BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS DEGREE IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOLOGY (HCDP)
| Module Code | Module Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| HCDP100 | Introduction to Psychology | The module introduces students to the core concepts and development of the psychological thought from its origins in philosophy and history. The module traces the historical development of psychology as a scientific study of behaviour, demonstrates the terminology used in psychology; identifies research models and relates the findings of research to life situations. Again, the module demonstrates the different theoretical approaches to psychology and be able to articulate the different assumptions behind them; applies theories of psychology to diverse life situations and helps in applying the psychology practically to problems confronting them in society. |
| HCDP101 | Introduction to Social Psychology | The module introduces students to the development of social psychology. It traces the history of social psychology and its relationship with sociology and social work. It introduces students to the application of psychological theories, concepts and experiments to a variety of social settings. For example, the concepts of social distance, social stigma, hate and ethnicity and their application in the fight against the spread of public health emergencies. The module prepares students to be able to produce research projects in psychology and to offer models that improve social wellness and social connectedness in individuals and groups under the supervision of a qualified psychologist. |
| HCDP103 | Introduction to Child Development: Overview and Main Theories |
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the Child Development and Psychology Programme. The module provides an introduction to child psychology. It focuses on conveying an understanding of key child development phenomena and the main theories of typical development in children and adolescents. Perceptual, cognitive, linguistic, emotional, personality and social development will be discussed, in light of developmental models and developmental studies. The phenomena and theories within the various child development areas are considered in the light of modern empirical research. |
| HCDP104 | Psychology Concepts, Methods and Applications | This module builds on the Introduction to Psychology module. The theories, concepts, methodology support the continuation of an introductory exposure to the central themes and controversies of the discipline. The major concepts and theories in Psychology enable provision to students of a strong understanding of the human mind and behaviour |
| HCDP105 | Contemporary and Applied Social Psychology | The module focuses on various challenges that Social Psychology can help to address. Examples of such challenges are promoting behaviour change, well-being, managing diversity, increasing justice and cooperation, and/or understanding social change. In this module we examine the fundamental connection between individuals and situations. The module demonstrates how social psychologist conduct their research and how to critically appraise that research, inculcates an understanding of the major theories and orientations in social psychology and explains world events, realities and trends in terms of social psychological tenets. |
| HCDP106 | Statistics for Psychology | Building on the understandings gained in ‘Experimental Psychology” students will be introduced the fundamental of descriptive and inferential statistics through weekly exercises using both Microsoft Excel and SPSS. It is expected that students will develop an understanding of hypothesis testing that will enable them to carry out and report the results of inferential statistics at least to the level of one-way analysis of variance for independent groups and multiple and partial bivariate correlation. In addition, the ability to interpret results and present them graphically will be developed. |
| HCDP107 | Ethical and Legal Issues in Child Development | This module is designed to provide an overview of ethical and legal issues in child development. This module is for first year students to help them appreciate the key ethical and legal issues involving in working with the children, conducting research with them and in all activities that involve them as children. |
| FSBT100 | Social & Behavioural Theory |
This interdisciplinary module introduces students to foundational concepts in the social and behavioural sciences, spanning Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Demography, Political Science, Public Policy, and Lifelong Learning. It equips students with analytical tools, values, and competencies to study human behaviour and society through the lens of social and behavioural theory. Emphasis is placed on theorising as a practical activity, encouraging students to critically apply theory to issues affecting individuals, groups, communities, and societies. The module also serves as preparation for professional practice, fostering skills for engaging with policy, politics, economics, and knowledge production as emerging social scientists. |
| SDLSSB101 | Social & Behavioural Theory |
This interdisciplinary module introduces students to foundational concepts in the social and behavioural sciences, spanning Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Demography, Political Science, Public Policy, and Lifelong Learning. It equips students with analytical tools, values, and competencies to study human behaviour and society through the lens of social and behavioural theory. Emphasis is placed on theorising as a practical activity, encouraging students to critically apply theory to issues affecting individuals, groups, communities, and societies. The module also serves as preparation for professional practice, fostering skills for engaging with policy, politics, economics, and knowledge production as emerging social scientists. |
| SDLSSB101 | Student Development and Life Skills | This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making.Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers. |
| IDSB101 |
