Implications of Developmental Psychology for Elementary School Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

Silvia Shalehati; Yeni Karneli

doi:10.58737/jpled.v6i3.1317

Authors

Silvia Shalehati Universitas Negeri Padang
Yeni Karneli Universitas Negeri Padang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58737/jpled.v6i3.1317

Keywords:

Developmental Psychology, Elementary School Learning, Cognitive Development, Social-Emotional Development, Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the implications of developmental psychology on the learning process in elementary schools through the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method. Developmental psychology plays an important role in helping teachers understand students’ characteristics according to their stages of cognitive, social-emotional, motivational, and self-regulation development in elementary education. However, in practice, the learning process still tends to focus primarily on academic achievement, while students’ psychological development aspects have not been fully considered in classroom instruction. This study employed the Systematic Literature Review method using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) stages. Articles were collected from Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ERIC databases with publication years ranging from 2020 to 2026. Based on the article selection process, 18 relevant articles were included in this study. The findings indicate that cognitive development, social-emotional development, learning motivation, and self-regulation significantly influence students’ learning engagement, thinking skills, social interaction, and learning effectiveness in elementary schools. Furthermore, learning processes that are adjusted to students’ developmental stages can create more effective, meaningful, and student-centered learning experiences. Therefore, understanding developmental psychology is an important foundation for teachers in designing learning strategies that are appropriate to the developmental characteristics of elementary school students.

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