PSY273 Youth Development

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2012
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Petr Macek, CSc. (lecturer)
Mgr. Zuzana Scott, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Stanislav Ježek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Lenka Lacinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Jan Šerek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Anna Ševčíková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. PhDr. David Šmahel, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Michaela Porubanová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Petr Macek, CSc.
Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Zuzana Scott, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Wed 16:00–17:40 exP24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
This course will introduce students to wide range of youth development topics and will introduce the current research that is being done in the field. This course is for foreign students only that are visiting Masaryk University (foreigners pursuing the degree at MU, Erasmus, ISEP, and other exchange programs). The course is not meant for the standard students pursuing a degree in the Czech language. The course requires basic knowledge in the field of psychology, an interest in developmental and social psychology, and knowledge of English on at least B1 level.
Syllabus
  • Topics 1. What is special about adolescence? Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood in Western Cultures and Central European Context: what is general and what is special about these periods. Brief history, theories of adolescence. Adolescence and cultural variations. by Petr Macek 2. Civic participation and political engagement in contemporary European/Czech Youth We will try to disentangle the widespread cliché that the contemporary youth is uninterested in public issues and politically alienated. Students will be presented with the recent research (including our own) on young people’s civic/political thinking and behavior. These findings will be discussed from two perspectives: (1) Do today’s young people really differ from their parents and grandparents? (2) How are the findings on youth (dis)engagement biased by researchers’ theoretical assumptions and methodology? by Jan Šerek & Zuzana Petrovičová 3. Affectivity and emotions in adolescence. What do the adolescents fear? Coping with negative emotions. From moodiness to depression and anxiety. Discussion on intercultural differences in the ways we express emotions and cope with the negative ones. Perceived social value of different emotions and ways of coping. by Stanislav Ježek 4. Adolescent relationships II: Family and self-development. The role of parents and family in adolescents' self-development. Parenting style and self-esteem. The meaning of communications in family system. Emerging adults and their bonds with parents. by Petr Macek 5. The role of digital media in adolescents' development. The role of internet, cell phones, and other mobile devices in the lives of adolescents and emerging adults will be discussed, the risks and benefits of these new interactive technologies. Recent empirical findings will be discussed, what role can play digital media in adolescents' development. by David Šmahel 6. Adolescent relationships I: Love and sex. The role of romantic relationships during adolescence. Wide range of adolescents’ representation of term „to date somebody“. Romantic relationships representation with respect to current developmental theories. Adolescent sexuality, a role of media. by Lenka Lacinová, Anna Ševčíková
Teaching methods
Course Format: Course will be conducted in the combined form of lectures and follow up seminars, biweekly. Active participation of students in seminars is required, thus the class participation is important. Students are expected to come to class prepared and follow up updates in IS (e-learning).
Assessment methods
Evaluation: (1) Exam • There will be one exam at the end of the semester covering the lectures and assigned readings. • Accounts for 40% of the final grade • Preparing for exam should be a process that is spaced out over time (2) Assignments • The remaining 60% of your grade is collected through assignments and class presentations. • 3 review papers will be assigned during semester, each accounting 10% of you grade, total 30 %. • 1 group/individual assignment (depending on the class size)– 30 % of your final grade Review Paper (10% each) • Three papers will be assigned. Students will be asked to critically asses additional article or chapter related to adolescent development, preferably considering one’s own cultural background. Papers can be related to lecture or seminar materials, new ideas about the papers are welcomed and encouraged, please consult the topic prior to submission. These papers are required to use American Psychological Association (APA) style, which will be briefly introduced during first seminar. More info about APA is available online, e.g. : http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. • The papers should not exceed 1200 words, double spaced, standard format (Times New Roman 12, plus cover page with name of the student, class name, date, and reference page at the end of the paper following APA citation manual). Class Presentations/Group Assignment (20%) • Groups/teams of 2-3 students will be formed during first class (depends on the class size). Teams will be responsible to summarize and present (Power Point) the assigned readings to the class, present findings from one or more empirical study related to the topic to the class, and facilitates some brief discussion of the readings. Each team member must actively participate in this process. Presentation should not exceed 30 minutes (that does not include the class discussion). • Consider following journals publishing studies on adolescence: International Journal of Behavioral Development, Journal of Adolescence, Journal of Adolescent Health, Journal of Adolescent Research, Journal of Early Adolescence, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, additionally also Child Development, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Developmental Psychology, Applied Developmental Science. • Each presentation should include the general information about the selected study (studies), that is title, names of authors, year and journal published. Also, in your presentation, state the main goal of the study (studies, how they overlap), theoretical background and rationale of the study (studies), and hypotheses. Introduce the sample and method to your audience. Present the results in clear way, so people in the audience understand them and state why are the results important, what do they mean. The overall impression, formal aspect, and content (how well was the research understood and presented) will be graded. Grading Scale for letter grades end semester Your performance will be evaluated by the following pieces of data (subject to change): 3 Review Papers: 30% 1 Group Assignment (in class presentation): 30% 1 Exam: 40% Letter grades will be assigned based on the following final average score: 100-93% = A, 92-85% = B, 84-77% = C, 76-69% = D, 68-61% = E, and below 60%=F.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught each semester.
General note: only for visiting foreign students.
Information on course enrolment limitations: only for visiting foreign students, coure require MINIMUM of 7 students
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2012, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2012/PSY273