{"id":2888,"date":"2015-09-18T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T18:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=2888"},"modified":"2015-11-09T10:00:32","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T16:00:32","slug":"what-is-child-and-adolescent-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/what-is-child-and-adolescent-development\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Child and Adolescent Development?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A master\u2019s in child and adolescent development offers a variety of career choices to professionals in a variety of fields. Three Capella University educational psychology faculty in the Harold Abel School of Social and Behavioral Sciences provided a closer look at this growing discipline: Dr. Cheri Gilman<\/a>, Dr. Nancy Longo<\/a>, and Dr. Jessica Emick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is child and adolescent development?<\/h4>\n

\u201cThe field of child and adolescent development is different than clinical or psychological counseling,\u201d said Gilman. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique specialization, more focused on research linked to development, and what\u2019s involved with making ethical decisions and policies that are related to children and adolescents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Development research can influence practitioners who work with children, whether directly (teacher or counselor), or indirectly (nonprofits or government advocates focused on children\u2019s issues). It\u2019s an exhaustive field of study. \u201cWe study everything from prenatal to puberty to the completion of adolescence, which we define as around age 25,\u201d said Longo. \u201cWe look at every aspect of a person\u2019s life, at every stage: physical, mental, cognitive, psycho-social. We\u2019re studying development in the context of society, family, and culture. Everyone has specific influences bearing on them, and we need to understand the effects of those influences, whether it\u2019s bullying or access to health care. Every phase has an impact on life\u2014someone\u2019s experience as an infant can have an effect on them when they\u2019re an adult.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why is this type of research important?<\/h4>\n

\u201cAnyone working with children and adolescents needs to use best practices. Their work can\u2019t just be based on experience\u2014they need empirical evidence,\u201d said Longo. \u201cWithout research, there\u2019s no solid foundation in working with children.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the broad approach, looking at internal and external factors, is so important. \u201cIt\u2019s not just nature and it\u2019s not just nurture,\u201d said Emick. \u201cIn order to really understand what\u2019s happening now, and what\u2019s going to happen in the future, we need understand how to make outcomes better for children, families, and society. Research is fundamental to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emick pointed out that understanding adolescent psychology has led to some important strides, including the realization that brains aren\u2019t fully formed until about age 25 (it was previously believed that people were fully mature at age 18). She also pointed to a recent program that, using research, realized the best way to reach out to pregnant teenagers to warn them about the dangers of drinking while pregnant was not to send them a brochure, but a text message.<\/p>\n

The field continues to evolve, and that\u2019s likely a constant for the foreseeable future. \u201cFor instance, we\u2019re still learning about resiliency,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cWhy are some kids resilient and some not, even if they\u2019re in the same circumstance? When we can understand through research what conditions create resiliency, maybe we can help a child develop that attribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

What career opportunities are available with an advanced degree in this field?<\/h4>\n

There are some obvious career synergies with this type of education. People who work directly with children and adolescents, like teachers and psychologists, would gain insight and value from this program.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there are so many areas, so many directions someone can go,\u201d said Longo. \u201cFrom prenatal counseling to government advocacy work to nonprofits that focus on children and adolescents. A master\u2019s degree also opens up the possibilities of teaching, whether at the K-12 level or at a community college.\u201d All three faculty members pointed to advocacy as an area that\u2019s poised for growth.<\/p>\n

That could explain why Capella\u2019s faculty sees such a diverse background in students who enroll in this program. \u201cI\u2019ve had students who are social workers and want more background on what they\u2019re doing,\u201d said Emick. \u201cThere have been paraprofessionals, like daycare workers and school aides. There are students who have been volunteering at youth-based nonprofits, or those who want to work in advocacy or at a government level, or who want to develop educational materials. We\u2019ve had students who are licensed counselors who want more insight into developmental issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

What all of these students have in common is a passion for children and adolescents and the desire to work with or on behalf of them. \u201cThey need that excitement,\u201d said Emick, \u201cand this program really gives them a solid foundation from which to explore what\u2019s possible for a career, and the many capacities in which they can help kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

On its own, a master\u2019s in child or adolescent development does not qualify someone to become a licensed counselor. But this specialization can be a stepping stone to a clinical psychology PsyD or PhD that would open up a career in counseling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Learn more about Capella\u2019s <\/em>Master of Science in Psychology, Child and Adolescent Development Specialization<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Society, family, and culture all play a role in the development of children and adolescents. Understanding the effect of these influences is at the heart of the research in this ever evolving field. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":2954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28],"tags":[236],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2888"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2955,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions\/2955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}