Patterns of Academic Development

Abstract

While the process of education is fundamentally a long term affair, educational research has found its most elegant expression in short term, almost momentary, studies.Although leaders have extolled the advantages of longitudinalstudies (Bloom, 1964;Dearborn and Rothney, 1963) research methodology has focused upon latitudinal studies.Lazarsfeld and Sieber (1964) have described this incongruous state of affairs by contrasting social bookkeeping, the application of known relationships to managerial problems, with research, a quest for a better understanding of relationships.It would be improper to conclude that the two activities are entirely independent.In fact, it seems reasonable that a symbiotic relationship must exist between them. Educational PatternsDespite the obvious need for continuity in education and for longitudinal studies, school records have provided neither the needed managerial memory nor the foundation for managerial planning.A part of the problem arises from the nature of school records and their keeping; another part is a reflection of the lack of adequate models for analyzing longitudinal data. As a result, research on the long term patterns of academic development is at best difficult.An unpleasant corollary is that much of what is known about the patterning of academic development is presumed rather than proven.Evidence on the very existence of such popular characters as the "underachiever," the late-bloomer," or the"straight A" student is not overwhelming. These academic types seem to exist more as rare examples of ideal types rather than as major classifications for which educational programs should be designed.In fact, it has been said that they will be found more often in the literature than in the classroom(Kowitz and Armstrong, In press).