Child and Adolescent Development

Our programs in Child and Adolescent Development provide a well-rounded curriculum that incorporates theory, research, policy, and practice. The course of study includes: a command of various theories and milestones of human development; an appreciation of the influences of parents, peers, teachers, social institutions, and other socializing agents on all domains of development throughout childhood and adolescence; an appreciation of the importance of issues of equity including the special considerations relevant to cultural and ethnic diversity; an awareness of effects of different child-rearing practices or conditions on the fulfillment of development promise (e.g., parenting styles, day care, divorce, child abuse); and understanding of individual differences (e.g., learning styles, differing abilities) and how to accommodate them; and a sensitivity to the commonalties and diversities in people of all ages.