Child Growth and Development

This course is designed to familiarize students with the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of the child from conception through adolescence in cultural context. Topics of discussion include genes and heredity; prenatal development and birth; brain development; motor, sensory, and perceptual development; cognitive and memory changes; intelligence and language development; development of the self and identity; attachment and social relationships; and moral development. Emphasis is placed on the interrelationships among the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional domains and the mutual influences of these domains on development. Several theories of child development and methods of studying development are introduced.