racist developmental science” focuses primarily on theory and the theoretical lenses that shape how we “see” adolescents. Such a focus is necessary for moving forward anti-racist adolescent research. Theories serve as starting points, establishing our assumptions about what we know, the place where we move from. We cannot “do” better research if we do not take stock of what we “know” and more critically “how” we know it. The authors in this issue do this with candor, clarity, and intentionality, offering us theoretical frames that identify, name, and destabilize the status quo. They offer us anti-racist lenses and language to (re)define what adolescence and adolescent development is and does—and what it ought to be. They present theories that embed action and activism, that move us—across disciplines, outside of academic spaces, and into spaces that are often silenced and invisible. They shift our vision from objective, white-centric knowledge to multiple ways of knowing. It is our hope that the contributions in this double Special Issue will change how we see and do research with adolescents, and also change us as scholars and humans.

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