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Applied developmental science (ADS) uses research about human development to inform programs and policies pertinent to topics of social importance. Students integrate readings and class discussions of ADS theory and research with information about community-based programs. The focal topic of the seminar varies each semester, for example, building civil society through community-based child development programs, promoting the positive development of teenage mothers and their infants, or promoting healthy alternatives to interpersonal, family, and community service. The focus this semester will be a discussion and analysis of national, and in particular, international perspectives on promoting positive development through youth participation in, and leadership of, civil society. The course will present the work of scholars and practitioners who have pursued (a) the building of civil society through the strategy of youth civic engagment and the fostering of healthy individual development; and (b) the promotion of positive development through engaging youth in their communities and in building democratic institutions. Course readings and discussions will be supplemented (as much as is feasible) by lectures from leading scholars, policy makers, practitioners, and philanthropists interested in these connections between youth development and civil society.

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This child development course aims to explore several of the major points of view currently influential in the field of cognitive development. It also examines implications of these various perspectives for the education and socialization of children. The emphasis is on theory in the conceptualization of intellectual change processes.