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Why do we do
what we do?
by Ruth A. Wilson
Most of us in the field of early childhood education pour a great deal of
thought, energy, and enthusiasm into
what we do. If asked why we invest so
much in our profession, we’re likely to
list a number of reasons: we love
children and enjoy being around them;
we sincerely care about their welfare;
and we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in helping children grow and
develop.
According to a social development
theory proposed by Erik Erikson (1950,
1959), we may also be motivated by
something called ‘generativity’ — that
is, a concern for the next generation.
Our work, as early childhood educators,
focuses on nurturing and guiding the
healthy development of young people.
While we certainly enjoy the ‘now’ of
being with children, we also realize that
our work can help them enjoy a happier
Dr. Ruth Wilson has been a teacher, teacher
educator, and consultant in early childhood
education for over 30 years. She currently
devotes most of her time to developing
curriculum in the area of environmental
education for young children. Most recently,
Dr. Wilson worked as a curriculum writer for California’s
Education and Environment Initiative and as a consultant with
Sesame Street in planning environmental programs for young
children. Dr. Wilson has published several books and
numerous articles. Her most recent book is Nature and Young
Children: Encouraging Creative Play and Learning in Natural
Environments (Routledge, 2008). Dr. Wilson can be contacted
at [email protected].
and more successful life in the future.
We probably realize, as well, that what
we do can make the world a better place
for future generations.
Stages of
psychosocial development
Erikson’s theory is built around the idea
that healthy individuals progress
through eight different stages of psychosocial development during their lifetime. Five of these stages cover the
childhood years — from birth to the
early twenties. One stage occurs during
young adulthood (mid-twenties to midforties), one during middle adulthood
(mid-forties to mid-sixties), and one in
later life (mid-sixties and onwards).
With each stage, comes a specific ‘challenge’ relating to self identity. If the
challenge is handled well, the person
emerges feeling competent; if handled
Stage
Focus
poorly, the individual experiences a
sense of inadequacy. Thus, the potential for both personal growth and a
sense of failure are inherent in each
stage of development.
The ‘challenge’ associated with each
psychosocial stage is sometimes
referred to as the crisis or conflict to be
resolved. The challenge or crisis, however, is not considered a catastrophe,
but a turning point — which, if managed in a healthy way — allows one to
experience the immediate positive outcome of a successful resolution and to
move on to further personal growth.
The following table presents a listing of
Erikson’s stages along with the specific
focus, challenge, and approximate age
range associated with each stage. The
‘specific focus’ relates to the potential
positive outcome, while the ‘challenge’
Challenge
Approx. Age
1
Hope
Trust vs. Mistrust
Birth to 1 Year
2
Will Power and Self Control
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
2 to 4 Years
3
Purpose and Direction
Initiative vs. Guilt
4 to 6 Years
4
Competence and Method
Industry vs. Inferiority
7 to 13 Years
5
Fidelity and Devotion
Identity vs. Role Confusion
14 to 24 Years
6
Love and Affiliation
Intimacy vs. Isolation
25 to 45 Years
7
Care and Production
Generativity vs.Stagnation
45 to 65 Years
8
Wisdom
Ego Identity vs. Despair
65 and onwards
Reprinted with permission from Exchange magazine.
Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864.
Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request.
reflects the struggle an individual faces
during a particular stage.
While the way the ‘challenge’ for each
stage is presented may suggest an
‘either-or’ resolution, Erikson did not
believe that the healthy resolution of a
challenge should always fall on the
positive side. Elements of the negative
end of the conflict are often inevitable
— and sometimes healthy. For example, when it comes to Trust vs. Mistrust (as in Stage 1), it’s not healthy to
trust all people under all circumstances. Nonetheless, in the healthy
solution to a ‘challenge,’ the positive
resolution dominates.
It should be noted also that Erikson
believed that the ‘challenge’ of each
stage occurs throughout an individual’s lifetime in one form or another.
His theory involves stages or phases
only because it is at specific times that
certain conflicts or challenges become
most prominent. It’s understandable
that some academic debate raises the
question as to whether or not Erikson’s
stages must be regarded as sequential
and only occurring within the age
ranges he suggests. Also understandable is debate around the question of
whether or not one stage needs to be
resolved before other stages can be
completed. We can keep these debates
in mind as we continue the discussion
about generativity and the possible
role it plays in the lives of those who
have chosen early childhood education
as their profession.
Generativity
Generativity is the positive side of
Stage 7, usually occurring during
middle adulthood (45-65 years of age).
Generativity might be recognized, at
first, as a widening circle of care and
concern. In our earlier years — from
childhood and through young adulthood — we tend to define ourselves in
relation to people in our more immedi-
ate circle, such as parents, siblings,
friends, teachers, peers, and perhaps
even authority figures. As we move into
the Generative Age (middle adulthood),
however, our concern reaches out to a
wider circle of people, and we begin to
define ourselves in relation to humanity.
Generativity may also manifest itself as a
desire to produce something in our lifetime that has real value, something that
will make the world a better place for
others. This desire may result in creating
or nurturing things that will outlast us.
For some, generativity includes a desire
to share our knowledge with both current and future generations. This may be
especially true for parents and teachers.
John Kotre, author of the book Make it
Count (1999), describes generativity as a
feeling of mattering, of creating lasting
value, and of passing your very self on
to others. Kotre also describes generativity as “creativity between the generations” and introduces the Japanese term
“sedai-keisho-sei” in reference to this
concept. As he explains, “sedai” means
“the generations,” “keisho” means something like “receiving and putting your
stamp on,” and “sei” means “the sense
of.” Generativity and the creativity it
entails, Kotre says, involves receiving
something from the past, creating something out of it, and passing it on to the
future.
