Glossary
- Adaptive development
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a process by which children learn skills and behaviors that allow them to engage in developmentally appropriate self-care and life tasks.
- Cognitive development
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a process by which children acquire and process information and then learn how to use it in their environment.
- Developmental domain
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a broad area of development that encompasses a range of skills and abilities.
- Developmental justice
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the belief that children are deserving of respect, equal rights, and access to optimal conditions needed to thrive in their lives.
- Developmental milestones
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skills and behaviors used to evaluate age-related progress within a given domain.
- Equity
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an ideal aimed to achieve fairness and justice by providing the conditions needed for people to thrive in their environments.
- Gender identity development
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the construction of one’s understanding of their gender.
- Human development
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the study of how humans change and grow over their lifespan.
- Intersectionality
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the interconnected relationship between systemic privilege and oppression, social identities, and the impact on one’s experiences in society.
- Language development
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a process by which children acquire and process language and learn how to use it to communicate with others.
- Moral development
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a process by which children process their understanding of right and wrong as related to their social and environmental contexts.
- Oppression
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a form of systemic injustice based on social identity resulting in social disadvantages and barriers to individuals and groups.
- Physical development
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a process in which children’s brains and bodies grow to help them engage with and thrive in their environment.
- Privilege
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advantage and opportunity based on social identity which can be earned or unearned.
- Sexual development
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a biological and physiological process by which children develop awareness of their bodies leading to sexual maturation, sexual identity, and awareness of oneself as a sexual being.
- Social and emotional development
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a process by which children gain understanding of themselves, their emotions, and the connections between themselves and others.
- Social construction
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is a concept or idea that is assigned a specific meaning or value in a society.
- Social determinants
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the physical and social circumstances, shaped by larger societal forces, which can substantially influence individual and group outcomes.
- Social determinants of health
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are the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.
- Social justice
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the belief that all people are deserving of equal rights, protections, and opportunities in society.
- Systemic inequalities
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biases and practices embedded within systems of society that lead to advantages for some groups in society and disadvantages for others.
