Importance of Theory and Research in Child Development
In a Journal entry of 500-1000 words, begin by reflecting on this anecdotal phrase that one might hear, "I did that with my children and it worked fine for them." Describe your own thoughts about this statement and explain why this may be true in some cases, but not in others. You may use personal experiences or examples to support your evidence-based statements and opinions, if you wish.
Then, watch the "Endless Questions" video analyzing child development research and find one additional scholarly source of your choice (see tips and a link to tutorials below) and use them to reflect on and answer the following questions:
- Why is it important to utilize developmental theory to explain a foundational knowledge of children's development?
- What makes scholarly research different from anecdotal evidence (or personal experience) in explaining child and adolescent development? [Hint: Consider the methodology of the article you are reading.
- Identify and briefly describe the key points of one of the major developmental theories and why you feel that theory is applicable to child and/or adolescent development.
Finally, relate the value of continued learning with a concluding reflection on why we should incorporate both personal experience and scholarly research grounded in theory to help support any statements made in this class or any other professional setting.