Becoming generative, however, doesn’t
always “just happen.” It is, after all, the
positive resolution of a challenge:
“Generativity vs. Stagnation.” The negative resolution (stagnation) of this challenge is also possible. Kotre (1999) suggests that different forms of competition
may get in the way of generativity. He
cites misguided efforts to achieve selfactualization and self-fulfillment as
examples. These efforts are called ‘misguided’ because the path to authentic
self-fulfillment is in helping others — not
in seeking what is best for self. As recognized by psychologist Abraham Maslow
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(1943, 1967), one characteristic of selfactualized individuals is their focus on
problems outside of themselves. With
generativity, we see that the focus isn’t
on self, but on others.
One expression of generativity is assisting the younger generation in developing and leading productive, meaningful
lives now and in the future. However,
expressions of generativity aren’t limited to teaching, parenting, or mentoring. Generativity can be expressed in
many other ways, as well, including
restoring land, starting a community
garden, and working to reduce homelessness in a community. In fact, there
are many forms of socially-valued work
that can be motivated by generativity.
Erikson (1950) suggested that everything generated that can outlive the self
and that can make a positive contribution to society’s continuity and improvement can be an expression of generativity. This contribution might be in the
form of well-adjusted children, constructive ideas, useful products, and
works of art.
Stage 7 and 8 resolutions
Generativity represents the successful
resolution of Stage 7 of psychosocial
development and leads to feelings of
usefulness and accomplishment. Stagnation, on the other hand, represents failure at this stage and results in dissatisfaction and shallow involvement in the
world. With stagnation come feelings of
having done little or nothing to help the
next generation. Added to this are feelings of being unproductive, sluggish, or
depressed. This is generally accompanied by a sense of inertia and the
impression that one’s life isn’t going
anywhere. With stagnation also comes a
lack of enthusiasm and vitality for life.
While generativity offers its own
rewards, the successful resolution of
Stage 7 also prepares the way for positive outcomes during Stage 8, where the
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challenge is Ego Integrity vs. Despair.
During this final stage of one’s life,
older adults often have a need to look
back on their lives, searching for a sense
of fulfillment. If they can see a life well
spent, the individual experiences feelings of satisfaction and achieves ego
integrity. However, if the result of
Stage 7 is stagnation, the older adult
is more likely to experience doubt or
gloom during Stage 8. This may lead
to feelings of despair during the final
stages of one’s life.
If we focus on generativity during our
middle adult years and — as early
childhood educators — learn to appreciate the role it can play in our work, we
have every reason to be optimistic
about late adulthood. Generativity can
help us experience a deeply satisfying
and productive life, both now and in the
future.
Summary
As educators, we may be familiar with
the different psychosocial stages associated with childhood and may have even
intentionally guided children in resolving the related challenges. However, we
may not have given much thought to
the challenges related to our own stages
of psychosocial development. Some of
us — especially if we’ve been in the
field of early childhood education for a
number of years — may have reached
middle adulthood by now and the
psychosocial challenge of Generativity
vs. Stagnation. If we’re resolving this
challenge successfully, we’re probably
feeling that what we do will make a
positive contribution to the next generation — and this may be highly motivating for us.
We may also be experiencing a healthy
integration of our professional and personal lives — where what we do professionally is what we value personally.
The poet/philosopher Rumi encouraged
such integration when he said, “Let the
beauty we love be what we do.” These
words, I believe, can be used to deepen
our understanding and appreciation of
early childhood education as our chosen
profession. Rumi’s words and an understanding of generativity may also help
us explain — at least to ourselves —
why we’re willing to invest so much
time, thought, and energy into what we
do. Perhaps this understanding can also
help us in our quest to live “an undivided life” — that is, a life of authenticity in which ‘soul and role’ are fully
aligned (Palmer, 1999, 2004).
Concluding thoughts
Erikson suggests that Generativity vs.
Stagnation is one of the challenges we,
as individuals, face during our lifetime.
Could it be that this same challenge is
something that we, as a society, face? If
so, and if we can resolve this challenge
on the positive side, we may find that
generativity is the fuel we need to create
a society devoted to making a better
world for future generations.
Perhaps the place to start in creating
this ‘better world’ is with a “belief in the
species” — the conviction that humans
can work for a goal greater than themselves and for a future that they will not
personally participate in or gain from.
According to Erikson (1950, 1959), this
“belief in the species” — even in the
face of human greed and selfishness —
is a primary motivator of generative
action.
Perhaps we need the wisdom that
results from a successful resolution of
Stage 8 to truly understand the power
of generativity, but we don’t have to
wait until late adulthood to ponder this
potential. We can welcome generativity
into our lives right now and feel confident that what it motivates us to do will
make positive contributions towards a
more just and peaceful world that we
personally will never see. Yet, we, as
early childhood educators, can be proud
of the role we play in this process.
References
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and
society. New York: Norton.
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the
life cycle. New York: International
Universities Press.
Kotre, J. (1999). Make it count. New York:
Free Press.
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and
personality. New York: Harper.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of
human motivation. Psychological Review,
50(4), 370-396.
Palmer, P. (2004). A hidden wholeness. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Palmer, P. (1999). Let your life speak.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.