The first part of the course introduce the discipline, and presenting the main research methods.
Thus, the concept of child will be analyzed both from a historical and cultural perspective. The role of biology and environment on child develpment.
Social development (the role of family and peer relationships); affective (attachment bond); and emotional (emergency of emotions and emotional competence) of child.
The construction of self: temperament, gender identity, self-concept. The developmental trajectories that lead to adulthood.
Second part: Piaget' theory, child representation of the world. The contribution of Vygostkij and sociocultural theories will be presented to the understanding of the socio-cognitive development of the child. The main assumptions of HIP approach will be illustrated, and the following research areas will be presented: symbolic representation, organization of mind, memory, social knowledge. Finally, the stages of linguistic and communicative development will be illustrated and the main approaches that try to explain the acquisition of language will be discussed.