Culture and human development blossomed as a research enterprise in the last quarter of the 20th century; the energy and innovation of that enterprise are less evident now. Where did it go, and where is it going? In this essay, we examine the shifting fields of cross-cultural psychology, psychological anthropology, cultural psychology, indigenous…

This article presents a new theory of talent development, evolving complexity theory (ECT), in the context of the changing theoretical directions as well as the landscape of gifted education. I argue that gifted education needs a new foundation that provides a broad psychosocial basis than what the notion of giftedness can afford. A focus on…

This study examined spirituality, personality, and psychosocial growth among 216 students at a small university in Maryland. Results demonstrated that faith maturity predicted unique variance in purpose in life. There was a main effect observed for gender among faith scores, as well as an interaction effect between gender and year in school among…

Historically, identity researchers have placed greater emphasis on processes of identity development ("how" people develop their identities) and less on the content of identity ("what" the identity is). The relative neglect of identity content may reflect the lack of a comprehensive framework to guide research. In this article,…

The study of human learning and development from situative or sociocultural perspectives has had significant impacts on a wide range of scholarship largely driven by the theoretical and methodological focus on understanding the role of "activity systems" in cognition and development. This article first explores how situative perspectives…

The range of cultural resources distributed along developmental pathways open to young persons as they frame the outlines of their own identities is not fixed, but inevitably varies across historical moments. The young lives most touched by such transitional circumstances arguably belong to those that find themselves growing up in times of…

Niche construction is the modification of components of the environment through an organism's activities. Humans modify their environments mainly through ontogenetic and cultural processes, and it is this reliance on learning, plasticity and culture that lends human niche construction a special potency. In this paper we aim to facilitate…

This is a narrative journey of a Blackfeet woman as she learned to help ethnic minority students navigate graduate training. The talk reflects the holistic, contextual, and interdependent characteristics of Native American culture blended with the culture of the West. Insights from working with horses are included because they have much to teach…

In this article, I focus on what can be termed "the domestication of the eye"--that is to say, the lengthy process during which we come to see and recognize things according to "efficient" cultural means. This is the process that converts the eye into a sophisticated intellectual organ--a "theoretician" as Marx put it. In particular, I focus on…

In this essay, it is argued that a general understanding of human development needs a unified framework based on evolutionary theorizing and cross-cultural and cultural anthropological approaches. An eco-social model of development has been proposed that defines cultural milieus as adaptations to specific socio-demographic contexts. Ontogenetic…

This essay reviews Vygotsky's work on defectology. First, Vygotsky's cultural heritage as a Jew during the transformation from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union is considered as a factor in his views on defectology and inclusion. The review then outlines his perspective on the "defect," including his definition of "defect," his view of the…

In this paper I explore the shared interest of John Dewey and Carl Jung in the developmental continuity between biological, psychological, and cultural phenomena. Like other first generation psychological theorists, Dewey and Jung thought that psychology could be used to deepen our understanding of this continuity and thus gain a degree of control…

This paper analyses the contribution to creativity, culture and community of disabled children provided by the work of the theatre company Oily Cart and their production "Something in the Air?" In the paper, we present a radical humanist conception of disability and creativity. In order to explore disability and creativity we focus on a…

How do people reason about issues related to child and youth development? Are the patterns of reasoning in the lay public significantly different from the way experts reason about the issue? What can the anthropological theory of cultural models bring to efforts to improve the public's understanding of child and youth development? In this article,…

As World War II spread across Europe, many leaders in work with troubled children and youth moved to North America. Deeply committed to democratic ideals, they pioneered new methods for building restorative relationships and positive group cultures. Their vision gave rise to a reclaiming youth movement that is transforming education and youth…