Student assessment guide for chaplains and youth group leaders

The Goal Of Maturity  Student worksheet.

Dr. W.E. Andersen, former Lecturer in Education at the University of Sydney, has encouraged students to consider a more relational model for maturity:

"Persons are whole beings who develop, in their multi-faceted ways, whenever and wherever they are caught up in new relations either with aspects of themselves or the reality around them. To contribute to this development, then, it is just not feasible to concentrate on one facet. Just as architecture has come to consider the relevance to its design of every aspect of living within a building, so those who help in the building of persons must not be surprised when a variety of factors, related to personal development, confront them… Persons are also needy human beings whose nature is to be both active and responsive to the actions of others, and hence who were fashioned for participation in personal relationships with God and with fellow-humans. Further, they are inescapably orientated beings: that is, designed to become focussed about some centre, and to develop a life-view in accord with it; and they are creatures whose consciousness is a blend of thinking, feeling and doing. Though distinctive as individuals, and needing to develop a self-concept which is serviceable in all their relations, they flourish only within the solidarity of a family, or a family-like community. As they discern between persons and things, they become responsible for acting morally."   Andersen, W.E. (1983). A biblical view of education. Journal of Christian Education papers 77. pp. 22, 23.  

We can then perceive these factors as essential to maturity.

 

The Knowledge (Truth) factor

 The Love Factor

 The Relational Factor

 The Self-Concept Factor

 The Spiritual Factor

 The Purposefulness Factor

 The Resilience Factor

 

 

Archer (2012) notes that the spirituality of an adolescent can be divided into the following areas: Search for meaning; Understanding personal experience; The role of the individual; Understanding the existence & nature of God; Importance & role of family, community and media; Reception and acceptance of new ideas and concepts; Importance of accepting and keeping up with current trends; Discernment of ideas, concepts and emotions.

This list of concepts involved is similar to Andersen's list. It may be apparent that this thesis has been developing towards recognising that these seven factors of developing maturity are tied very closely to a sensus divinitaas ( a sense of the Divine Romans 1:18-32), an innate morality (Natural Law Theory .. Romans 2.) and a developing spirituality.  I believe the seven factors identified by Andersen may provide a cohesive framework for assessing students in their developmental stages as they handle difficult life crises that can either work for or hinder their personal development.

While presenting these items as individual factors, each factor works in cohesion with the other factors as a corporate whole entity, as people are whole entities. 

 

 

Factor	Psychological and Educational Philosophers	Assessment of student's involvement	Possible interventions	Assessment of effectiveness
Truth/Knowledge Factor	Adler	Does the student learn about their problems in order to develop?
The Relational Factor	Ron Laura	What are the student's relational networks and are they supportive of maturity and development?
Love factor	Ron Laura	Is the student portraying characteristics that are inward or outward focussed?
Self-concept Factor	Charles Taylor	Does the student understand their personal worth? How can worth be assessed for this student?
Spiritual Factor	Jung	Is the student learning to trust (God or others)?
Purposefulness Factor	Victor Frankl	Does the student give themselves manageable goals and tasks? What are they?
Resilience Factor	Erikson	What evidences are there of suitable management of crises and trials?