PSGA-6040-The Contexts and Consequences of Poverty for Children, Youth, and Families (3) Syllabus via Blackboard, eRes, or email.
Families and children in poverty are consistently found in the policy spotlight whether it be in debates about the future of welfare reform, Head Start, or juvenile justice policy.  Yet researchers, program practitioners, and policymakers are still struggling to understand the degree to which poverty directly impacts children and youth, the specific mechanisms through which it has its impact, and the best way to construct effective policies that meet the needs of families in poverty.  This course is designed to provide students with a broad (and hopefully somewhat comprehensive) overview of the research and policy literature on the contexts and consequences of poverty for children, youth, and families in the United States (comparisons to work in other countries can also be included).  Topics include defining and measuring poverty; the distribution of poverty across social and demographic characteristics; the social and economic forces that generate and reproduce poverty; quantitative and qualitative studies on the long- and short-term impact of poverty on children, youth, and families; debates about poverty’s impact; current U.S. policies for preventing and relieving child poverty and their effectiveness; and whether or not and how current policies could be transformed and better implemented to be more effective.

PSGA-7122-Developmental and Prevention Science in Context (3) Syllabus via Blackboard, eRes, or email.
This course is designed to introduce students to theories and research concerned with intervention/prevention efforts targeted to children at-risk.  Specifically, students will be introduced to the conceptual and practical integration of the developmental and prevention sciences to address social-emotional and learning problems in early and middle childhood.  The first half of the course focuses on key theoretical perspectives (Developmental Psychopathology and Developmental-Contextual or Ecological theories), the basic principles of prevention/intervention science, and statistical and methodological issues.  The second half of the course focuses on specific topical areas relevant to tracking and monitoring fidelity of implementation of interventions in early and middle childhood.  This course also has a field component.  Our work will be structured around a series of implementation “case-studies” you will be conducting in collaboration with me on the evaluation of the 4Rs Program.

PSRU-2700-Infant and Child Development (3) Syllabus via Blackboard, eRes, or email.
This course covers physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development from conception through middle childhood/early adolescence. This class emphasizes the scientific and theoretical basis of developmental psychology, but also shows the relevance of the topics covered to real life issues (such as parenting and public policy concerns).  In a similar fashion, this course also analyzes how various environmental characteristics or contexts (e.g., parental behavior, poverty, and culture) impact infant and child development.  Lecture sessions primarily involve presentation and discussion of course material. It is hoped that students leave this class not simply with a list of facts of the what and when of developmental psychology, but an understanding of the how and why of the processes underlying development, and an appreciation for the role that research in developmental psychology plays in our everyday lives. 
Prerequisites:  Introductory Psychology, Research Methods