Arguably, today, with the development of genetic research, and more sophisticated appreciations of the self, the focus is rather more on gene-environment interaction. This ties in to all those rather fruitless nature-nurture debates that were especially prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s. There has been a tendency to focus on what is going on inside the individual with a corresponding lack of appreciation of inter-personal or social forces and dynamics (see selfhood). The concern here with intra-individual change does highlight a problem in some of the literature. Systematic, organized, intra-individual change that is clearly associated with generally expectable age-related progressions and which is carried forward in some way that has implications for a personвЂ™s pattern or level of functioning at some later time However, each of these notions is still borne of a particular historical moment and culture вЂ“ and there are distinct problems in thinking of them as universals.Д«uilding on these elements Rutter and Rutter (1992: 64) use the following as a working definition of development in relation to humans: Some writers have tried to find a way around this by turning to endpoints like adulthood, individuality, inner unity, self-actualization and so on. Furthermore, вЂmaturityвЂ™ is something that is presumably demonstrated in action вЂ“ and what may be appropriate behaviour in one setting or situation is not in another. While it may be possible to get some agreement about where physical growth stops, how are we to approach personality development? What may be maturity to one person or culture, may be nothing of the sort to another. In terms of human development the notion commonly used here is вЂmaturityвЂ™. More than that it is frequently linked to an unfolding, a movement toward a certain fixed point. Third, in common usage developmental often refers to growth, to a progression through certain stages. The feeling of satiety after a good meal clearly involves change, but no one would see that as developmentalвЂ¦ Reference to lasting change does not provide a satisfactory solution, because some alterations that are obviously developmental may have no long term consequences they serve their purposes at the time but they leave no lasting imprintвЂ¦ On the other hand some degree of carry-forward would seem to be necessary for most aspects of development. However, development is not change of any kind. How is it that a person moves from this state to that? A second aspect is that this change is understood to have a permanent or lasting impact, or at least having some degree of вЂ carry-forwardвЂ. As a result an interest in development leads one to a concern for transitions. How are we to define development? The first and obvious element is change вЂ“ that development involves movement from one state to another. What difference does having been through a greater range of things make?ДЄ further interest is that if there are some qualities that are uniquely youthful or adult, there may be implications for the sort of learning environments that could, and should, be fostered вЂ“ and what subject matter should be attended to. experiences вЂ“ does the accumulation of experience change things.situations вЂ“ do they find themselves in different circumstances to other age groups?.process вЂ“ do adults think differently? (This is what came to the centre of KnowlesвЂ™ theory of andragogy).In the case of the latter, for example, we might look to possibilities around: If this can be done then the grounds exist for the establishment of specialisms such as youth work and adult education or learning. gender, culture and political convenience ДЇor adult educators, youth workers and those concerned with lifelong learning one of the great attractions of the literature examining life course development is that it may identify qualities or problems that are the distinctive property of young people and adults.But what is development? Are there particular stages that we pass through in our life course? They are self-evidently concerned with the development of people. вЂDevelopmentвЂ™ is one of those familiar concepts that seeps almost unnoticed into the conversations of educators. Lifespan development and lifelong learning.

Six major lifespan development theories