HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: Early Childhood

Semester: Yearly

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Cory Shulman

Coordinator Email: cory.shulman@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Wednesday 12-12:30

Teaching Staff:
Prof Cory Shulman

Course/Module description:
This research seminar deals with differences between girls and girls at different ages. Students will learn different research strategies in studying and measuring cognitive abilities, behavioral profiles and social skills. They will compare this abilities among children of different ages, taking into account child, parent, family and environmental characteristics. The students will choose the groups they would like to study which can include typical and/or special populations (e.g., boys and girls with neurodevelopmental disorders, boys and girls from immigrant families, those from religious families and more). The goal of the research is to examine the relationships between the variables that the students choose to emphasize, focusing on gender differences. These differences will be conceptualized theoretically and examined developmentally. Each research group will be responsible for presenting the research questions to be investigated, based on literature review, and for adapting questionnaires/interviews, which will be used for data collection. The data will be analyzed quantitatively and discussed, drawing conclusions with theoretical and practical implications.

Course/Module aims:
This class is designed to:
Develop a set of quantitative research tools to study gender differences in children. Familiarize students with research findings in the study of differences between boys and girls.
Understand differences and similarities between girls and boys from different theoretical perspectives.
Experience diverse experimental, laboratory, and field paradigms used in the study of gender. Ability to locate, read and critique psychological research articles.
Acquire/enhance skills in written presentation, including familiarity with the format suggested by the American Psychological Association.
Acquire/enhance ability to design psychological studies to address research questions in the psychology of gender.
Instill a sense of curiosity, critical thinking, and enthusiasm for the field.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Students will be able to conduct a critical review of psychological research in the area of gender.
2. Students will be able to identify characteristics which may be similar and or different in boys and girls, based in existing knowledge.
3. Students will be able to conduct a search of the relevant research literature in psychology, and write an in-depth analysis of their chosen topic.
4. Students will be able to identify the instruments to collect data which will address the issue they are studying, use the instruments and gather enough data to analyze.
5. Students will be able to apply theoretical perspectives in discussing their results and understanding their research and practical applications.
6. Students will be able to write a research paper presenting the rationale for their research based on a literature survey, as well as their hypotheses, methods findings and conclusions according the APA guidelines.

Attendance requirements(%):
85%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:

Course/Module Content:
The subjects to be covered are presented as similarities and differences between boys and girls:
1. sensory development
2. emotional development
3. social development
4. behavior profiles
5. language development