Information & Digital Skills (University Wide Module) |
The Information and Digital Skills module develop learners’ ability to find, assess, and use information effectively while building confidence with digital tools. It covers online research, data management, communication, and collaboration, emphasizing ethical and responsible practices. By completion, learners can critically engage with digital resources across academic, professional, and everyday settings. |
| LAICSBKI100 | Language Acquisition And Intercultural Communication For Social And Behavioural Science - KISWAHILI | This is a Kiswahili module targeted for beginners with no prior knowledge of the language. There are no predetermined prerequisites required to undertake this module. Any beginner student who intends to learn and speak Kiswahili as a second or foreign language can benefit from this module. The course offers interactive skills which underlie elementary communication in view of developing learners’ skills in social interactions. The teaching philosophy adopted is based on communicative and competency-based approach to language teaching. Focus is on the competency which learners have to accomplish in the target language for them to be able to communicate naturally in business and other social settings. It is hoped that the module will equip Kiswahili students with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through various learning activities such as role play, exercises and tests. Upon completion of this module, students will have basic language skills that will enable them to function in multilingual and multicultural contexts in the spirit of Education 5.0. |
| HCDP201 | Child: Conception to Middle Childhood | Childhood development, beginning at conception and extending to middle childhood, is a foundational focus in psychology. This period is critical for shaping the brain, emotional regulation, attachment, identity, and resilience—laying the groundwork for future mental health, learning, and adaptation. This module integrates biological, psychological, cultural, and environmental perspectives with a strong focus on case-based learning and student activities to strengthen applied understanding. The module introduces second year undergraduate students to the basic concepts and mechanisms inherent in the process of human development from conception to late childhood. |
| HDP200 | Biological Foundations of Development | This module is designed to orient students to the branch of psychology which is important for understanding of how people learn, mature and adapt from a biological perspective. This module is an introduction to behavioral neuroscience, a branch of psychology that concerns itself with relationships between the brain, nervous system, and behavior. Topics include the structure and functioning of individual nerve cells; the structure and functioning of brain components; brain/nervous system control of relatively simple behavior, such as movement, sensation, perception, and motivated behaviors; physiological regulation of sleep and memory; and, biologically based clinical syndromes. |
| HDP201 | Social, Emotional and Personality Development | This module is intended to introduce students to theory and research in social and personality development. The module conveys an understanding of various processes of social, emotional, and moral development in children and adolescents, and the interactive influences of biology, culture, and social context on these processes. The module will discuss different theories of development and discuss the ways in which these theories are and are not successful in explaining the phenomena we discuss. The module with further consider developmental research methods, and the intimate relation between how we study development and what we know about it. |
| HCDP204 | Qualitative Research Methods and Data Analysis | This module aims to explain the principles and philosophies around research in psychology and illustrate how qualitative research in psychology is conducted. It illustrates the concepts, theories and models in research methods in psychology and to provide the application of research methods principles. The module will assist students demonstrate knowledge and application of qualitative research designs and data analysis methods including use of modern packages. This module prepares students to conduct research and design models that improve human welfare in the communities. |
| SDLSSB201 |
Student Development and Life Skills (University Wide Module) |
This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers. |
| CCLSSB201 |
Critical Consciousness & Life Skills (University Wide Module) |
Develops students’ awareness of social, cultural and personal issues while fostering essential life skills for decision-making, problem-solving and responsible citizenship. |
| RISSB202 |
Research and Innovation Skills ( Faculty Wide Module) |
This module equips learners with the essential knowledge, tools, and practices required to conduct effective research and foster innovation in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial settings. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and the application of systematic research methods to generate new ideas and solutions. |
| SSRM201 | Social Science Research Methods | This module engages with the emergence of Social Science Research Methods and their need to deal with unique experiences, meanings making processes and interpretations of people and thus of society. At the end of the module students should be able to conduct qualitative research to inform policies and development initiatives. |
| EPECPSB301 | Entrepreneurship, Professional Ethics Communication and Philosophy | The module capacitates students with skills to organically grow enterprises through cultivating employees that are creative and innovative. These skills and knowledge are the corner stone of enterprise growth as they remove dependence on the owners to all in the organisation. Through the module organisational rejuvenation and sustainable competitiveness hence growth is guaranteed. |
