M. Carolyn Clark & Rosemary S. Caffarella 
An Update on Adult Development Theory 
New Ways of Thinking About the Life Course: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, Number 84

Our approach to adult learners and the learning process is shaped by our knowledge of how adults change and develop across the life span. This issue of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education reviews the latest work in adult developmental theory in the biological, psychological, sociocultural, and integrated domains, and explores the implications of this work for adult education. Chapters examine how g Ander, race, and sexual orientation affect our sense of self; explore spiritual development and theories of aging; and offer a way of understanding development in terms of how people use narrative to organize and make meaning of their experiences.This is the 84th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Adult and Continuing Development.

Table of Content

1. Theorizing Adult Development (M. Carolyn Clark, Rosemary S.Caffarella).

2. Our Complex Human Body: Biological Development Explored(Vivian W. Mott).

3. Psychological Development: Becoming a Person (Patricia M.Reeves).

4. GAnder Development and GAndered Adult Development (Jovita M.Ross-Gordon).

5. Racial and Ethnic Identity and Development (Alicia Fedelina Chavez, Florence Guido-Di Brito).

6. The Development of Sexual Identity (Kathleen Edwards, Ann K.Brooks).

7. Development as Separation and Connection: Finding a Balance(Kathleen Taylor).

8. Time as the Integrative Factor (Sharan B. Merriam).

9. Understanding Adult Development as Narrative (Marsha Rossiter).

10. The Spiritual Dimensions of Adult Development (Elizabeth J.Tisdell).

11. Development and Learning: Themes and Conclusions (Rosemary S. Caffarella, M. Carolyn Clark).

About the author

M. CAROLYN CLARK is associate professor of adult education at Texas A&M University, College Station.

ROSEMARY S. CAFFARELLA is professor of educational leadership atthe University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.