Developmental Psychology and Education Studies Coursework
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01
Development in a Cultural Context
In PSYC 204, we spent the semester examining how development unfolds from infancy through adolescence through the lens of culture. We didn’t just learn what children typically do at different ages, we learned how cultural meanings, practices, and institutions shape every part of the human aging process. Early in the course, we focused on demography and methodology, which helped me understand how sampling, measurement, and bias influence the research we often take for granted. As we moved into each developmental stage, we explored topics like cultural variability in sleep, attachment, learning, puberty, and peer relationships.
This course had a big impact on me. It gave me some extremely valuable perspective on the amazing and diverse talent humans have developed, over thousands of years, in every corner of the world, to raise our babies into intelligent, healthy adults.
Most Valued Readings:
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The Development of Children: Eighth Edition ©2018 Cynthia Lightfoot; Michael Cole; Sheila Cole
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The WEIRDest People In The World by Joseph Henrich
02
Lifespan Developmental Psychology
In PSYC 223, we explored human development from the very beginning of life to the end. Each week, we dug into major developmental theories, with a focus on Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development, and connected them to real experiences and transitions people face throughout the human lifespan. Between the textbook, lectures, and assignments, I was able to build a clearer understanding of how learning, personality, and behavior evolve over time. Our final project pushed me to dive deeper into an alternative theory and actually teach it to the class, which strengthened my ability to present complex ideas in a clear and engaging way.
Most Valued Reading:
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Newman, B.M. & Newman, P.R. (2018). Development through life: A psychosocial approach. Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781337098144
03
Unequal Educations
Sociology 314 approached education as a deeply structured institution, tracing how U.S. schooling has been shaped by historical forces, political agendas, and shifting economic priorities. The course moved from early foundations of American education to contemporary debates over charter schools, tracking, university rankings, and the rise of neoliberal reform, all while grounding these topics in theories of social reproduction, social control, and intersectional inequality. Working through these materials changed the way I understand what happens inside schools. I began to see how policy decisions reflect broader power structures, how reforms marketed as “choice” or “equity” often reinforce existing hierarchies, and how communities resist when their schools become sites of displacement or privatization. The readings and class discussions emphasized the importance of respecting student culture and recognizing the knowledge embedded in families and neighborhoods.
Most Valued Readings:
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Osworth D. and M.N. Tanner. 2025 “From Public Good to Private Gain: Charter Schools and the Racialized Enclosure of Public Education”. The Urban Review, 57:833–854
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Small, Dwayne. 2020. “The Hidden Curriculum in Public Schools and its Disadvantage to Minority Students”, International Forum
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Rury, John L. and Sylvia L. Mendez. 2025. (7th edition) Education and Social Change: Contours in the History of American Schooling. New York: Routledge. of Teaching and Studies, 16,1:16-23.
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Gordon, Hava Rachel. 2021. This is Our School! Race and Community Resistance to School Reform. New York: New York University Press.
04
Advanced Methods in Developmental Psychology
Taking PSYC 302 gave me a structured introduction to advanced developmental research methods. The course combined some fascinating weekly readings with hands‑on SPSS workshops that covered several of the most frequently utilized methods of analyzing empirical data on children. The course emphasized scientific reasoning, sociocultural context, and the ability to interpret and communicate statistical findings clearly. As I look back on the semester, the most transformative part of the experience was how much more fluent I became in SPSS through repeated, applied practice and helping my classmates on the workshops.
Most Valued Readings:
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Bukowski, W. M., Laursen, B., & Rubin, K. H. (2018). Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups (2nd edition). New York, NY: Guilford
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Anderson, Kraus, Galinsky, and Keltner. The Local-Ladder Effect: Social Status and Subjective Well-Being. DOI: 10.1177/0956797611434537
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Hartl, Laursen, Cantin, and Vitaro. A Test of the Bistrategic Control Hypothesis of Adolescent Popularity. Child Development, 2020, Volume 91, Number 3, Pages e635–e648
