| CODE | EDS1326 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Child Development | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Education Studies | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Following an outline of various theories of development, students will be taken through the stages of early childhood and developmental areas in each stage will be discussed. The following stages will be outlined: Prenatal development (with focus also on the interplay between heredity and environment); initial weeks post-birth; Infancy; Toddlerhood; Age 3-5; Age 5-8. There will also be an emphasis on environmental influences on children's development, particularly that of the child's family and school. Study-unit Aims: Besides learning theories and stages of different aspects of development, the aim of the study-unit is to have students gather an understanding of the various ways in which these different aspects of development influence each other. It also seeks to emphasise the impact that the environment has on the child's development and well-being and vice-versa. This is intended to give students a sense of their influence on children's lives in educational settings, thus making them more careful of their thinking about children and decisions they take. Furthermore, this study-unit also aims to present students with case studies which will encourage reflection in the light of their increased exposure to educational settings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate an understanding of the holistic development of the young child, both in the years prior to schooling as well as in the first years of formal schooling; - Appreciate the immense impact that the environment has on children's development and the influence of the latter on their surroundings; - Evaluate programmes and learning environments in order to allow for best possible environment for children's learning; - Reflect on the theoretical aspects of child development in the light of their ongoing exposure to educational settings. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply a more informed understanding to children's experiences; - Apply some of the skills discussed in the lectures in their reflections about their visits to educational settings; - Suspend hasty judgement of family situations and nurture an appreciation of difficult family circumstances, and their impact on children's development and learning; - Apply developmental theory critically to reflect on and evaluate early years curricula and learning environments; - Use a range of strategies to ensure the best development and support of all children and families. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Text: - Levine, L.E. & Munsch, J. (2021) Child Development : An Active Learning Approach. (4th ed.) - Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage. Supplementary Texts: - Meadows, S. (2018). Understanding Child Development: Psychological Perspectives and Applications. London: Routledge. - Charlesworth, R. (2014). Understanding Child Development. Boston MA.: Cengage |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Maria Stephanie Bugeja |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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