Abstracts - Earli

KN1 229 August 2007 12:30 - 13:30Room: KonferenciaInvited PaperExploratory orientation: Motivation and identity processes in theservice of learning and developmentAvi Kaplan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelChair:Anastasia Efklides, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceExploration, or the "active search for information, its examination, and evaluation in a selfreflectivemanner" (Flum & Kaplan, 2006, p. 100), has been underscored by several psychologicalliteratures as a fundamental process which underlies adaptive learning and development. Forexample, the literatures concerned with adaptive attachment processes, identity formation, andcareer development all point to exploration as an essential process in growth, achievement, andwell-being. In this address, I will present the notion of "exploratory orientation" as an importantand desired educational goal (see Flum & Kaplan, 2006). We define exploratory orientation as theengagement in activities with the purpose of relating experiences to the self. I will describe thepsychological processes that are involved in and which characterize exploratory orientation, anddescribe the advantages of exploratory orientation in the education of youth in contemporarysocieties. I will then point to the overlap, but also to the contribution, of exploratory orientationover and beyond other important concepts associated with adaptive engagement including masterygoals orientation, self-determination, interest, and self-regulated learning. I will argue thatexploratory orientation goes beyond "positive" psychological concepts to encompass "constructivetension"—the facilitation of a constructive balance between positive and negative experiences—asa central adaptive mechanism for engagement in action and development of the self. Finally, I willdraw on socio-cultural perspectives and meaning-making processes in order to highlight someprinciples for facilitating exploratory orientation in school settings.– 247 –