HFS 202: The Development of Children

HFS 202
The Development of Children
(3 credits)
Class Size: 10-20

Faculty: Matthew Mulvaney, Associate Professor, Syracuse University
Administrative Contact: Eric Young, Senior Associate Director, Project Advance

Course Catalog Description

Principles and patterns of child development. Influence of biological and experiential factors. Extra-familial and intra-familial relationships as they influence child development. Fieldwork or equivalent required. Shared Competencies Critical and Creative Thinking; Ethics, Integrity, and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

Course Overview

HFS 202, The Development of Children, is an overview of the principles of development during infancy, childhood, and youth and the factors that contribute to children’s optimal development. The course provides students with an understanding of developmental theories, research methodology, developmental milestones, and the outcomes of developmental processes. In addition, students learn to apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom to applied settings in order to integrate these experiences. Dr. Razza has developed exercises to accomplish these goals or local instructors can tailor experiences to the individual needs of students or to the resources available in their schools.

The course content covers theories and research on child development including biological development, physical development, language and cognitive development, social development, and personality development. In particular, the course examines societal, cultural, and other factors that influence children’s development. In addition to SUPA college credit the successful student should be able to apply this experience to certifications such as the Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate administered in New York.

  1. Historical and theoretical roots of development and developmental research strategies.
  2. Hereditary, prenatal, and physical development.
  3. Emotional, language and cognitive development during infancy.
  4. Cognitive, language, and intellectual development.
  5. Development of the self and gender roles.
  6. Moral, prosocial and antisocial behavior
  7. Contexts of development: families, peers and the media

The graded assignments for this course include five quizzes to assess students’ acquisition of
classroom materials and two written exercises that provide an applied experience for students.

Pre- /Co-requisites

N/A

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students should have a greater understanding of children and their development that should be useful to parents and others who work with children and should be better prepared to pursue careers in childcare and educational settings.

Laboratory

N/A

Required Materials

Child Development: An Active Learning Approach, 4th Edition; Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. (2021)
ISBN: 9781544359779
eText – ISBN: 9781544359748

Instructor Recommendations

N/A