Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Children change rapidly. Not only in the physical sense but in their abilities to communicate, think and to interact. This development is fascinating and has a huge impact on the care, education and wellbeing of children. Focusing on the earliest years (0-8) this book looks at:

Understanding these elements is key to early years practice and courses. With the help of this book you will appreciate why it is so important and the impact of your role as the adult on children in your care.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of Tables (p. xiii)
• About the Author (p. xiv)
• Acknowledgements (p. xv)
• Chapter 1 Introduction to Child Development (p. 1)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 1)
• The nature of development (p. 2)
• Theories of development (p. 4)
• Psychodynamic theories (p. 4)
• Learning theories (p. 7)
• Cognitive developmental theories (p. 9)
• Ethology and evolutionary psychology (p. 11)
• The bioecological model (p. 12)
• Chapter summary (p. 13)
• Further reading (p. 14)
• References (p. 14)
• Chapter 2 Policy and Early Years Practice (p. 16)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 16)
• Influences on early years policy (p. 17)
• Social and cultural contexts (p. 17)
• Political agendas (p. 18)
• Government bodies and other stakeholders (p. 18)
• Significant events (p. 19)
• International influences (p. 19)
• Devolution (p. 20)
• Some influential policies (p. 20)
• Every Child Matters (p. 20)
• Chapter summary (p. 28)
• Further reading (p. 29)
• Useful websites (p. 29)
• References (p. 29)
• Chapter 3 Researching Child Development (p. 32)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 32)
• Ethics in research with children (p. 33)
• The scientific approach (p. 34)
• Researching child development: Basic concepts and terminology (p. 35)
• Hypothetico-deductive research (p. 35)
• Inductive research (p. 36)
• Samples and populations (p. 36)
• Operational definitions (p. 37)
• Qualitative and quantitative research (p. 37)
• Statistical significance (p. 38)
• Methods of data collection (p. 38)
• Interviews (p. 39)
• Observations (p. 40)
• Experimental research (p. 41)
• Correlational studies (p. 43)
• Case studies (p. 44)
• Qualitative approaches (p. 45)
• Methods for studying development (p. 46)
• Cross-sectional designs (p. 46)
• Longitudinal studies (p. 46)
• Chapter summary (p. 48)
• Further reading (p. 48)
• Useful websites (p. 48)
• References (p. 48)
• Chapter 4 Cognition and Memory (p. 50)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 50)
• Piaget's theory (p. 51)
• Basic concepts (p. 52)
• Stages of development (p. 52)
• Evaluation of Piaget's theory (p. 57)
• Practical applications of Piaget's theory (p. 59)
• Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development (p. 60)
• Zone of proximal development (p. 61)
• Private speech (p. 61)
• Pretend play (p. 62)
• Evaluation of Vygotsky's theory (p. 62)
• Practical applications of Vygotsky's theory (p. 63)
• Information-processing accounts (p. 64)
• The development of memory (p. 66)
• Development in infancy (p. 66)
• Memory in childhood (p. 68)
• Chapter summary (p. 74)
• Further reading (p. 74)
• References (p. 75)
• Chapter 5 Biology and Development (p. 79)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 79)
• Prenatal development (p. 80)
• The germinal stage (p. 80)
• The embryonic stage (p. 81)
• The fetal stage (p. 81)
• Environmental influences on prenatal development (p. 81)
• Physical development in infancy and childhood (p. 84)
• The development of motor skills (p. 86)
• Gross motor skills (p. 87)
• Fine motor skills (p. 88)
• Maturation versus experience in motor skill development (p. 88)
• Brain development (p. 89)
• The structure of the brain (p. 90)
• Neurons and glial cells (p. 90)
• Hemispheric specialisation (p. 91)
• Brain development and plasticity (p. 91)
• Chapter summary (p. 94)
• Further reading (p. 95)
• References (p. 95)
• Chapter 6 Disorders and Development (p. 99)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 99)
• Developmental psychopathology (p. 100)
• The assessment of psychopathology (p. 101)
