Child Development (5th Edition)

The fifth edition of this best-selling topical approach to child development continues its tradition of being the most current and comprehensive text available. Laura Berk, renowned professor and researcher in the field of child development, has updated the text with a heightened emphasis on inclusion of interdisciplinary research, diverse pathways of change, the critical interplay between biology and environment in child development, and greatly strengthened links between applications and theory or research. This edition's substantial revision brings forth all the new themes that represent the burgeoning, changing field of child development at the crossroads of a new millennium.

Laura Berk carefully considers the complexities of child development, presenting classic and cutting-edge theories in an especially clear, engaging writing style, with a multitude of research-based and real-world examples. The helpful topical organization emphasizes to students the interrelatedness of all aspects of development ― physical, cognitive, emotional, and social ― throughout the text narrative and in special features. Students are provided with an especially clear and coherent understanding of the sequence and underlying processes of child development.

Praise for Child Development, 8/e

"I remember having Laura Berk's text on Child Development in my own undergraduate class. I thoroughly enjoyed the text then, walking away with a deeper appreciation of child development. Reading the latest version just confirms my original view of the text, and having devoted my graduate and professional life to the study of developmental issues, I find the text to be nuanced, engaging and stimulating."

             - Geoff Navara, Trent University, Canada

 

 

“This text is my favorite in the field and I plan to continue to use it. The book is current, accurate, comprehensive, balanced, and well written.”

- Rebecca Bigler, University of Texas at Austin

 

 “...I enjoy teaching with this book....I have used this textbook for many years and find the coverage most appropriate, including the balance between theory, research, and practical issues.”

- Cecilia Wainryb, University of Utah

 

“The overall organization and coverage of Berk’s text are excellent. The chapters cohere and interweave quite nicely. Each chapter opens with an appealing, almost personal invitation to explore that chapter’s content. I like all the features used throughout the text. The text is multicultural without losing sight of the universals in child development. Each edition of Child Development features cutting-edge material.”

-          John Gibbs, Ohio State University

 

“I would adopt this textbook and advocate its adoption to colleagues.”

- Tracy Vaillancourt, McMaster University, Canada

 

“I think Berk’s book offers our professors and students the most comprehensive coverage of child development...This book well reflects Dr. Berk’s scholarship. It covers the most important issues, trends and cutting-edge topics in the field of child development...”

- Wenfan Yan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

 

“Berk has a long-standing reputation as a strong text for developmental courses, students always rate it highly, and the text and graphics are a pleasure to read and view.”

- Doug Symons, Acadia University, Canada

 

“This is a great book from which to teach...[it] covers a great deal of territory and is very comprehensive. .. the material is well organized and I like the developmental approach that is taken within each of the main topics. Berk has addressed the most important issues, trends and cutting edge topics very well... The visuals in the text are clear, appropriate, informative, and appealing. ... The material is presented at an appropriate reading level; it is interesting, clear and well organized.”

- Nina Howe, Concordia University, Canada

 

“Berk has always done an admirable job of covering the essentials and adhering to the latest research on each and every topic...I have always been impressed with Dr. Berk’s choices for coverage... I really like how the text is organized with a diverse array of things to appeal to the distracted undergraduate reader. Berk has a gift for summarizing a great deal of the most relevant research and still making it accessible to students. .. It pushes students but does not overwhelm them. It is well written and therefore accessible...Dr. Berk is remarkably responsive to suggestions for further enhancement; each edition is improved in a judicious manner.

- David Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“The overall organization of the material is excellent; it is clear and logical.”

- Lorinda Camparo, Whittier College

 

 

“The text is very well written and researched, and I would recommend it to a colleague...”

-                - Ellen Altermatt, Hanover College

 

Praise for Multicultural/Diversity coverage:

“The depth and breadth of the coverage of diversity and multicultural issues were excellent.”

- Wenfan Yan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

 

“I loved the [diversity and multi-cultural issues] sections ― they were among my favorites because I felt I really learned something.”

- Scott P. Johnson, New York University

 

“A clear and obvious effort has been made to cover issues in cross-cultural research and to be inclusive of diversity...Good inclusion of gender similarities and differences.”

- LorraineTaylor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 

“I think that cross-cultural research is increasingly a substantial portion of the research on child development...she has done a good job of being sensitive to many of these issues.”

- David Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“The text has given? multicultural examples from other countries including non-Western ones, and not just cultural groups within the U.S.”

-          Doug Symons, Acadia University, Canada

 

Praise for Pedagogy:

“The stories and vignettes provide students with real-world examples of various theoretical or empirical constructs. Students comment specifically that connecting abstract constructs to real-world behaviors is especially effective and engaging...

The summaries are comprehensive and the italicized essay-type questions for various sections within the summary may be used as effective study guides for students as they organize reading material conceptually...Social Issues boxes, Cultural Influence boxes, and Biology and Environment boxes are current and may be used to foster discussion and debate. ...[Milestones Tables are] wonderful! My students and I find the visual material to be helpful without being overwhelming or distracting.”

- Lorinda Camparo, Whittier College

 

“[Stories and Vignettes About Children] Love this!! It gives a nice concrete example of a topic(s) discussed in the chapter. It helps [students] understand the relevant material. It also sets up the chapter well. ...[Ask Yourself questions] Great part of the chapter!! A nice way for the students to quiz themselves on the material they just read or studied. I definitely think this is very helpful for my students....[Biology and Environment boxes] ...these boxes help bring these concrete concepts to the forefront and make it more meaningful to the students.”

