Toshiaki Shirai

This article reviews studies concerning development during childhood and adolescence published between July 2011 and June 2012. First, we examine studies of cognitive development and language development by focusing on the topics of reading/writing, pragmatics in oral communication, critical thinking, and development of operational thinking. Second, by investigating the studies of children's development in social relationships, we highlight the importance of understanding the presupposition and limitation of the quantitative methods that are salient in these studies. Third, we review studies of adolescents' social development that discuss the dynamics of development in socio-cultural contexts, including various daily activities. Finally, we introduce the theoretical inquiries regarding developmental stages that were published in a special issue of the Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology as a remarkable accomplishment in the developmental psychology in Japan.

The object of this paper is to examine the methodology of empirical research of Critical Psychology by introducing Osterkamp (2009) and Fahl and Markard (1999). I have made some comments; First, since they introduce Leont'ev's functional-historical reconstruction into their idea as the foundation, they are able to understand how self-determination and determining the conditions which determine our own feelings, thoughts, and actions are mutually mediated and, at the same time, this process is also mediated by the social power relations. Second, they concern a practice as relevance of fact and value, which Mantaro Kido also concerns in Japan. Third, a question is arisen how their view points can connect with the issue of time since a perspective of "time" also can contribute to an analysis of the process without attributing to trait or ability.