Includes bibliographical references (p. [424]-463) and index.

Introduction -- Part 1: The field, the study and the theories of chi ld development -- Chapter 1. Understanding child development *The conce pt of child development. How it is viewed *Child development as a scien tific field of study. Relevance and application to home and education s ettings *A brief history of child development with appropriate links fo r teachers and other professionals in education, playwork and child car e *Lifespan perspective. Ages. Focus upon birth to 11 in this text *Fun damental questions and issues in the field and their relationship to th e education and care of children *Introduce the whole child concept*Con texts for the study of development (e.g. home, playgroup, school, playg round, etc) *Atypical development *Strategies for educators to study de velopment research methods and designs Research Focus Presentation of e xample research designs in developmental psychology Controversies How m uch do parents matter in children's development? In Action Application of SRCD guidelines on ethics (1999) to education research and practice -- Chapter 2. What the theories say. *Why begin with theory? Revisiting whole child concept *Theory into practice. Presentation of case situat ions in educational settings *Theoretical approaches in child developme nt *Similarities and differences between approaches *Yes, but will it h elp me teach? Application of theory Research Focus Piaget/Vygotsky stud ies Controversies At what age are children ready for school? In Action Presentation of meta-analysis of key theories -- Part 2: Building the b locks of development and learning -- Chapter 3. Prenatal foundations *U nique beginnings the genetic code *Genetics and conception *X and Y chr omosomes *Dominant and recessive genes *Twins and siblings *Genotypes a nd phenotypes *Stages in development (Germinal/Embryonic/Fetal) *Chromo zone abnormalities *Influencing factors in prenatal development. Conseq uences. Research Focus Twin studies Controversies What influence does p osition in the family have? In Action Educating children with Down's Sy ndrome -- Chapter 4. Early integrated development *Birth and the newbor n *Now I'm here, what can I do? Assessing the newborn (Apgar & Brazelto n scales) *Early reflexes *The brain connecting mind and body *Early le arning through integration (sensory, motor, early perceptual developmen t including social referencing) Research Focus The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education [EPEE] Project Controversies Do Early Intervent ion Programmes make a difference? In Action The effect of early childho od reflexes on future academic learning -- Part 3: Physical growth and skilful movement -- Chapter 5. The body and physical growth * Cephaloca udal & proximodistal trends *Body size changes *Body proportion changes *Factors that affect physical growth Research Focus Patterns and level s of children's physical activity Controversies An epidemic of children 's obesity. Fact or fiction? In Action Healthy minds, bodies and school s -- Chapter 6. Acquiring and developing motor skills *Milestones in gr oss and fine motor development *The development of gross and fine motor skills *How children learn motor skills: Schmidt's schema theory and d ynamic systems theory *Perceptual-motor skills *Motor performance: gend er and cross cultural comparisons *Developing proficiency: Fundamental motor skills Research Focus Dynamic systems theory Controversies Does b eing good at sports skills matter? In Action The Sport in Education [Sp inED] Project -- Chapter 7. Sensory and perceptual development *5 Basic senses *Later perceptual development including balance, posture, visio n, audition *Kinaesthetic intelligence *Sensory and perceptual contribu tions to motor skill performance *Movement & learning Research Focus Re view of studies on movement and academic learning Controversies Can doi ng Brain Gym in school make a difference? In Action Sensory problems in the classroom. A question of balance -- Part 4: The development of min ds and voices -- Chapter 8. How children's thinking develops *Schemas a nd patterns of thought *Critical thinking. Blooms taxonomy today. *Crea tive thinking *Intelligent thinking: from Binet to Sternberg *Tests (IQ , SATs). What do they tell us? *Multiple intelligences (Gardner) Resear ch Focus From thinking skills to thinking classrooms Controversies Thin king abilities. Are there differences between boys and girls? In Action Developing a thinking curriculum in Primary schools -- Chapter 9. Pers pectives on cognition *Piaget's cognitive-development theory *Vygotsky' s sociocultural theory *Information-processing approach (to include mem ory, attention, problem-solving capacity) Metacognition *Siegler's mode l of strategy choice *Critical commentary on each with reference to aca demic learning &nbsp taught in mainstream schools? In Action QCA Creati vity project -- Chapter 10. From sounds to words. The language of commu nication *What do we understand by language? *Communicating through lan guage *Theories of language development (nativist, learning theory, int eractionist theory) *Audible beginnings in perception. The sounds of sp eech *Components of language: phonology, semantics, grammar & pragmatic s Research Focus Literacy and the theory of brain/mind Controversies Is teaching dyslexic children really any different? In Action Bilingualis m in schools -- Part 5: The social world of the child -- Chapter 11. De veloping within and with others *Theories of social development (Piaget ian, evolutionary and ethological) *Understanding of self. Self-concept , self awareness (theory of mind), self-esteem. Personal identity. Gend er roles *Play. Theories. Functions and types. How it changes as childr en get older. Its place in the curriculum? *Relationships with others. Friendship with peers at different ages *Peer groups and sociability. I nfluences and acceptance Research Focus Cross-cultural comparisons of p retend play in the home Controversies Are transitions to classes or sch ools really all that smooth? In Action Bullying in schools -- Chapter 1 2. Displaying emotions and personality *The role of emotions *Emotional expression (e.g. fear, anger, happiness, sadness) *Attachment (Bowlby' s ethological theory) *Initial parent bond. Changes through the school years. Father-child attachment. Multiple attachments *Personality in ch ildren *Psychoanalytic approaches (Freud & Erikson). Implications for e ducation *The Big Five personality traits *Temperament (genetic and env ironmental influences, goodness of fit model, predictor of behaviour, c ultural differences) Research Focus The PATHS (Promoting Alternative Th inking Strategies) intervention Controversies Is the shy child socially disadvantaged? In Action Fostering emotional intelligence in the class room -- Chapter 13. As part of society *Moral development. Discussion o n Piaget & Kohlberg *Moral reasoning and judgment making (Eisenberg's m odel). Distributive justice *Moral norms. Societal expectations. *Proso cial behaviour *Social cognition. *Self control. Conflict resolution. A ggression. Research Focus Playground aggression and conflict-resolution programmes Controversies Can violence on TV affect children's behaviou r? In Action Citizenship education in Key Stage 2. -- Chapter 14. Drawi ng it all together.