1
First Year
B.Sc. (F.C.Sc.) Programme
Course Plans
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES
FACULTY OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SCIENCES
THE MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO UNIVERSITY OF BARODA
VADODARA-390 002
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COURSES OFFERED IN FIRST YEAR
SEMESTER
COURSE NO.
TITLE
CREDIT
I
HDF 1101
Introduction to Human Development and
Family Studies
3
II
HDF 1201
Childhood in Cultural Context
3
3
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
Faculty of Family & Community Sciences,
Department of Family & Community Sciences
Fatehgunj, 0265-2795522
YEAR
I
Semester I
OBJECTIVES
UNIT-I
UNIT-II
B.Sc. (F. C. Sc.)
Core Compulsory:
HDF 1101
Introduction to Human Development and Family
Studies
ACADEMIC
YEAR
2015-2016
CREDIT
3 (3+0)
HOURS 45
1. Develop an understanding about the need and importance of studying
human growth and development across the life span, with specific
reference to gender and cultural perspectives.
2. Develop insights regarding characteristics, needs and developmental tasks
of different stages in the human life cycle.
COURSE CONTENT
Evolution of the Field of HDFS
(20%)
 Who is a child? What is development?
 History of the field of developmental science
 Expansion of field of Child Development to Human
Development.
 Focus and scope of the discipline of HDFS
 Qualitative and quantitative changes in development
 Brief introduction to important theories of development
- Freud’s theory of psychosexual development
- Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development
- Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
- Bronfennbrenner’s ecological frameworks theory
- Ayurveda theory and Sinha’s theory of the ecological
context of child development
Orientation to Growth and Development
(40%)
 Determinants of growth and development
- Heredity (Genes, chromosomes, DNA)
- Environment (physical, social, psychological and cultural)
 Principles of Growth and Development
 Prenatal Development
- Conception and the germinal stage
- Embryonic stage
- Fetal stage
 Risk factors during pre natal development
 Prenatal diagnostic techniques
4

UNIT-III
UNIT-IV
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Types of deliveries (Natural, c-section, breech,
assisted deliveries)
Stages in the Human Life Cycle: An Overview
With reference to each domain of development
cognitive, language, socio-emotional) characteristics,
developmental tasks of individuals in various stages
cycle are explained.
 Neonate (birth – 1 month)
 Infancy (1 month – 2 years)
 Early childhood (2- 6 years)
 Middle childhood (6-11 years)
 Adolescence (12- 18 years)
 Emerging and Young adulthood (18-35 years)
 Middle age / mature adulthood (35 – 60 years)
 Late adulthood / old age (60 years and above)
home vs.
(20%)
(physical,
needs and
in the life
Cultural Influences on Human Development
(20%)
 Issues in human development
- Nature vs. nurture
- Continuity vs. discontinuity
- Plasticity
- Individual differences
 Theoretical frameworks to study human development
- Biological-maturational
- Environmental-learning
- Constructivist
- Culture-contextual
 What is culture?
 What is socialization? Role of socialization in development
 Gender and its role in human development; difference between
sex and gender
 Variations in child rearing practices across cultures (sleeping,
weaning, schooling, puberty-related, aggression, marriage)
REFERENCES
Berk, L.E. (2005). Child Development (5th edn). New Delhi, Prentice – Hall.
Lightfoot, C., Cole, M., & Cole, S. (2009). The development of children (6th ed.). New
York: Worth Publishers
Gardiner, H., Mutter, J., & Kosmitzki, C. (1998). Lives across cultures: Cross-cultural
human development. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Keenan, T. (2001). An introduction to child development. London: Sage.
Santrock, J. (1997). Children. New York: Brown & Benchmark
Lerner, R. M., & Hotsch, D. F. (1983). Human development: A life-span perspective.
New York: MacGraw-Hill.
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Learning Experiences
 Regular lectures and interactive class room discussions based on observations of
individuals in different life stages
 Films and documentaries about pre natal development and cultural variations in
human development.
 Collection of newspaper and magazine articles as well as internet searches on topics
across the life span like children’s play, female feticide, condition of children from
low socio-economic status, new born babies and infants, elderly, middle age,
adolescent time use, peer pressure.
Evaluations
Regular class tests
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The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
Faculty of Family & Community Sciences,
Department of Family & Community Sciences
Fatehgunj, 0265-2795522
YEAR
I
Semester II
B.Sc. (F. C. Sc.)
