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Human Growth and Development
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Human Growth and Development

Fourth Edition
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March 2019 | 296 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Written for students training for careers in the helping professions, this Fourth Edition covers all the essential topics central to understanding people whether they are clients, service users, patients or pupils. Following the shape of a human life, beginning with birth and ending with death, it combines theoretical concepts and reflective learning to help your students develop an understanding of what makes us grow and change over our lives.

The NEW Online Case Study Resource - Tangled Webs
Now you and your students can explore key issues and themes raised in the book and develop the skill of linking theory to practice with free access to a new online case study resource. By following the lives of people living in the fictional London Borough of Bexford, this series of interlinked and extended case studies will allow your students to explore complex situations, much as they might do as practitioners in their working lives, and consider what ideas about Human Growth and Development might inform their thinking and practice. 
 
Chapter 1: The Birth of a Human Being: What makes us who we are?
 
Chapter 2: The Balancing Act: Psychodynamic insights
 
Chapter 3: A Secure Base: The importance of attachment
 
Chapter 4: The Emergence of Reason: The developing ability to understand
 
Chapter 5: Making Connections: Ideas from behaviourism
 
Chapter 6: Who Am I Going to Be? Adolescence, identity and change
 
Chapter 7: Acting like a Grown-up: Challenges of adulthood
 
Chapter 8: Access to Adulthood: Growing up with a disability
 
Chapter 9: No Man is an Island: Family systems and their life cycle
 
Chapter 10: It Takes a Village: A sociological perspective
 
Chapter 11: Coming to a Conclusion: Dimensions of old age
 
Chapter 12: That Good Night: Death, dying and bereavement

To comprehend applied theory, social work students need clear explanations and illustrative real-world examples. Beckett and Taylor successfully achieve this throughout their book and online content. Indeed, the addition of the online material Tangled Webs is a stroke of brilliance. Real lives are complex and interconnected; and this is expounded in the narrative of a fictional community, presented from diverse perspectives.

Lesley Deacon
Senior Lecturer, Applied Social Studies/Social Work, University of Sunderland

This book is an excellent resource for students and tutors interested in how human beings learn and develop, and it is further enhanced through access to the Tangled Webs case studies. They are rich and diverse requiring the reader to challenge their assumptions and reflect on practice; thus supporting multi-professional development.

Samantha McMahon
Director of Student Support and Retention in the School of Education at the University of Huddersfield

This is a well written book which is easily digestible. Students have fed back that they have found this book very helpful in helping them to understand issues of human growth and development.

Mrs Victoria Shore
Social Work and Interprofessional Education, Chester University
January 22, 2024

This was a really informative and useful book which I adopted on the reading list for our theoretical perspectives module (L5 social work degree apprenticeship). We were looking at different aspects of the lifespan and lifespan development and this was accessible and easy to read and understand. The exercises were very useful to apply the theoretical perspectives to practice.

Miss Sarah Jane Brain
School of Social Work,Allied&Public He, Staffordshire University
February 9, 2023

Really simply to access and many of my students found the snippets of information really useful

Miss Sunnie Sian
Social Work, CWA Assessor
December 26, 2022

Adopted because of the diversity in discussion, relevance in application of developmental theory of human growth and lifespan, and for ease of student understanding.

Professor LaShawna J Campbell
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Florida State Clg at Jacksonville
June 13, 2021

Having used previous editions, I am equally pleased with this edition. The chapter arrangement is logical and my students are finding the material engaging and relevant. It's an enjoyable read, which can't be said of many text books, while still thoroughly embedded in and supported by relevant research. The Tangled Web cases studies are a useful addition to the main exercises within the chapters.

Mrs Gaynor Avril Boileau
Health, Social Care & Early Years Dept, Warwickshire College
November 4, 2020

An update to an always helpful text, particularly relevant to modules exploring psychology and social work.

Mr Luke Tibbits
school of Psychological Social & Behavioural Sciencs, Coventry University
October 21, 2019

A clear text which gives a good introduction to theories and ideas behind development. I particularly appreciate the activities which allow for reflective learning.

Mrs Stephanie Fry
Social Science, Petroc College
July 18, 2019

This book is very appropriate for the Human Function module, highlighting in very straight-forward terms the issues and theories that can be applied to the human condition. It is particularly useful as it covers the whole life-span.

Mr Neil Robdale
Occupational Therapy, Wrexham Glyndwr University
November 22, 2019