Essentials of Life-Span Development: 2024 Release ISE

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the life-span course is covering all periods of human development in one academic term. Dr. Santrock wrote Essentials of Life-Span Development to respond to the need for a shorter text that teaches core content in a way that is meaningful to diverse students.


An integrated learning goals system makes the robust research foundation of the text accessible to students. Students report that highlighting the connections among the different aspects of lifespan development helps them to better understand and retain the concepts.


Research shows that students today learn in multiple modalities: their work preferences tend to be more visual and more interactive, and their reading and study sessions often occur in short bursts. With shorter chapters and engaging interactive modules, Essentials of Life-Span Development allows students to study whenever and however they choose, and connects with students on a personal, individual basis, leading to course success.

John W. Santrock received his Ph.D. from the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. He has taught at the University of Charleston, the University of Georgia, and the University of Texas at Dallas. He has worked as a school psychologist and currently teaches educational psychology at the undergraduate level. In 2006, Dr. Santrock received the University of Texas at Dallas Excellence in Teaching Award. His research has included publications in the Journal of Educational Psychology on the contextual aspects of affectively toned cognition and children's self-regulatory behavior as well as teachers' perceptions of children from divorced families. He has been on the editorial boards of Developmental Psychology and Child Development. His publications include these exceptional McGraw-Hill texts: Child Development, 13th Edition; Life-Span Development, 14th Edition; Adolescence, 14th Edition; Psychology, 7th Edition; and Educational Psychology, 4th Edition.

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