Child Development and Education, 8th edition
Published by Pearson (June 10, 2023) © 2024
  • Teresa M. McDevitt
  • Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Title overview

For child development courses in departments of education, human development, family studies and psychology.

Applying child and adolescent development concepts to educational practices

Child Development and Education shows future educators of children and adolescents how to apply developmental research and theory to their classroom practices. It explores developmental phenomena and offers practice analyzing what children say, do and create. With this applied approach, educators can make informed decisions that meet every student’s needs.

The 8th Edition provides cutting-edge perspectives on children’s growth, the scope of their experiences and research-proven teaching strategies.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Development-Enhancing Education tables provide strategies and suggestions for working with children and adolescents to facilitate their growth.
  • Development in Culture features illustrate particular aspects of development in one or more cultural settings and help educators understand the role of cultural frameworks in development.
  • Developmental Trends tables show developmental patterns for chapter-relevant constructs at each of 5 developmental periods.
  • Case studies show how an aspect of development, such as language or morality, unfolds in a particular child.
  • Observation Guidelines tables offer specific developmental characteristics to look for, present illustrative examples of those characteristics, and provide concrete recommendations for practitioners.

New and updated features of this title

  • NEW/UPDATED: Research and applications include evidence-based instruction that supports and challenges all learners, as well as developmental pathways that affect individual adjustment and achievement.
  • NEW: Chapter 7, Cognitive Development: Cognitive Processes, Intellectual Abilities, and Self-Regulated Learning, summarizes cutting-edge research on the basic and advanced abilities children use during learning, including self-regulatory learning strategies.
  • NEW: Showing Compassion prompts encourage educators to pause and consider all that children are going through, better enabling them to identify students’ strengths and challenges.
  • NEW: Developing Knowledge of Child Development for Credentials and Licenses features specify the core knowledge and proficiencies mandated in standards and examined in tests and portfolios for teachers and other school professionals.

The LMS-Compatible Assessment Bank streamlines assignments and grading

  • Quizzes, application exercises, licensure exam practice questions and chapter tests are included in an LMS-compatible packaged file. Questions give students feedback and model responses based on their answers.

Key features

Features of Pearson+ eTextbook for the 8th Edition

  • Video Examples, including authentic classroom videos and interviews with experts in the field, expand on principles or concepts in each chapter, helping put the reading into context.
  • Artifacts promote deeper understanding with links to case studies, lessons, and student work. Associated questions guide readers to think and make decisions like a teacher.
  • The Interactive Glossary lets students quickly build their professional vocabulary as they read.

Table of contents

  1. Introduction to Child Development
  2. Research and Assessment
  3. Family, Culture, and Society
  4. Biological Beginnings
  5. Physical Development
  6. Cognitive Development: Piaget and Vygotsky
  7. Cognitive Development: Cognitive Processes, Intellectual Abilities, and Self-Regulated Learning
  8. Language Development
  9. Academic Development
  10. Emotional Development
  11. Self and Social Understanding
  12. Self-Regulation and Motivation
  13. Moral Development
  14. Peers, Schools, and Society

Author bios

About our authors

Teresa M. McDevitt is a psychologist with specializations in child development and educational psychology. She received a Ph.D. and M.A. in child development from Stanford University's Psychological Studies in Education program, an Ed.S. in educational evaluation from Stanford University, and a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Now Professor Emerita of Psychological Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, she served the University of Northern Colorado since 1985 in a variety of capacities, in teaching courses in child psychology, human development, educational psychology, program evaluation and research methods; advisement of graduate students; administration and university governance and research and grant writing. Her research focuses on child development, families, and teacher education. She has published articles in Child Development, Learning and Individual Differences, Child Study Journal, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Youth and Society, and Science Education, among others. She has gained practical experiences with children, including by raising two children with her husband and working as an early childhood teacher of toddlers and preschool children, early childhood special education teacher, and volunteer in school and community settings. Teresa enjoys spending time with her husband, their sons and their beloved partners, and, when she has the chance, traveling internationally with her family.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod is an educational psychologist with specializations in learning, cognition, and child development. She received a Ph.D. and M.S. in educational psychology at The Pennsylvania State University and an A.B. in psychology from Brown University; she also earned licensure in school psychology through postdoctoral work at Temple University and the University of Colorado, Boulder. For many years she was a faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado, where she taught courses in learning and cognition, educational psychology, measurement and research methods; she is currently Professor Emerita of Psychological Sciences at UNC. Dr. Ormrod has published numerous research articles but is probably best known for this book and several others: Educational Psychology: Developing Learners (10th ed., 2020); Essentials of Educational Psychology (5th ed., 2018); Human Learning (8th ed., 2020); Our Minds, Our Memories: Enhancing Thinking and Learning at All Ages (2011) and Practical Research: Planning and Design (12th ed., 2019).

Loading...Loading...Loading...