How Youth Learn

The following information is excerpted from “Just the Fact: a Handbook for United Methodist Youth Ministries” by Michael L. Selleck. I thought it might give you some perspective on how you can reach youth in today's culture.

Adolescence is a normal phase of life, even though within most families the transition from childhood to young adulthood is noted by challenges that may be difficult for everyone in the family. Each youth will follow his or her own inner time schedule in the transition between childhood and young adulthood. Some youth may start maturing as early as age 10. Others may still be struggling to complete a specific developmental task at age 20. To develop a system of ministry that works with youth, it is necessary first to understand a youth's development. Early adolescence refers to middle or junior high youth (ages 10 to 13). Middle adolescence refers to senior high school youth (ages 14 to 16 or 17). Older adolescence refers to late senior high and college-age youth/young adults (ages 16 to the early 20s).

From infancy to old age, at specific times we learn a task that is instrumental for us to feel happy and successful at that stage. We learn to sit up, to crawl, to walk. Robert Havinghurst identified eight tasks of adolescence based upon his idea that each individual "learns his or her way through life." The completion of each task is a building block for the next developmental task.

For adolescents to successfully complete these "developmental tasks," growth and maturing take place in the following areas: physical, sexual, social, intellectual, emotional, moral, spiritual, self-identity, and psychological. Eight developmental tasks are noted below:

1. Meaningful friendships with both male and female peers.
2. Affirming one's feelings and comfortableness with sexuality.
3. Accepting one's physical body.
4. Building interdependent and intergeneratonal relationships.
5. Finding one's place in a world of relationships.
6. Preparing to live responsibly and independently.
7. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior — developing an ideology.
8. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior.

Having an understanding of the stages of adolescent behavior and developmental tasks can help leaders design ministries that are age-level appropriate and that provide significant opportunities for youth to grow in faith and to successfully master the developmental tasks they face.