This book is based on lectures delivered by 12 cross-cultural social science scholars drawn from 7 countries to address critical issues related to knowledge construction in human development and allied disciplines. The book is organized into two major sections. Section 1 focuses on theoretical perspectives and Section 2 highlights ongoing research and applications. The book’s introductory section reviews the core characteristics of various schools of thought and argues for an interface between diverse perspectives in order to promote healthy and holistic growth within the field of human development. The chapters are: (1) “Ecocultural Perspective on Human Psychological Development” (John W. Berry); (2) “Wanted: A Contextualized Psychology: Plea for a Cultural Psychology Based on Action Theory” (Lutz H. Eckensberger); (3) “Ontogeny as the Interface between Biology and Culture: Evolutionary Considerations” (Heidi Keller); (4) “Theoretical Frameworks in Cross-Cultural Developmental Psychology: An Attempt at Integration” (Pierre R. Dasen); (5) “Human Development across Cultures: A Contextual-Functional Analysis and Implications for Interventions” (Cigdem Kagitcibasi); (6) “Individualism in a Collectivist Culture: A Case of Coexistence of Opposites” (Durganand Sinha and Rama Charan Tripathi); (7) “Conceptualizing Human Development and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa at the Interface of Indigenous and Exogenous Influences” (A. Bame Nsamenang); (8) “Modernization and Changes in Adolescent Social Life” (Alice Schlegel); (9) “Adolescence without Family Disengagement: The Daily Family Lives of Indian Middle Class Teenagers” (Reed Larson, Suman Verma, and Jodi Dworkin); (10) “From Research Project to Nationwide Programme: The Mother-Child Education Programme of Turkey” (Sevda Bekman); (11) “Counting on Everyday Mathematics” (Anita Rampal); and (12) “Current Issues and Trends in Early Childhood Education” (Lilian G. Katz). (Each chapter contains references.) (KB) (ERIC No. ED481047)
