SH4012 - Human Growth & Development (2025/26)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2025/26 | |||||||||||||||
| Module title | Human Growth & Development | |||||||||||||||
| Module level | Certificate (04) | |||||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 30 | |||||||||||||||
| School | School of Social Sciences and Professions | |||||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 300 | |||||||||||||||
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| Assessment components |
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| Running in 2025/26(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
In this module, you will study human growth and development across the life stages. You will examine in depth the different stages of the human lifecycle, from birth to death, and how this understanding relates to effective practice in health and social care. You will explore human development from multiple perspectives, and apply diverse physical, cognitive, psychological and sociological theories to this exploration. You will also examine the life stages through a cultural lens, and critique normative expectations regarding physical, psychological and social development. You will develop and share your understanding of issues such as the nature versus nurture debate, the role of genes in human growth and development, identity across the life stages and the conflicts faced when developmental norms are challenged. Central to these issues will be their application to practice, which you will be encouraged to critically analyse in depth through case studies based on real life practical examples, from both a local and global perspective. You will also be encouraged to reflect on your own lifecycle development, and how your experiences and the social, psychological and wider environmental factors that have shaped these, such as structural inequalities in society, have impacted your values, identity, personal and professional skills, and aspirations. This reflective process also supports the development of professional skills, including critical thinking, communication, and self-awareness, which are central to Personal and Professional Development (PPD). You will explore challenges facing diverse people across the life stages, how these impact development, and approaches that are used to facilitate positive development based on research and theory. You will learn how this understanding relates to current concepts in health and social care such as co-production, person centred care and strength-based approaches. You will demonstrate this understanding through active discussion, interactive groupwork, and authentic assessment.
Syllabus
The module covers the following themes:
The key life stages and affiliated ages; the physical, cognitive, psychological, behavioural and social characteristics related to these developmental stages (LO1).
Theories related to human growth and development such as Sugarman’s life stages; Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; Bandura’s social learning and cognitive theories; Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory; Bowlby’s attachment theory; and Tajfel and Turner’s social identity theory (LO2).
Activities and tools to facilitate self-reflection, and reflective learning and practice, such as journalling; poetry; storytelling and storyboarding; photo-voice; critical incidents; and the use of reflective models such as Gibbs reflective cycle, Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, and Rolfe’s model of reflection (LO3).
Key concepts in health and social care practice and how they relate to human growth and development, such as person-centred care, safeguarding, community and strength-based approaches, co-production, aging population and public health (LO4).
Diverse socio-cultural perspectives of human growth and development such as models of disability; genetic influences; normative conceptions of development from a rights-based, social justice perspective; Global perspectives (LO1).
Challenges experienced across the life course and models for holistic and development-based approaches to practice such as Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, Bowen’s family systems theory, contextual safeguarding and age-friendly communities (LO2).
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
The module employs a blended learning approach, combining scheduled lectures, seminars, and independent study. Lectures introduce key concepts and theories regarding human growth and development; characteristics and challenges experienced at each stage; diverse socio-cultural perspectives of growth and development; and practical approaches to working with people at different life stages. Seminars offer an interactive space for students to critically engage with their learning and apply theory to practice through studying real world examples from across the life course. Case study analysis helps contextualise the practical implications of their conceptual understanding and consider scenarios from multiple perspectives. Groupwork, discussion, and participatory learning activities will be used to encourage students to generate, evaluate and share their ideas. Creative approaches to teaching and assessment will be used, such as poetry, film, photography, visual narratives, and digital storytelling, positioning the student at the centre of their learning. A social constructivist theoretical approach will underpin the module design.
In addition to scheduled teaching activities, students are encouraged to engage in independent study, including reading academic and non-academic sources, engaging with online resources, and participating in online discussion boards. The module’s emphasis on blended learning allows students to engage both synchronously (through face-to-face activities) and asynchronously (via online forums and resources), promoting a flexible learning environment.
Reflective learning is central to the module’s design. Students will be encouraged to consider, explore and share their own journey and lifecycle development and how their experiences and the wider socio-cultural and environmental factors that have shaped these, have influenced their values, identity, perspectives, personal and professional skills and aspirations. Reflection tools such as journaling, storytelling and story boarding (including digitalised forms), use of visual and verbal narratives, poetry and photo voice will be used; Reflective models will also be introduced such as Gibbs reflective cycle, Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, and Rolfe’s model of reflection.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Analyse factors that affect human growth and development from a biological, psychological and social perspective.
- Examine theories of human growth and development relevant to health and social care practice.
- Reflect on your own lifecycle development and the social, psychological and wider environmental factors that have impacted your identity formation, values, personal and professional skills, and aspirations.
- Relate your understanding of human growth and development to current concepts of effective health and social care practice, such as person-centred care, strength-based approaches and coproduction.
Bibliography
Reading List – no Tallis link yet as module is yet to start in September 2025
Beckett, Chris & Taylor, Hilary (2024). Human Growth and Development (5th Ed). London: SAGE Publications.
Bogin, Barry (2021). Patterns of Human Growth (3rd Ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Capuzzi, David & Stauffer, Mark D. (Eds) (2016). Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan: Applications for Counselors. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
Gibson, Alistair & Gibson, Neil (2016). Human Growth, Behaviour and Development: Essential theory and application in social work. Los Angeles; London: SAGE.
Parker, Jonathan & Crabtree, Sara Ashencaen (2020). Human Growth and Development in Children and Young People: Theoretical and practice perspectives. Bristol: Policy Press.
Sudbury, John & Whittaker, Andrew (2018). Human Growth and Development: an introduction for social workers (2nd Ed). London; New York: Routledge.
Walker, Janet & Horner, Nigel (2024). Social Work and Human Development (7th Ed). London: Learning Matters, SAGE.
Barnard, A., Calabria, V., and Griffiths, L. (eds) (2023) Key Themes in Health and Social Care: A Companion to Learning. 2nd edn. London: Routledge
Journal of Human Growth and Development (Journal)
Social Care Institute of Excellence (Website)