Evolutionary Perspectives on Child Development and Education

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This stimulating volume assembles leading scholars to explore children's cognitive, academic, and social development through evolutionary psychology. It addresses debates and controversies that highlight the potential value of this understanding, from early learning skills to adolescent social relationships, impacting academic outcomes, curriculum development, and education policy. The book discusses children's innate tendencies toward play and exploration, examining child- versus adult-directed learning, and the evolutionary bases for moral development in young learners. Contemporary theories of learning and memory are analyzed from an evolutionary perspective, with contributors offering recommendations for real-world applications of evolution-based learning interventions during critical developmental stages. Topics include the adaptive value of cognitive immaturity in early education, guided play as a solution to the play versus learning debate, an evolutionary perspective on adolescent bullying, and the implications of fairness in education. Additionally, it explores adapting evolution education to contemporary teaching climates and the effects of an evolution-informed school environment on student performance and well-being. This work will interest researchers and graduate students in fields such as evolutionary psychology, cultural anthropology, human ecology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology, as well