• Some childhood disorders (p. 103)
• Depression (p. 104)
• Anxiety (p. 105)
• Conduct disorder (p. 106)
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (p. 109)
• Autism (p. 110)
• Risk and resilience (p. 114)
• Chapter summary (p. 116)
• Further reading (p. 116)
• Useful website (p. 117)
• References (p. 117)
• Chapter 7 Health and Development (p. 123)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 123)
• The health of the infant (p. 124)
• Birth complications and development (p. 124)
• Anoxia (p. 125)
• Prematurity and low birth weight (p. 125)
• Health and illness in childhood (p. 127)
• Children's definitions of health and illness (p. 128)
• Development of children's concepts of illness (p. 128)
• Coping with chronic illness (p. 132)
• Chronic illness and family functioning (p. 134)
• Accidents and injuries in childhood (p. 135)
• Age (p. 135)
• Sex (p. 135)
• Social class (p. 136)
• Individual characteristics of the child (p. 137)
• Preventing accidents (p. 137)
• Chapter summary (p. 139)
• Further reading (p. 139)
• Useful websites (p. 140)
• References (p. 140)
• Chapter 8 Emotional and Social Development (p. 144)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 144)
• Development of basic emotions in infancy (p. 145)
• Emotional development in childhood (p. 147)
• Emotional understanding (p. 148)
• Emotional regulation (p. 149)
• Temperament (p. 150)
• The development of attachment (p. 151)
• Development of the attachment relationship (p. 152)
• Measuring the security of attachment (p. 153)
• The stability of attachment (p. 154)
• Consequences of attachment relationships (p. 154)
• Social development (p. 155)
• Acquiring a sense of self (p. 156)
• The development of peer interactions (p. 157)
• Peer acceptance and its consequences (p. 158)
• Friendship (p. 159)
• The development of social cognition (p. 160)
• Theory of mind (p. 161)
• Children's understanding of the mind (p. 161)
• How children acquire a theory of mind (p. 163)
• Chapter summary (p. 164)
• Further reading (p. 165)
• References (p. 165)
• Chapter 9 Language and Literacy (p. 172)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 172)
• The development of language (p. 173)
• The course of language development (p. 174)
• Developments in infancy (p. 174)
• First words (p. 175)
• First sentences (p. 177)
• Development of pragmatic skills (p. 178)
• Theories of language development (p. 180)
• Learning theory (p. 180)
• Nativist theory (p. 181)
• Interactionist views (p. 182)
• Other topics in language development (p. 183)
• Learning disabilities and language development (p. 183)
• Sign language acquisition (p. 184)
• Bilingual language development (p. 185)
• Specific language impairment (p. 186)
• The development of literacy (p. 186)
• The course of reading development (p. 187)
• Ehri's phase theory (p. 187)
• Phonological awareness and reading development (p. 189)
• Other topics in literacy development (p. 191)
• The development of spelling (p. 191)
• Developmental dyslexia (p. 191)
• Supporting language and literacy development (p. 192)
• Chapter summary (p. 193)
• Further reading (p. 194)
• Useful website (p. 194)
• References (p. 194)
• Chapter 10 The Role of Play (p. 200)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 200)
• Types of play (p. 201)
• Defining play (p. 204)
• Theories of play (p. 206)
• Play and development (p. 207)
• Play as an educational tool (p. 211)
• Play therapy (p. 215)
• Chapter summary (p. 216)
• Further reading (p. 217)
• Useful websites (p. 217)
• References (p. 218)
• Chapter 11 The Role of the Adult (p. 222)
• Why you should read this chapter (p. 222)
• Child development theories and the role of the adult (p. 223)
• The role of the parent (p. 224)
• Styles of parenting (p. 224)
• Parenting styles and developmental outcomes (p. 226)
• The role of the early years practitioner (p. 227)
• Adult-child interactions (p. 227)
• Adult-child interactions in the context of play (p. 229)
• Chapter summary (p. 231)
• Further reading (p. 232)
• Useful websites (p. 232)
• References (p. 232)
• Glossary (p. 235)
• Index (p. 261)

Author notes provided by Syndetics