1. Introduction to child development. The nature of development -- Theories of development : Psychodynamic theories ; Learning theories ; Cognitive developmental theories ; Ethology and evolutionary psychology ; The bioecological model -- 2. Policy and early years practice. Influences on early years policy : Social and cultural contexts ; Political agendas ; Government bodies and other stakeholders ; Significant events ; International influences ; Devolution -- Some influential policies : Every Child Matters -- Useful websites -- 3. Researching child development. Ethics in research with children -- The scientific approach -- Researching child development: basic concepts and terminology : Hypothetico-deductive research ; Inductive research ; Samples and populations ; Operational definitions ; Qualitative and quantitative research ; Statistical significance -- Methods of data collection : Interviews ; Observations ; Experimental research ; Correlational studies ; Case studies ; Qualitative approaches -- Methods for studying development : Cross-sectional designs ; Longitudinal studies -- 4. Cognition and memory. Piaget's theory : Basic concepts ; Stages of development -- Evaluation of Piaget's theory -- Practical applications of Piaget's theory -- Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development -- Zone of proximal development -- Private speech -- Pretend play -- Evaluation of Vygotsky's theory -- Practical applications of Vygotsky's theory -- Information-processing accounts -- The development of memory : Development in infancy ; Memory in childhood.

5. Biology and development. Prenatal development : The germinal stage ; The embryonic stage ; The fetal stage -- Environmental influences on prenatal development -- Physical development in infancy and childhood -- The development of motor skills : Gross motor skills ; Fine motor skills ; Maturation versus experience in motor skill development -- Brain development : The structure of the brain ; Neurons and glial cells ; Hemispheric specialisation ; Brain development and plasticity -- 6. Disorders and development. Developmental psychopathology -- The assessment of psychopathology -- Some childhood disorders : Depression ; Anxiety ; Conduct disorder ; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ; Autism -- Risk and resilience -- 7. Health and development. The health of the infant -- Birth complications and development : Anoxia ; Prematurity and low birth weight -- Health and illness in childhood -- Children's definitions of health and illness -- Development of children's concepts of illness -- Coping with chronic illness -- Chronic illness and family functioning -- Accidents and injuries in childhood : Age ; Sex ; Social class ; Individual characteristics of the child -- Preventing accidents -- 8. Emotional and social development. Development of basic emotions in infancy -- Emotional development in childhood -- Emotional understanding -- Emotional regulation -- Temperament -- The development of attachment : Development of the attachment relationship ; Measuring the security of attachment ; The stability of attachment ; Consequences of attachment relationships -- Social development : Acquiring a sense of self ; The development of peer interactions ; Peer acceptance and its consequences ; Friendship -- The development of social cognition : Theory of mind ; Children's understanding of the mind ; How children acquire a theory of mind.

9. Language and literacy. The development of language -- The course of language development : Developments in infancy ; First words -- First sentences -- Development of pragmatic skills -- Theories of language development : Learning theory ; Nativist theory ; Interactionist views -- Other topics in language development : Learning disabilities and language development ; Sign language acquisition ; Bilingual language development ; Specific language impairment -- The development of literacy : The course of reading development ; Ehri's phase theory ; Phonological awareness and reading development -- Other topics in literacy development : The development of spelling ; Developmental dyslexia -- Supporting language and literacy development -- 10. The role of play. Types of play -- Defining play -- Theories of play -- Play and development -- Play as an educational tool -- Play therapy -- 11. The role of the adult. Child development theories and the role of the adult -- The role of the parent -- Styles of parenting -- Parenting styles and developmental outcomes -- The role of the early years practitioner -- Adult-child interactions -- Adult-child interactions in the context of play.