Havighurst’s Developmental Stage and Tasks

Robert James Havighurst was born in June 5, 1900. He was a professor physics educator and expert on aging. He attended public school in Wisconsin and Illinois. He obtained a B.A from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1921.Also he wrote several books and published many papers. His best-know book called “Human development and education” He died in January 1991 at Richmond, Indiana in the age of 90.

Havighurst development tasks

Are the array of skills and ability that human being across their lifetimes. His theory mediates between natural, seemingly innate development and development supported or required by other people in person’s life, it focuses on the accomplishment of person usually make during a given period of time, for example adolescents experience significant change in their bodies during puberty, both the mind and the body change because of new hormones pumping through the blood stream and new cognitive capabilities.
Young adolescents find themselves thinking new thoughts having new desires and having an essentially new body to get used to.

Robert Havighurst emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life span. Growth and development occurs in six stages.

The following are the Havighurst’s stages of Developmental task

Stage 1: Developmental tasks of infancy and early childhood (Birth- 6 Years).

This stage has got seven tasks as follows;
⦁ -Learning to walk.
⦁ -Learning to take solid foods.
⦁ -Learning to talk.
⦁ -Learning to control the elimination of body wastes.
⦁ -Learning sex differences and sexual modesty.
⦁ -Forming concept and learning language to describe social and physical reality.
⦁ -Getting read y to read.

Stage 2: Middle Childhood (6-13 Years)

This is the second stage of Havighursts development theory which also gets the following tasks.
⦁ -Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games.
⦁ -Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism.
⦁ -Learning to get along with age- mates.
⦁ -Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role.
⦁ -Developing fundamental skills in reading writing and calculating.
⦁ -Developing concept necessary for everyday living.
⦁ -Developing conscience, morality and a scale of values.
⦁ -Achieving personal independence.
⦁ -Developing attitude toward social groups and institutions.

Stage 3: Developmental tasks of Adolescence (13-18 Years)

⦁ -Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
⦁ -Achieving a masculine or feminine social role.
⦁ -Accepting ones physique and using the body effectively.
⦁ -Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults.
⦁ -Preparing for marriage and family life preparing for an economic career.
⦁ -Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior, developing an ideology.
⦁ -Designing and achieving socially responsible behavior

Stage 4: Developmental tasks of Early Adulthood (19-30 Years).

⦁ -Selecting a mate
⦁ -Achieving a masculine or feminine social role.
⦁ -Learning to live with a marriage partner.
⦁ -Starting a family.
⦁ -Rearing children.
⦁ -Managing a home.
⦁ -Getting started in an occupation.
⦁ -Taking a civic responsibility.
⦁ -Finding a congenial social group.

Stage 5: Developmental tasks of Middle Age (30-60 Years).

⦁ -Achieving adult civic which social responsibility.
⦁ -Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living.
⦁ -Assisting teenage children to become responsible which in happy adults.
⦁ -Developing adult leisure- time activities.
⦁ -Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person.
⦁ -Accepting and adjusting to the physiologic changes or middle age.
⦁ -Adjusting to aging parents.

Stage 6: Developmental tasks of Later Maturity (60 Years and over).

⦁ -Adjusting to retirement and reduced income.
⦁ -Adjustment to decreasing physical strength and health.
⦁ -Adjusting to death of a spouse.
⦁ -Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age group.
⦁ -Meeting social and civil obligations.
⦁ -Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangement.

Through the stages of children the Robert Havinghuts emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life span.
Even in our current Tanzania, This stage of Robert has been practice in the development of the children.

For stance in the theory of development tasks of infancy and early childhood, every child must be learning the following tasks such leaning to walks, learning to take solid foods, learning to talk and learning to control the elimination of body wastes.
Also in the care of developmental tasks of adolescence on the different way example to achieve new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes.

Another thing which practice in lumens Tanzania are children to achieved emotional independence of parents and other adults, This means a children understand well he/herself to know his or her parents other adult examine through the treatment, When you treat a person who are aged than one is different than treatment of the age levels