Indigenous Theories and Frameworks of Human Development: A Scoping Review and Integrative Synthesis

Theories guide scientific inquiry by describing, explaining, and predicting human behavior and development across the lifespan. However, the social sciences have been largely shaped by theories rooted in Western philosophy, with Indigenous theories notably underrepresented. This scoping review identified Indigenous theories of human development and examined how they conceptualize development across the lifespan. Searches across four databases yielded 18 articles and 21 theories. Across theories, three developmental domains were prioritized (identity, relationships, and spirituality) embedded within four life stages: prenatal/childhood, youthhood, adulthood, and elderhood. Indigenous theories overwhelmingly centered community wellbeing and interconnectedness at each life stage. Last, rather than a linear, age-related progression, Indigenous theories reflected relational, cyclical, and narrative developmental trajectories- each with shared expectations for how development unfolds across the lifespan. These findings elevate Indigenous frameworks within developmental science and offer a foundation for theoretical and empirical innovation.