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 Content Editor

General information

Code:
12214
Main Scientific area:
  • Education
Regime:
Half-yearly
ECTS:
5
Teaching type:
Presential
Language of instruction:
Portuguese
    Contact Hours
Autonomous work:
95  hours
Classes:
45  hours  -  Theory Practice

Objectives of education

Topics in this curricular unit encompass and extend the theoretical models and the main issues of contemporary research on child and adolescent development. The study of different theoretical perspectives aims at developing both an integrative and specific understanding of psychological development.
A detailed focus on the processes and contexts of development fosters the identification and, consequently, the framing of educational practices considering both needs and challenges for competence-enhancement approaches.
Cutting-edge and transversal themes of child and adolescent development provide an integrative approach, yet contributing to the critical reflection on daily life situations and to debate the quality of experience in different contexts of development.

Key learning outcomes

- To develop a comprehensive view of the main theories and research models in the area of child and adolescent development;
- To conceive the psychological development as a process of progressive interaction of an active and growing organism in diverse contexts of life;
- To identify in the different developmental periods in infancy, and particularly in adolescence, the essential characteristics about the psychological functioning in areas such as logic thinking, identity, relationships in family and in the peer groups, and acculturation in formal and informal learning environments;
- To distinguish specific issues and needs developmentally related in close linkage to different real-life situations.

Program summary

1. The concept of development and of developmental principles: order, continuity and directionality.
2. The role of context, dialectics between continuity versus change, the interplay between social and experiential, cognitive and maturational aspects of development and normative and individual developmental pathways.
3. Theories and developmental perspectives emphasizing cognitive, socioemotional, social learning and adaptive aspects.
4. Developmental contexts: biological, educational and sociocultural.
5. Periods and developmental processes from the prenatal stages to adolescence.
6. Domains of development: Cognitive (Piagetian stages, information processing, language, school learning, creativity); Socioemotional (attachment, emotional development, self-development, interpersonal relationships, identity, and moral reasoning.
7. Development in context: family and parenting, early childcare, school and community.

Essential bibliography

Santrock, J. (2020). Child development - an introduction. McGraw-Hill Education.

Cameron, N. & Schell L. M. (2022). Human growth and development. Academic Press.

Papalia, D. E. & Feldman, R. D. (2013). Experience human development. Porto Alegre: AMGH Ed. Ltda.

Torres, M. V. T. & Cruz, J. A. G. (2005). Psicologia de la educación y del desarrollo en contextos escolares. Madrid.

Woolfolk, A. (2020). Educational Psychology. Pearson.

Teaching methods

The classes will include lectures of theoretical aspects on the main areas of human development and their articulation with teaching practice, with examples provided by the teacher. Classes will also include the analysis and debate in the class of documents, case studies, or video analysis about the previous topics. Tutorial work for small group activities about the development of practical assignments will be also implemented. Oral presentations and class discussions of the group assignments will be also carried out, as well as integrative analyses of thematic content and texts, done on an individual basis.

Assessment methods

a) Written assignment covering the themes of the curricular unit; this test has the value of 60% of the final score.
b) Group work involving small groups of pupils, on theoretical and practical content: literature review on one topic of psychological development, an interview to a preschool or school teacher, parents and/or to children/adolescents in the related-topic, an integrative reflection of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, lesson planning (assuming the role of future teacher) that articulate curricular content and creative processes. This work accounts for 40% of the final grade.
Each of the evaluation elements (a and b) cannot be lower than 7.5 in order to be considered to the final weighted grade (60%, 40% each part).