The area of child psychology is an evolving and multi-faceted one and provides valuable insights into child behaviour that can be applied to real-life situations. If you work with children, this course can enhance your personal development or be used as a foundation for further study and/or qualifications. It can also be used as a stepping stone for those after a career change or keen to enter the childcare sector.
The Certificate of Child Psychology is an online professional development program where you will examine and understand normal patterns of childhood growth and how they are applied to certain development areas.
In this childhood psychology course, you will learn about children’s cognitive, emotional, moral, sexual and language development; and study theories from experts including Freud, Piaget and Bowlby.
You will also study the area of socialisation in children, including the development of empathy, self-awareness and perspective, and how family structures, peers and educational settings can be of influence.
On completion of this course, you will have a thorough understanding of how children develop psychologically as they mature, and what factors influence their behaviour and thinking. This will give you valuable insights into why children of different ages behave the way they do and how you might expect them to behave!
Course Structure
Unit - Child Psychology
Unit 1 – Introduction to Child Psychology
- Levels of development: nature or nurture, isolating hereditary characteristics
- Cause versus correlation
- Continuity versus discontinuity
- Cross sectional and longitudinal studies
- Reliability of verbal reports
Unit 2 -The Newborn Infant
- Theories of newborn psychology
- Temperament – nature or nurture
- Parental influences
- The perinatal environment
- Parental experiences
- Fathers involvement
- Emotional disturbances during pregnancy
Unit 3 – States and Senses of the Infant
- Sensory discrimination (sound, smell and visual)
- Infant states (sleep, inactivity, waking, crying)
- Habituation
- Crying
- Soothing a distressed baby
- Depth perception
- Oral sensitivity
Unit 4 – Learning
- How children learn
- Habituation
- Vicarious learning
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Reinforcement
- Consequences and timing
- Punishment problems
- Learning control
Unit 5 – Emotions and Socialisation
- Emotions in early childhood
- Origins of smiling
- Fear
- Emotional attachment
- Freudian approach
- Bowlby’s approach
- Harlow’s approach
- Responding to babies
- Role of cognition in attachment formation
- Day care
Unit 6 – Cognitive Development
- Piaget’s theory and cognitive structural development
- The importance of play
- Implications of Piaget’s theories
- Cognitive processing theory
- Memory capacity
- Memory improvement strategies
- Attentional capacity
Unit 7 – Language Development
- Is language ability learned or innate?
- Social learning approach
- Hypothesis testing approach
- How speech develops
- Helping babies talk
- One to two years
- From age 3
- Why things sometimes go wrong
Unit 8 – Intelligence
- Interaction of nature and nurture
- The nature of intelligence
- Measuring intelligence
- Parental influences on intelligence
- Testing intelligence as a tool
Unit 9 – Socialisation … Part A
- Social cognition
- self-awareness
- awareness of others
- Empathy
- Taking turns
- Having a point of view/perspective
- Social scripts
- Pretend play
Unit 10 – Morality
- Freud’s approach to moral development
- Piaget’s approach
- Kohlberg’s approach
- Pre-conventional level
- Conventional level
- Post conventional level
- Raising morally mature children
- Pro-social or altruistic behaviour
- Aggressive behaviour
- Age-related changes in aggression
Unit 11 – Sexuality
- Freud’s psychosexual stages of development
- Gender and role identity
- Sexual behaviour
- Child abuse
- Stranger abusers
Unit 12 – Socialisation … Part B
- Family influence
- Discipline
- Family structures
- Sibling influence
- School influence
- Praise
- Peer influence
- Acceptance and rejection
Study Hours
Estimated duration 50 hours
Course Delivery and Start
Start anytime, self-paced and 100% online
Assessment
Assessment will be comprised of written exercises, including short-answer questions, reflective tasks, short reports and/or projects. There are no examinations or due dates for assessment. As a result, you can complete training in your own time and at your own pace with the assistance of unlimited tutor support.
Testimonials
I liked that the assignments were supplied all at once so that I could work at my own pace and I didn’t have to wait for assignments to be marked before I moved on to the next unit.
S. Denney Coolbellup, Western Australia | Certificate of Child Psychology
It was a nice experience. Doing the assignments was difficult but helpful for my improvement
M. Young Lee, Yokine, WA | Certificate of Child Psychology
As always enjoyed my course. Have completed a number of courses with Australian Online Courses and have never been disappointed.
T.Koroi, Burra, SÁ | Certificate of Child Psychology
I have two young children at home, and I work part time, the option to study when I could whenever I could was great! I enrolled in my course whilst there was a special running however I knew I wasn’t able to start straight away, with Australian Online Courses that didn’t matter as I was able to complete it at my own pace anyway.
M. Reynolds, Baldivis,WA | Certificate of Child Psychology
Graduation
A Certificate of Attainment and Statement of Results will be issued upon successful completion of this course.
How to Enrol
Enrol Online: Click Enrol Now (Credit Card) or Enrol Now (Internet Banking/BPAY)
Enrol via Live Chat (Business Hours)
Enrol via Telephone 1300 76 2221 (Business Hours)
Enrol via Purchase Order/Tax Invoice
Enrolling Multiple Staff?
To enrol multiple staff, please complete the Employer Enrolment Form. We’ll be in touch within 60 minutes during business hours!
Payment Options
Visa, Mastercard, BPAY and Direct Deposit.
Course FAQs
Why Choose Australian Online Courses?
- Professional development that is widely recognised and respected;
- Improve your employment opportunities;
- Study online, anywhere via our elearning system;
- High-quality professional development programs written by industry experts;
- All course materials provided online – no textbooks to buy;
- Unlimited tutor support via email;
- We offer twelve (12) months’ access, with extensions available upon application (fees apply);
- Course may be tax deductible; see your tax advisor.
Are there any entry requirements or pre-requisites?
To study online with Australian Online Courses you will need a computer (desktop PC/laptop) running a current/updated operating system with reliable high-speed internet access. You will need to use the Google Chrome browser to access your course.
Are there any computer requirements?
To study online with Australian Online Courses you will need a computer (desktop PC/laptop) running a current/updated operating system with reliable high-speed internet access. You will need to use the Google Chrome browser to access your course.
When can I start this course?
You can start within 60 minutes during business hours when you enrol and pay in full with a credit card!
Credit card: Within 60 mins during business hours.
BPAY: Within 1-2 working days.
Internet Banking: Within 1-2 working days.
Cheque/Money Order: Upon receipt of mailed cheque.
How is this course delivered?
This course is delivered online via our easy-to-navigate Learning Management System (LMS), where you will discover interactive online learning/written content, resources and assessment.
Do I need to attend classes or undertake any work placements?
No. All courses are delivered online via our LMS and there are no work placement requirements in this course.
What support can I expect from Australian Online Courses?
Unlimited tutor support is available throughout your studies via email only during business hours Monday to Friday. Our Administrative team are available Monday to Friday via email, live chat and telephone.
I am an international student. Can I enrol into this course?
Yes! We accept enrolments from individuals both within Australia and internationally; location is no barrier to entry into our programs.
Career Pathways
Future growth
Strong
Unemployment
Low
Professional development for those working in, or aspiring to work in:
- Youth work
- Child and adolescent counselling
- School counselling
- Teaching, teacher aides & school employees
- Child psychology
- Social work
- Child care
- Children’s services
- Medical and health professions
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