Working with young children is both rewarding and complex. "Understanding Child Development," 11th Edition, helps you build the knowledge and confidence to best support children from birth through age eight. You’ll explore how children grow across physical, cognitive, language and emotional domains, and how to apply that knowledge in real-world settings. The text connects theory and research to practice, with updated content on brain development, cultural influences and inclusive education. Reflection prompts, case studies and practical tools help you think critically and prepare for your role as a teacher, caregiver or advocate. Whether you’re new to the field or deepening your expertise, this book supports your journey.
Part I: OVERVIEW OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND THEORY.
1. Studying the Young Child.
Part II: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ACROSS DOMAINS.
2. Physical/Motor Development and Health/Safety.
3. The Cognitive System, Concept Development, and Intelligence.
4. Expressive Language Development.
5. Affective Development.
Part III: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING.
6. Factors Affecting Learning I: Perception, Processes, Adult Role, and Assessment.
7. Factors Affecting Learning II: Play, Technology, and Families.
Part IV: PRENATAL AND INFANCY PERIODS.
8. Prenatal Period, Birth, and the First Two Weeks.
9. Infancy: Theory, Environment, Health, and Motor Development.
10. Infant Cognitive and Affective Development.
Part V: TODDLERS, PRE-K, AND KINDERGARTENERS: AGES ONE THROUGH SIX YEARS.
11. Toddlers: Autonomy, Independence, Transition.
12. Toddler, Pre-K, Kindergarten: Affective Development, Guidance, and Behavioral Management.
13. Support for Pre-K and Kindergarten Development Across Domains.
Part VI: PRIMARY GRADES: AGES SIX THROUGH EIGHT YEARS.
14. Pre-K To Primary: Bridging the Gap into the Primary Grades.
15. Physical Growth, Health, and Motor Development of Primary Grade Children.
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Rosalind Charlesworth
Rosalind Charlesworth is professor emerita and retired department chair in the Department of Child and Family Studies at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Dr Charlesworth’s career in early childhood education has included experiences with both typical and atypical young children in laboratory schools, public schools and day care and through research in social and cognitive development and behaviour.
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Rebecca Howard
Rebecca Howard, Ph.D., is an early childhood consultant, professional development trainer and university instructor. She holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership and an M.A. in Theater, is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and is a faculty member at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she has held a variety of teaching and advising positions since 2000 in teacher education, educational leadership, interdisciplinary studies and theater. She founded the Oxford Early Childhood Center in 1986, and she was owner/administrator and lead teacher until the program closed in 2014. While operating OECC, she created the OECC Integrated Curriculum, which was grounded in creativity and culturally responsive practice as foundational pedagogical components of a comprehensive approach to development across domains. She has presented at numerous professional conferences, published articles for Childhood Education and Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, authored a chapter on dramatic play and gender performance in the book Children Under Construction: Play as Curriculum (2010), and co-edited an anthology of plays titled Footpaths and Bridges: Voices from the Native American Women Playwrights Archive (2008). She resides in Oxford, where she is a member of the local school board and works with local non-profits, advocating for childhood literacy and the arts.
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A new structure reorganizes content into a clear progression from theory to domain-specific development, learning influences and age-based applications.
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Updated alignment with NAEYC’s 2022 DAP and 2020 Professional Standards ensures relevance to current early childhood education practices.
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Targeted Terms and Concepts are now listed at the beginning of each chapter to support vocabulary development without disrupting the reading flow.
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Visuals, tables and figures are redesigned for clarity, and technology content is integrated into chapters to reflect its role in early learning.
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Updated content reflects current research, demographic data and inclusive practices for working with diverse children and families.
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Brain Development, Child Development in Practice,and Time to Reflect features connect research to real-world teaching and spark discussion.
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Each chapter opens with Learning Objectives and ends with summaries tied to those objectives to reinforce comprehension and retention.
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Comprehensive coverage spans from prenatal through age eight, across all developmental domains, with attention to typical and non-typical growth.
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