Assessment of Development and of Educational Contexts

Code:

PEDH14

Acronym:

ADCE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
CNAEF	Psychology

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Course/CS Responsible:	Master Degree in Psychology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MPSI	10	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2021	1	-	6	54	162
MTP	5	Official Curricular Structure	1	-	6	54	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

This course unit aims to promote knowledge and skills in the assessment of human development and in the evaluation of the quality of educational contexts among future psychology professionals.

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of this course unit, students should:

1. Understand the theoretical frameworks underlying the practices of human development assessment.
2. Be able to apply various assessment techniques across different domains of development.
3. Master written and oral communication strategies for reporting assessment results to different stakeholders.
4. Be able to relate assessment content and results to intervention goals in human development.
5. Understand the theoretical frameworks underlying the assessment of development contexts.
6. Master strategies for evaluating the family context, particularly the family environment and parent-child interactions.
7. Master strategies for assessing the quality of residential care settings.
8. Be capable of defining intervention plans based on the content and results of development context assessments.
9. Be able to utilise skills to participate in transdisciplinary assessment teams.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicable

Program

1. Review of the main models of human development as fundamental frameworks for developmental assessment. Impact of adverse childhood experiences on human development.


2. Approach to developmental and neuropsychological assessment scales used with children and adolescents: The Griffiths III Scale and BANC - Coimbra Neuropsychological Assessment Battery.


3. Executive functions as an essential domain of human functioning. Assessment strategies.


4. Attachment. Assessment of attachment behaviours and representations throughout development.


5. Family as a context of human development. Assessment of the family system, family environment, and parent-child interactions.


6. Extrafamilial development contexts. Out-of-home care contexts. Assessment of the quality of residential care.

Mandatory literature

Mary McLean; Assessing infants and preschoolers with special needs. ISBN: 0-02-379394-5
Del Valle, J. F., Bravo, A. A., Martinez, M. H., & Santos, I. G. ; Estándares de calidad en acogimiento residencial EQUAR. , Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad., 2012
Sattler , Jerome M.; Assessment of children. ISBN: 0-9618209-2-6

Complementary Bibliography

Silvia Salcuni; Attachment assessment in treatments, prevention and intervention programs. ISBN: 2-88919-523-6
Castro, E., Magalhães, E. & Del Valle, J. F. (2024). ; A systematic review of quality indicators in therapeutic residential care drawn from young people´s beliefs and experiences., Child Indicators Research, 17, 1195–1216 , 2024. ISBN: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-024-10118-

Teaching methods and learning activities

The teaching methods are as follows:

1. Lectures, with requests made to students regarding various contents and based on the readings indicated before each class
2. Practical exercises conducted in small groups related to the content of each class, followed by large group discussions;
3. Presentation of specific developmental assessment scales by key individuals involved in their development/standardisation;
4. Preparation monitored of a final case study report.

keywords

Social sciences > Psychological sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	35,00
Trabalho escrito	65,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	56,00
Estudo autónomo	52,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance of 75% of the classes that actually took place

Calculation formula of final grade

The final grade is based on the weighting of the scores obtained in the following components:

1. Class participation with completion of the tasks proposed in each lesson - 35%
2. Case study report - 65%

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Internship work/project

Not applicable

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

According to current regulations

Classification improvement

For the purpose of improving their grade, students will need to submit a revised version of the case study report.

Observations

Not applicable