What are the key developmental tasks for a school-age child?
A young school-age child is in Piaget’s (1952) preoperational stage, whereas an older school-age child (ages 7 to 12) is in the concrete operations stage. The child in the concrete operations stage is beginning to learn inductive reasoning and concrete problem solving. Freud’s (1946) psychoanalytical theory places the school-age child in the latency stage. During this stage, children identify with their same-sex parent and begin to compare their abilities with their peers. Erikson’s (1974) psychosocial theory places the school-age child in the stage of industry versus inferiority. The primary tasks the child faces during this stage are developing industry (sense of productivity), self-assurance, and self-esteem. The school-age child is in the conventional level, mutual expectations, relationships, and conformity to moral norms stage of Kohlberg’s moral judgment theory. The child places emphasis on “the need to be good” and believes in adhering to rules and regulations.
