OCN Diploma in Child Psychology

Course Code: AS205
Award Level 3, Similar to - NVQ Level 3, A-Level

This is the OCN Level 3 Diploma in Child Psychology. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or nursery worker this course will give you an understanding of child psychology. It will provide you with an in-depth look at the minds and behaviour of children from newborn to pre-school and beyond, and how to give any child the best possible start in life, making it much more likely that they will grow up to be happy, balanced and confident. Child psychology is one of the most fascinating and rewarding subjects you could ever choose to study. You’ll learn to understand how children build relationships with others. The importance of play and how children develop socially and emotionally. How to manage a child’s behaviour effectively. How children develop in relation to language, social interaction and self esteem.

Course Content

Module 1: Major Developmental Issues

Unit 1: The First Year of Life

Infant reflexes;
Social development during the first year of life including the social smile and onset of fear of strangers.

Unit 2: The Formation of Attachments

Imprinting;
Attachment (Bowlby) including cross-cultural studies;
Harlow and surrogate mothers;
Relevance of animal studies in child development.

Unit 3: Consequences of Breakdowns in Attachments

Maternal deprivation;
Implications of theories of attachment and maternal deprivation when placing children with surrogates.

Unit 4: The Home, Family and School Group

Family care and studies of effects of maternal employment and father absent families;
Importance of peers and siblings.

Unit 5: Basic Principles of Research Methods

Nature and purpose of research
What is an experiment
Supporting and refuting hypotheses
Independent and dependent variables
Control of variables
Standardised instructions and procedures
Methods of sampling
Design of investigations.

Unit 6: The Development of Visual Perception

Introduction to the nature/nurture debate on visual perception
Fantz - form perception
Gibson and Walk - depth perception
How the physiology of the human visual system helps us judge depth and distance
Bower - size constancy
Animal experiments on early sensory deprivation.

Unit 7: The Development of Language and Communication

Development of non-verbal communication in humans, gestures etc
Comparisons with non-human primates
Outline of language development in humans
Including naturalistic observational in humans
Including naturalistic observational studies and criticisms of these
Innate and reinforcement theories

Unit 8: Intelligence and Intelligence Testing

Definitions of intelligence
Mental age and IQ
Tests of intelligence
Advantages and disadvantages of IQ testing.

Unit 9: The Nature/Nurture Debate

In the Study of Intelligence Twins studies
Stability of IQ
Are early experiences decisive for later development?

Unit 10: Data Collection and Interpretation

Tables and histograms, correlation and scattergrams
Mean
Range
Drawing conclusions from data.

Module Two;The Child as an Individual

Unit 11: How Children Think

Piaget`s theory of cognitive development
Including studies of egocentrism and criticisms of his work.

Unit 12: Learning Theory - How Behaviour is Acquired

Learning and conditioning - classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Including explanations of extinction, discrimination and generalisation
Positive and negative reinforcement
Social Learning Theory and criticisms.

Unit 13: Freud`s Psychodynamic Theory

An Alternative Approach Personality structure, 5 stage theory and criticisms.

Unit 14: Moral Development

Definition in psychological terms
Investigation of moral behaviour, moral feelings and moral judgement.

Unit 15: The Development of Gender Roles

Sex-typing
Gender identity
Biological, social and cultural theories.

Unit 16: Aggression in Children

Biological basis of aggression
Psychological theory and aggression
Aggression as a learned response
Imitation of aggression
Viewing violence
Punishment for aggression
Sex differences in aggression.

Unit 17: Methods Used in Child Development

Research
Observational, Survey, Correlational, Experimental - advantages and disadvantages.

Unit 18: Play

The importance of play to learning
Piaget`s theory of play
Forms of play
Relevance of psychological theories to pre-school education
Play and learning in nursery schools
Play therapy.

Unit 19: Learning in School Programmed

Learning and its relationship to learning theory - advantages and disadvantages
Discovery learning and its effectiveness.

Unit 20: Behaviour

Modification Explanation and examples
Relationship to learning theory
Points systems, Advantages and disadvantages.

Assessment

The Child Psyhcology course assessment takes the form of a series of written assignments, which are submitted and marked by your tutor. There is no external examination required.

Study Method

The course is designed for study by distance learning at home or at work. Students receive a course manual, assignments and study guide plus tutor support by mail or email. You can start at any time and plan your studies over a period of up to one year from the time of registration.

Qualifications

The course leads to the award of Diploma in Child Psyhcology Level 3 from OCN; a leading UK awarding body recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Course Questions & Answers

Q: What skills are needed to enrol onto this course?

You do not need any previous knowledge to enrol onto this course.

Q: Is there a time limit for completion of this course?

We provide you with a full 12 months to complete your home learning course, this is a lot more time than you need so that you can study at your own pace and in your own time without the pressure of tight deadlines – this course is truly flexible and aimed at being adaptable around your lifestyle.

Q: What is included in the cost of my course?

You will receive your official course manual
A4 folder containing assignments
A stationery pack is also provided including paper, envelopes, pens and a folder.
Unlimited tutor support

Q: Do I have to sit an exam?

No. We will issue certification based on your coursework alone.

Q: Are there any additional costs?

No, everything you need is included in the price! We even send a stationary pack out to you!

Q: How do I get my work assessed?

Every student is issued with envelopes in order to return your completed work to us. Once we receive your work we will mark it and return it to you. On successful completion of the course you will be awarded your diploma proving your success in the chosen subject.