Theory Development in Human Development: A Synthesis for 2000 and Beyond.

For the field of human development, the synthesis of older theories of the environment, newer context theories, biological theories, and systems theories permit the generation of new models for the developmental process. This paper reviews, compares, and contrasts recent theories of development and presents a synthesis that can guide future research and practice. The paper describes development from a systems perspective (environmental, ecological, and biological factors that affect development), and in terms of control and operating systems, and then as a series of overlapping programs. Finally, the paper presents a general model for prediction of developmental status, considers its similarities and differences to other models, and the model's advantages and disadvantages. Contains 75 references. (TM) ******************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************