| LAICSBFR200 | Language Acquisition And Intercultural Communication For Social And Behavioural Sciences -FRENCH | The aim of this programme is to train students to be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of basic needs of a concrete type. By the end of the course the student should be able to introduce him/herself in detail and others and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. The student should also be able to interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. It recognizes the linguistic competency of a basic user, considered as a social actor. The learner can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring the most common polite phrases and exchanges of information. |
| HCDP209 | Perceptual and Cognitive Development | The primary goals of this module are: to introduce the students to a range of topics in the study of cognitive and perceptual development, with an emphasis on current issues; to teach the students to think critically about findings in cognitive development; to enhance students’ understanding of diversity as it applies to cognitive development; and to hone students’ skills in facilitating and participating in constructive discussions on science. |
| HCDP210 | Adolescence | The purpose of this module is to provide knowledge on the adolescence stage. It covers the concepts and mechanisms inherent in the process of human development during adolescence. This module also describes the nature and context of development, as well as the research methods used to study adolescents. The aim of the module is to provide a knowledge base of the adolescence stage on which students can build application and critical thinking skills. |
| HCDP211 | Emergence, Growth and Development in Language Development and Communication | The module provides an overview of speech and language development and communication disorders. This course focuses on first language acquisition and development in children. The module provides an overview of child language development in the major subfields of Linguistics: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The module also explores the cognitive, biological, environmental, and social-cultural influences on linguistic knowledge; analyze the major competing theoretical approaches to language acquisition and development; cover experimental methodologies used to assess linguistic competence and performance; and review the empirical data used to identify developmental milestones, distinguishing between linguistic competence and performance. The module also briefly extends this ‘typical baseline' into bilingualism, second language acquisition, and language acquisition and development in special populations. Students will learn to recognize patterns of typical and atypical language development, use assessment tools in order to make decisions with regard to diagnosis and intervention and develop the skills to identify communication rich environments. |
| HCDP208 | Quantitative Research Methods and Advanced Statistics | This module aims to explain the principles and philosophies around research in psychology and illustrate how research in psychology is conducted. It illustrates the concepts, theories and models in research methods in psychology and to provide the application of research methods principles. The module focuses on hypothesis testing in psychological research. It seeks to acquaint students with scientific techniques of analysing research data using inferential statistics in order to arrive at scientific conclusions. The module will assist students demonstrate knowledge and application of inferential statistical procedures to solve relevant psychological problems using data analysis software such as Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). |
| RISSB202 |
Research and Innovation Skills (Faculty Wide Module) |
This module equips learners with the essential knowledge, tools, and practices required to conduct effective research and foster innovation in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial settings. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and the application of systematic research methods to generate new ideas and solutions. |
| CCLSSB201 | Critical Consciousness & Life Skills | Develops students’ awareness of social, cultural and personal issues while fostering essential life skills for decision-making, problem-solving and responsible citizenship. |
| HCDP380 | Industrial Attachment | This module bridges academics and industry by focusing on practical skill application, work ethics, and professional development through real-world work, typically involving supervised placements where students rotate through company departments, learn industry-specific technologies, contribute to projects, and document experiences in a final report covering company profile, daily tasks, challenges, and solutions. Ordinarily students work on child psychology settings under supervision of a registered psychologist. |
| SDLSSB301 |
Student Development and Life Skills (University Wide Module) |
This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers. |
| HCDP301 | Community Psychology | This course provides an introduction to the field of community psychology. Community psychology is concerned with person-environment interactions and the ways society impacts upon individual and community functioning. Community psychology focuses on social issues, social institutions, and other settings that influence individuals, groups, and organizations. Community psychology as a science seeks to understand relationships The practice of community psychology is directed towards the design and evaluation of ways to facilitate psychological competence and empowerment, prevent disorder, and promote social change. The goal is to optimize the well-being of individuals and communities with innovative and alternative interventions designed in collaboration with affected community members and with other related disciplines inside and outside of psychology. |
