The Impact of Social Advancement on Erikson's Theory of Development

This report examines the relationship between Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, particularly the Industry vs. Inferiority stage, and the practice of social advancement in education. It explores how children's self-esteem and psychological development are affected by grade promotion and the encouragement they receive. The paper highlights that children's peer group gain significance and become a major source of self-esteem. The report concludes that social advancement is crucial for encouraging students to achieve their goals. The report also mentions the role of teachers and the importance of encouragement for children within the context of the Erikson's theory. The work also references relevant research on the topic.

Running head: PRACTICE OF SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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PRACTICE OF SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT
Introduction:
To shape a child into a responsible adult, a school has an immense contribution. This
paper will focus on Erickson‘s theory of psychological development, especially to the Industry
vs. Inferiority stage to provide the idea of Erikson on social advancement.
Discussion:
Industry vs. Inferiority stage is the fourth stage of Erikson which occurs in between the
age of five to twelve (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). The children of this age are in school and they
learn to read and write along with doing sums and teachers play a crucial role in the development
of the child. Moreover, in this stage, children’s peer group gain greater significance and become
a major source of self-esteem for them. In this stage children seek approval by demonstrated
specific competencies which are valued by the society and consequently, they begin to develop
a sense of pride because of the accomplishment (Kerpelman & Pittman, 2018). Some school
system practice social advancement which is regardless of the student’s ability to master the
grade level, they would be promoted to the next grade. According to Erikson, in the stage
discussed above, if the student is encouraged by promoting to the next grade, they begin to feel
industrious and feel confident about their ability to achieve goals. If they are not encouraged by
social advancement, then they would feel inferior and it would affect their psychological
development (Knight, 2017).
Conclusion:
Thus, it can be concluded that social advancement is crucial for the student which would
encourage them to achieve the desired goal they want to achieve.

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PRACTICE OF SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT

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PRACTICE OF SOCIAL ADVANCEMENT
References:
Dunkel, C. S., & Harbke, C. (2017). A review of measures of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial
development: Evidence for a general factor. Journal of Adult Development, 24(1), 58-76.
Kerpelman, J. L., & Pittman, J. F. (2018). Erikson and the relational context of identity:
Strengthening connections with attachment theory. Identity, 18(4), 306-314.
Knight, Z. G. (2017). A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik
Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Clinical psychology &
psychotherapy, 24(5), 1047-1058.