Careers in Child and Adolescent Development: A Student's Guide to Working in the Field

Child and Adolescent Development is a rich and continuously evolving field that offers a wealth of career opportunities. Careers in Child and Adolescent Development is the first textbook to guide students along each step of the career path―from the levels of academic degrees and programs available, to preparations for the professional world. It presents a brief description of the field, explores a broad array of career paths available to students, and offers some practical ideas for constructing a career plan. Students are provided with practical, up-to-date information about career opportunities, combined with real-life vignettes to illustrate the challenges and rewards these careers hold. The book presents traditional career paths in fields such as child and adolescent development, elementary education, educational leadership, and school counseling, as well as non-traditional or emerging career paths in child life and behavior analysis, research, academia, non-profit work, children’s ministry, and family law. It will serve as a go-to reference for students, and can be used in a fieldwork class, a service learning class, a professional development class, or a capstone class.

Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle has a PhD from Stanford University in Child and Adolescent Development. She is an American Psychological Association MFP Fellow. She is a college professor of 26 years. This is her second co-authored textbook. She is the author or co-author of over 15 peer-reviewed articles and some book chapters. She is a presenter or co-presenter of more than 35 peer-reviewed presentations. She is also the winner of one of the Stanford GSE Alumni Awards for Excellence in Education for 2018.

Aletha M. Harven is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Child Development at California State University, Stanislaus. She obtained her BA and MA at Sacramento State and her PhD from UCLA. She has authored and co-authored book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, and peer-reviewed presentations.

Cynthia Hudley is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Education program in Educational Psychology. She also served as an Associate Dean for the UCSB Graduate Division, President of Division E of the American Educational Research Association, and a member of the Board of Educational Affairs for the American Psychological Association