| HCDP302 | Child Psychology Practice | This module imparts knowledge on child development practice methods focused in child and youth care practice. Child development practice methods are designed to promote optimal development for children, youth, and families including those at-risk and with special needs within the context of the family, community and the lifespan. At the end of module students will be in a position to offer guidance on conflict resolution, crisis management, and life space interviewing. In addition, students will be able to conduct program planning and activity programming and engage in intervention planning, family engagement and community engagement. |
| HCDP303 | Childhood: Contexts and Applications | This module provides an overview of the different contexts and applications in the development and lives of children. This module provides an introduction on the role of culture and context in shaping childhood experiences. This module aims to appreciate how culture, family contexts and the value systems influence development. |
| HCDP406 | Psychological Assessment for Children | The module serves to introduce students to measurement of psychological attributes and the principles involved in such measurement among children. It introduces psychometric concepts and emphasises their importance in testing and evaluation, illustrates to students the types of psychological tests, explains the psychometric properties of particular tests and provides an understanding of how tests are developed and evaluated for children. After studying psychometrics, all the students should be able to explain the use of psychological tests and measures and develop valid and acceptable test items. This module helps students to develop psychometric models and tests for children under the guidance of a qualified psychologist. |
| HCDP401 | Child Psychopathology | Child Psychopathology is designed to introduce students to a field, which has emerged as a unique discipline in the past two decades, to interpret non-normal developmental paths from within the framework of normative development. Students will learn about the basic issues underlying this field and apply them to better understand the range of developmental possibilities. By the end of the module, students should be able to define child psychopathology and explain how it differs from other traditions, understand how to identify and study developmental deviations, describe some of the most common forms of abnormal development, and apply the knowledge gained throughout the module to diverse populations of children and families. |
| HCDP402 | Educational Psychology | The module covers themes on general and specific learning difficulties and socio-emotional difficulties in the educational context. Integration of learners with disabilities and the use of respective special teaching-learning methods will be illustrated. Use of case studies, surveys and consultations with specialists, rehabilitation workers and other relevant pedagogy will be included. To be considered in concepts to be covered are learners from kindergarten up to university students. |
| SDLSSB401 | Student Development and Life (University Wide Module) | This module equips learners with essential personal, social, and professional skills to thrive in academic and everyday life. It focuses on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and responsible decision-making. Students will also develop practical competencies such as time management, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability, preparing them to navigate challenges and opportunities in both personal growth and future careers. |
| HCDP470 | Project | The dissertation equips students with the competencies required to plan, execute and write an acceptable academic research project in Child Psychology. Students will be able to gather, analyse, evaluate and apply knowledge and reason and debate in written format a specific topic, recognizing existing research on the topic and integrate appropriate research methodologies into a project. |
| HCDP403 | Child Psychotherapy | This module seeks to acquaint students with major approaches to child psychotherapy, and these include the psychoanalytic, Adlerian, person-centred, rational-emotive, behavioural therapies. Also, to be explored are current issues and practices in psychotherapy, and emotional, relational, behavioural and cognitive mechanisms of change. Empirical evidence for various processes and techniques that span the different schools of child psychotherapy will be given attention to enable students to develop a sense of their own theoretical orientation. Focus will also be given to emotion regulation, cultural competency, therapeutic boundaries, and therapist self-care. Child psychotherapy is an applied discipline within psychology focussing on mental health and various schools of thought that attempt to explain, reduce and eliminate mental and emotional problems. It describes the different paradigms of psychological treatment, exploring the similarities, differences and controversies of the various interventions. |
| HDPC404 | Advanced Child Psychology | The purpose of this module is to tie the disciplines of Child and Developmental Psychology. These modules motivate students to understand child and developmental psychology and chart their careers forward anticipating that they will pass all their modules and graduate. These modules provide a holistic understanding of developmental psychology, assuming that child psychology is a key component of developmental psychology. It focuses on conveying an understanding of key developmental psychology concepts such as theories, research methods, career options, conception, early childhood development, schooling, drug and substance use among youths, marriages and families, old age and related phenomenon such dementia and retirement planning and finally death and dying. |
| HCDP405 | Parenting and Family Contexts for Children | The overall goal of this module is to provide students with a broad overview of how parenting and family contexts for children. This module also provides an overview of effective communication, wellness, and safety in families and parenting contexts. Students examine and learn the variety of ways people communicate and describe components of healthy and unhealthy relationships. Students will be able to develop intervention packages to improve family relations and parenting systems. |