Required Reading:
Allan, N. P., Joye, S. W., & Lonigan, C. J. (2017). Does gender moderate the relations between externalizing behavior and key emergent literacy abilities? Evidence from a longitudinal study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 21(7), 600-609.
Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Haynes, O. M. (2004). Specific and general language performance across early childhood: Stability and gender considerations. First Language, 24(3), 267-304.‏
Christov-Moore, L., Simpson, E. A., Coudé, G., Grigaityte, K., Iacoboni, M., & Ferrari, P. F. (2014). Empathy: Gender effects in brain and behavior. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 46, 604-627.‏
Eme, R. (2018). Sex differences in temperament: A partial explanation for the sex difference in the prevalence of serious antisocial behaviors. Aggression and Violent Behavior.
Endendijk, J. J., Groeneveld, M. G., van der Pol, L. D., van Berkel, S. R., Hallers‐Haalboom, E. T., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., & Mesman, J. (2017). Gender differences in child aggression: Relations with gender‐differentiated parenting and parents’ gender‐role stereotypes. Child Development, 88(1), 299-316.
Eriksson, M., Marschik, P. B., Tulviste, T., Almgren, M., Pérez Pereira, M., Wehberg, S., ... & Gallego, C. (2012). Differences between girls and boys in emerging language skills: Evidence from 10 language communities. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 30(2), 326-343.‏
Fung, W. K., & Cheng, R. W. Y. (2017). Effect of school pretend play on preschoolers’ social competence in peer interactions: Gender as a potential moderator. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(1), 35-42.
Halim, M. L. D., Ruble, D. N., Tamis‐LeMonda, C. S., Shrout, P. E., & Amodio, D. M. (2017). Gender attitudes in early childhood: Behavioral consequences and cognitive antecedents. Child Development, 88(3), 882-899.
Kaushanskaya, M., Gross, M., & Buac, M. (2013). Gender differences in child word learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 27, 82-89.‏
Kuhnert, R. L., Begeer, S., Fink, E., & de Rosnay, M. (2017). Gender-differentiated effects of theory of mind, emotion understanding, and social preference on prosocial behavior development: A longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 154, 13-27.
Mous, S. E., Schoemaker, N. K., Blanken, L. M., Thijssen, S., van der Ende, J., Polderman, T. J., ... & White, T. (2017). The association of gender, age, and intelligence with neuropsychological functioning in young typically developing children: the Generation R study. Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 6(1), 22-40.‏
Muschkin, C. G., Ladd, H. F., Dodge, K. A., & Bai, Y. (2018). Gender differences in the impact of North Carolina’s Early Care and Education initiatives on student outcomes in elementary school. Educational Policy, 0895904818773901.
Ostrov, J. M., & Keating, C. F. (2004). Gender differences in preschool aggression during free play and structured interactions: An observational study. Social Development, 13(2), 255-277.‏
Palejwala, M. H., & Fine, J. G. (2015). Gender differences in latent cognitive abilities in children aged 2 to 7. Intelligence, 48, 96-108.
Prioletta, J., & Pyle, A. (2017). Play and gender in Ontario kindergarten classrooms: implications for literacy learning. International Journal of Early Years Education, 25(4), 393-408.
Prosen, S., & Smrtnik Vitulić, H. (2017). Children’s emotional expression in the preschool context. Early Child Development and Care, 1, 1-9.
Rose, A. J., & Asher, S. R. (2017). The social tasks of friendship: Do boys and girls excel in different tasks?. Child Development Perspectives, 11(1), 3-8.
Sax, L. (2017). Why gender matters, revised and updated (second edition): What parents and teachers need to know about the emerging science of sex differences. Harmony.
Schulte-Rüther, M., Markowitsch, H. J., Shah, N. J., Fink, G. R., & Piefke, M. (2008). Gender differences in brain networks supporting empathy. Neuroimage, 42(1), 393-403.
Silva, C., Cadime, I., Ribeiro, I., Santos, S., Santos, A. L., & Viana, F. L. (2017). Parents’ reports of lexical and grammatical aspects of toddlers’ language in European Portuguese: Developmental trends, age and gender differences. First Language, 37(3), 267-284.
Smith, C. L., & Day, K. L. (2018). Parenting, anger, and effortful control as predictors of child externalizing behavior: The role of child sex as a moderator. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42(2), 248-256.
Taggart, J., Heise, M. J., & Lillard, A. S. (2018). The real thing: preschoolers prefer actual activities to pretend ones. Developmental Science, 21(3), e12582.
Takala, K., Kokkonen, M., Gråstén, A., & Liukkonen, J. (2014). Three-to four-year-old children’s socioemotional competencies assessed by kindergarten teachers in general and physical education settings, and by parents at home. Preschool and Primary Education, 3(1), 17-33.‏
Veiga, G., de Leng, W., Cachucho, R., Ketelaar, L., Kok, J. N., Knobbe, A., ... & Rieffe, C. (2017). Social competence at the playground: Preschoolers during recess. Infant and Child Development, 26(1), e1957.
Wright, R., Riedel, R., Sechrest, L., Lane, R. D., & Smith, R. (2018). Sex differences in emotion recognition ability: The mediating role of trait emotional awareness. Motivation and Emotion, 42(1), 149-160.

אוכלוסיות מיוחדות
Beggiato, A., Peyre, H., Maruani, A., Scheid, I., Rastam, M., Amsellem, F., ... & Delorme, R. (2017). Gender differences in autism spectrum disorders: divergence among specific core symptoms. Autism Research, 10(4), 680-689.
Dean, M., Harwood, R., & Kasari, C. (2017). The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(6), 678-689.
Fulton, A. M., Paynter, J. M., & Trembath, D. (2017). Gender comparisons in children with ASD entering early intervention. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 68, 27-34.
Harrop, C., Green, J., Hudry, K., & PACT Consortium. (2017). Play complexity and toy engagement in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: Do girls and boys differ?. Autism, 21(1), 37-50.
Klein‐Tasman, B. P., & Lee, K. (2017). Problem behaviour and psychosocial functioning in young children with Williams syndrome: Parent and teacher perspectives. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(9), 853-865.
Kothari, R., Skuse, D., Wakefield, J., & Micali, N. (2013). Gender differences in the relationship between social communication and emotion recognition. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(11), 1148–1157.
Lee, M., Bush, L., Martin, G. E., Barstein, J., Maltman, N., Klusek, J., & Losh, M. (2017). A multi-method investigation of pragmatic development in individuals with Down Syndrome. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 122(4), 289-309.
Loomes, R., Hull, L., & Mandy, W. P. L. (2017). What is the male-to-female ratio in autism spectrum disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6), 466-474.

Additional Reading Material:
Appropriate material for individual topics to be researched by the students.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 20 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 20 %
Research project 60 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information: