Child Development

Long considered the gold standard, the Seventh 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 revised her Child Development text, adding new pedagogy, a heightened emphasis on the interplay between biology and environment, expanded coverage of culture, and an enhanced focus on education, health, and social issues, including many social policy topics addressed throughout the text. Berk’s revision provides contemporary and cohesive coverage on contexts for development, including but also extending beyond the family to peers, schooling, media, neighborhoods, communities, and societal values and priorities.

 

In the Seventh Edition, Berk consulted with Canadian contributor Stuart Shanker, accomplished professor of developmental psychology at York University, to expand the text's coverage of Canadian content and to offer an integrated North American representation of the field. This balanced North American perspective provides students with a greatly enriched opportunity to learn about social and cultural contexts for development. Berk presents both classic and emerging theories in an especially clear, engaging writing style, with a multitude of research-based and real-world examples. Strengthening the connections between theory and applications, this edition's extensive revision highlights the most recent scholarship in the field, giving students an especially clear and coherent understanding of the sequence and underlying processes of child development. The effective topical organization consistently emphasizes the interrelatedness of all development – physical, cognitive, emotional, and social – throughout the text narrative and in special features.

Reviewer Quotes:

Berk Child Development

 

 

“I voted for Berk because of the ancillaries. I teach the course on the Internet and appreciate the rich media and web resources, as well as the TestGen test bank.”

  – Barbara Simon, Midlands Tech

 

“Berk’s emphasis on culture is excellent and I think superior to most other development books. She includes a wide variety of interesting, relevant, and thorough cultural examples in boxes and throughout the chapters.”

  – Barbara Simon, Midlands Tech

 

“Berk is definitely committed to using the latest developments and research, including evolutionary development and the new emphasis on dynamic systems approach.”

  – Barbara Simon, Midlands Tech

 

“I think that Chapter 4 is great, really great. It is comprehensive, accurate, and balanced, and written in an accessible way.”

  – Scott Johnson, New York University

 

“The milestones tables in the chapters I reviewed [4 and 5] are excellent. Just right, lots of information packed into an easy-to-digest format.”

  – Scott Johnson, New York University

 

“Commenting on the Digital Media Archive: “Love ‘em, they go right on the computer, right into the lecture. Perfect.”

  – Scott Johnson, New York University

 

“The text is very comprehensive and covers all the topics I cover in my courses and more!”

  – Susan Siaw, California State Polytechnic University

 

“Students all learn differently, and the features included in chapter 7 of Berk give students an opportunity to find what strategy is going to work best for them.”

  – Darlene A. Brodeur, Acadia University

 

“In terms of pedagogy, I would like to commend Berk for providing reasonable features throughout the text, without totally overwhelming the actual content of the chapters.”

  – Darlene A. Brodeur, Acadia University

 

“I was planning a lecture on perceptual development, and found [chapter 9] in this text very useful, with great visual aids! Thanks for making my job teaching easier.”

  – Carla Hudson Kam, University of California Berkeley

 

“Laura Berk’s texts are distinctive because they are research-focused and extraordinarily well-written. I also deeply appreciate the integrity of Laura’s thinking and presentation of issues: she does not dodge or unduly simplify difficulty developmental problems or scientific questions.”

  – Ross Thompson, University of California Davis

 

“Over the years, [Dr. Berk’s] texts have become more accessible to a broader student audience, in part owing to her incorporation of greater attention to the practical, practice, and policy implications of developmental science. I think that the current text is nicely balanced between theory, research, and applications.”

  – Ross Thompson, University of California Davis

 

 

“The coverage of  [chapter 10] is outstanding: Laura has addressed each of the major issues I would expect to find in a chapter concerned with emotional development, temperament, and attachment.”

  – Ross Thompson, University of California, Davis

 

“Like all of Laura’s writing, [chapter 10] is breathtakingly current.”

  – Ross Thompson, University of California, Davis

 

“One of the challenges of the high level of the Berk texts is to make them accessible to students of a range of backgrounds and ability, and I perceive these learning aids [Ask Yourself Questions] as one way of doing so. All of these study aids are thoughtfully conceived and well-designed. “

  – Ross Thompson, University of California, Davis

 

“[Chapter 10] is an extremely comprehensive and well written chapter on Emotional Development. I found the presentation clear and concise, and an appropriate blend of theoretical background and detailed descriptions of research results”

  – Robert Coplan, Carleton University

 

“I think that [Child Development] is an excellent text. It is up-to-date, comprehensive, and demanding. At the same time, it is highly readable and very attractive.”

  – Rebecca Bigler, University of Texas, Austin

 

“I think that [More focus on Emerging Adulthood] is a great idea as it is something that most of the students I teach would be most interested in.”

  – Jayne Gackenbach, MacEwan

 

“For both chapters [11 and 15] the introductory story is useful to orient the student to the topic of the chapter. The chapter outlines are also useful but especially the ones provided in the Instructors Manual.”

  – Jayne Gackenbach, MacEwan

 

“I appreciate Berk’s resources which provide suggestions for in-class active learning and demonstrations, as well as the often good video footage that allows me to enrich the time we spend in class and hopefully make things more real for the students.”

  – David A. Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“One real advantage of Berk’s text, given that a new edition emerges every 3 years or so, is that she is consistently on top of things.”

  – David A. Nelson, Brigham Young University

 

“We [Psychology Faculty at Brigham Young University] conduct a review of potential introductory child development texts on a regular basis. We have consistently concluded that Dr. Berk’s child development text is the most accurate, coherent, comprehensive, and insightful offering on the market. Her careful, systematic approach to organizing the knowledge base in the field serves our students well.”

  – Craig Hart, Brigham Young University

 

“I have been using the Berk text for 7-8 years. I chose this one by myself, because it is well-written and it includes many clear examples.”

  – David Baskind, Delta College

 

"Superb! Really, really nice job! You interrelate so much, it's so organic, that the chapter starts to come alive!”

  – John Gibbs, Ohio State University