Understanding child development, Meadows, Sara (university Of Bristol, Uk)

The methodology was a longitudinal study of over 600 children in the US Midwest during a 10-year period. The language skills of these children -- along with reading, academic, and psychosocial outcomes -- were measured. There was intentional oversampling of children with poor language ability without being associated with other developmental or sensory disorders. Furthermore, these children could be sub-grouped based on their nonverbal abilities, such that one group represents children with specific language impairment (SLI), and the other group with nonspecific language impairment (NLI) represents poor language along with depressed nonverbal abilities.

The volume will appeal to researchers and professionals with an interest in children's language development, particularly those working with children who have a range of language impairments. This includes Speech and Language Pathologists; Child Neuropsychologists; Clinical Psychologists working in Education, as well as Psycholinguists and Developmental Psychologists.

'This book provides a very accessible approach to building a better understanding of young children and their development and will be an interesting and useful read for both experienced early years practitioners and for students who are just beginning to build their practical experience.' - Early Years Update

This highly practical and fully updated new edition is full of case studies and helpful advice on how to enhance our understanding of very young children. Through working with many practitioners in different settings, Christine Macintyre offers down-to-earth strategies to enhance the learning of children in their care, and asks:

• What are the key influences in encouraging children to achieve their potential?
• Are the four aspects of children's development equally important and how do they interact?
• Does the play - based curriculum truly cater for children with a range of abilities and interests e.g. gifted and talented children and those who need extra support?
• What new ways are there of enhancing learning?
• How can we be sure that parents appreciate how we support their children in all aspects of their development?

With examples and case-studies drawn from a variety of real-life nursery practices, these interesting and thought-provoking scenarios will help enhance and develop the practice of all students and early years teachers.

• The nature and diversity of emotion and its role in our lives
• Differences between basic emotions, which we are all born with, and secondary social emotions which develop during early social interactions
• The development of secondary social emotions; and the role of attachmentand other factors in this process which determine a childs' emotional history and consequental emotional wellbeing or difficulties.
• Analysing, understanding and empathising with children experiencing emotional difficulties.

Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, education and social welfare, the book offers an integrated overview of recent research on the development of emotion. The chapters also consider child welfare in clinical and educational practice, presenting case studies of individual children to illustrate the practical relevance of theory and research.

Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book includes a number of useful pedagogical features to assist student learning, including chapter summaries, discussion questions, and suggested reading. Understanding Emotional Development will provide valuable reading for students and professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, education, medicine, law and health.