- Catherine J. Massey, Slippery Rock University

 

“Stories and Vignettes About Children] Great! They really help to keep the book easy to read and interesting. [Chapter Introductions and End-of-Chapter Summaries] Very helpful! It is a good way to preview and review what was covered in the chapter. I especially like the format of the end-of-chapter summaries. It starts with questions (or tasks) followed by the answers. This not only summarized major concepts of the chapter, it also provided a good writing example for undergraduate students. [Applying What We Know] Very Important. I think students learn more when they see connections of what they know with the ‘real world’ with useful strategies.”

- Wenfan Yan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

 

“I especially appreciate the sections on ‘From Research to Practice’, ‘Social Issues’, ‘Ask Yourself questions’ and ‘Applying What We Know’ ― they always give me great ideas for fostering in-class discussions that help students see how the research and theory they study are manifested in the real world. My students always appreciate the stories and vignettes embedded in the text.”

- Cecilia Wainryb, University of Utah

 

.” ..The end of chapter summaries are great; students love these. [Social Issues boxes] provide additional perspectives on topics that students generally find relevant in the real world, so they are a nice touch...The photos and tables make the material interesting and personal.”

- Lorraine Taylor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 

“[Stories and Vignettes About Children] are particularly effective as they bring the concepts to life. [Chapter Introductions and End-of-Chapter Summaries]...are great so that the reader can at a glance review the central concepts of the chapter...[Social Issues boxes] are particularly helpful in understanding how central concepts apply to everyday life. They also make clear how complex child development issues tend to be.”

- David Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“The boxed items take complex issues and present them in clear, concise and interesting ways. Ask Yourself review sections...raise pertinent questions that highlight the critical issues, but also get the student to think beyond the immediate question to how it might be applied and connected to other material in the book. Also, by getting students to reflect on their own life experiences, they can make a clearer link to the issues.”

-          Nina Howe, Concordia University, Canada

 

“Stories and Vignettes About Children ― These are great, and capture students’ interest and attention. . . Students love the photos and tables and illustrations are excellent...Chapter Introductions and End-of-Chapter Summaries, Social Issues boxes, Cultural Influences boxes, Biology & Environment boxes, From Research to Practice Tables, Applying What We Know, In-Text Key Terms with Definitions, End-of-Chapter Term List and End-of-Book Glossary ― ALL excellent.

-          Simone Nguyen, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

 

“[Ask Yourself questions] are well-written and should help instructors guide their students toward more sophisticated thinking. From Research to Practice tables link research to practice which is critical in enhancing student engagement.”

-          Ellen Altermatt, Hanover College

Praise for coverage of Research:

“The research is relevant, current, accurate and well-integrated in the text. Berk does an excellent job of cross referencing information across the text and reminding students about theory and research that is relevant across different chapters. There is also a nice integration of appropriate statistics and graphs to explain various findings.”

- Nina Howe, Concordia University, Canada

 

“I am very impressed by Dr. Berk’s effort to bring the students up-to-date research. She has done an excellent job integrating the current, relevant research throughout the text. The references provide thorough coverage of information presented in the text.”

- Wenfan Yan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

 

“...presents complex theories and research in a way that is accessible to students...presents a very thorough view of each of the theories, and discusses in depth recent research that either confirms or presents evidence inconsistent with the theory.”

-          Beth Casey, Boston College

 

 “Berk has always done an admirable job of covering the essentials and adhering to the latest research on each and every topic.”

- David Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“...[research] is one of the best features of this textbook...and this is one of the main reasons...why I keep going back to this text year after year.”

- Cecilia Wainryb, University of Utah

 

“Research selected is very appropriate, well presented, and an excellent - orientation to developmental literature.”
             - Doug Symons, Acadia University, Canada

 

“I find the research current, relevant, accurate, and well integrated...:

- Laura DeRose,  Adelphi University

 

Praise for Individual Chapters:

“I find Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Applied Directions, a chapter focused on history, classic issues, and theories of child development, to be well written and organized.”

- David Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“Chapter 4: Infancy: Early Learning, Motor Skills, and Perceptual Capacities. I think it’s a great chapter. It is comprehensive but doesn’t feel overly long. The book does a great job balancing the controversies surrounding use of visual preference measures, including habituation and imitation.”

- Scott P. Johnson, New York University

 

 “Chapter 5: Physical Growth. One of the reasons I specifically chose Berk’s texts over other texts is due to her comprehensive and exhaustive coverage of physical development from preschool to late childhood... excellent coverage of each area of development.”

- Lorinda Camparo, Whittier College

 

“Chapter 5: Physical Growth. The chapter is very comprehensive, and the tables and figures are effective for students, especially visual learners.”

-  Laura DeRose, Adelphi University

 

“Chapter 6: Cognitive Development: Piagetian, Core Knowledge, and Vygotskian Perspectives. I would rate the organization and coverage of the chapter quite highly. It presents a very thorough review of each of the theories, and discusses in depth recent research that either confirms or presents evidence inconsistent with the theory.”

- Beth Casey, Boston College

 

“Chapter 6: Cognitive Development: Piagetian, Core Knowledge, and Vygotskian Perspectives. The coverage of Piaget is excellent. I especially like the critical evaluation of the theory, and the section on Piaget and education.”

-          Scott P. Johnson, New York University

 

“Chapter 8: Intelligence. The organization of the chapter is very good. The material is presented in a logical way and the content is more than appropriate.”

- Tracy Vaillancourt, McMaster University, Canada

 

“Chapter 10: Emotional Development. Excellent! The progression from the functions of emotion, to the development of emotional expression, to more social aspects of emotion, and finally to attachment, is logical and maximizes students’ ability to follow natural developmental sequences.”

- Lorinda Camparo, Whittier College

 

“Chapter 10: Emotional Development is an excellent chapter with definitive research cited in the appropriate areas...”

-  Doug Symons, Acadia University, Canada

 

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