Core course:
HDF 1201
Childhood in Cultural Context
ACADEMIC
YEAR
2015-2016
CREDIT
3 (3+0)
HOURS
 Identify linkages between demographic changes and its implications on
OBJECTIVES
holistic development of children and nation building
 Understand the developmental importance of childhood as a stage in the
life span with the help of some theoretical framework
 Know the influences of culture and processes of socialization (beliefs and
practices)on child development (cross-cultural and indigenous variations
vis-à-vis ‘universals’)
 Identify influences of gender and family/ kinship systems on the
development of children
 Recognize the unique features of childhood in Indian families
COURSE CONTENT
UNIT-I
Population and the Status of World’s Children
(20%)
 Overview of world population, demographic trends
 Features of Indian population (sex ratio, age trends, rural-urban
divide, estimates for future)
 Demographic transition theory
 Definitions and important terms
- Demography, rate of population growth, life expectancy,
sex ratio, dependency ratio
- Birth rate, fertility, net reproductive rate, age specific
reproductive age
- Death rate, infant mortality, under 5 mortality rate,
feticide, infanticide
 Implications of a large population on:
- Environment
- Health, social behavior and availability of resources
 Methods of regulating family size and population: Contraceptives
use (temporary and permanent), Policies (incentives and
educational provisions) and Legal provisions (age of marriage,
medical termination of pregnancy, female feticide)
 Socio-political factors affecting the world’s children, Human
Development Index, (More number of children surviving now but
less resources to ensure their healthy development), Components
of social- political system and its influences on children (e.g.
China’s one child policy, Living under autocracy, Children in the
‘closed world’ Iraq or North Korea, Children in democratic
countries like India- advantages and disadvantages)
 Why is national investment in the healthy development of
children important? Children as social capital
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UNIT-II
UNIT-III
Early Years and Cultural Diversity in Childhood
(30%)
 Importance of early years: Brain development, stimulation for
optimum development and screening of children ‘at risk’ of
developmental delay
 Who is a special children? Disability, disadvantages due to
poverty, living in special and difficult circumstances
 Context and Culture: What are they? Differences between culture
and context. How does culture pattern or shape child
development? Why study children-in-context?
 Cultural variations in:
- Infancy (motor development, attachment and sleeping
patterns due to multiple care givers)
- Early childhood (exposure to formal preschools, care by
sibling)
- Middle childhood (Using concrete operations,
responsibility of siblings care)
- Late childhood (Apprenticeship, moving to formal
operations)
Theoretical Frameworks to Understand Culture and Child (30%)
Development
 Theoretical Framework (to understand child development across
cultures)
- Developmental Niche (Super and Harkness)
- Culture and Personality (Whiting and Whiting, Six
Cultures study)
- Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfennbrener)
 Parenting Styles across Cultures
- Models of parenting (Baurmind’s model (western)
compared with Asian and African parenting models)
- Child rearing goals across cultures
- Universals and cultural differences in parenting
Childhood Development in Indian Context
 Traditional Hindu, Indian (and other) stages of childhood
 Understanding child development from an Indian perspective,
Nature of childhood in Indian families (indulgence, discipline and
interdependence), the ecology of the Indian child
UNIT-IV
 Socialization of children in Indian families (specific focus also on (20%)
gender socialization)
- Traditional models and contemporary patterns
- Vis-à-vis parent-child relationship, family patterns, kinship
in urban, rural, and tribal areas
 Preparation for adolescence: “Grooming for adult roles”
REFERENCES
1.
Lightfoot, C., Cole, M., & Cole, S. (2009). The development of children. (6th ed.) New
York: Worth Publishers. (HM Lib. Coll. No.- RJ 131 C6D3)
2.
DeLoache, J.S. & Gottlieb, A. (2000). A world of babies: Imagined childcare guides for
seven socities. Canbridge. UK. Cambridge University Press.
3.
Gardlner, H., Mutter, J., & Kosmitzki, C. (1993). Lives across cultures. Cross- cultural
human development. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
4.
Kakkar, S. (1998). The Inner World. A psychoanalytic study of childhood and society in
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5.
6.
7.
8.
India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
LeVine, R.A. & New, R.S. (Eds.) (2008). Anthropology and child development. A cross
cultural reader. Chapel Hill, NC: Blackwell.
Santrock, J. (1997). Children New York: Brown & Benchmark.
Saraswathi, T.S. (Ed.) (1999). Culture, socialization and human development: theory,
research and applications in India. New Delhi: Sage.
Uberoi, P. (1993). (Ed.). Family kinship and marriage in India. New Delhi: Oxford University
Press
Learning Experiences
 Regular lectures, power presentations, videos, films and documentaries, class
room discussions based on observations of children in difficult and poverty
settings
Evaluations
 Mid term test (30%)
 Presentations
 Semester exam (70%)