Growing Pains: The History of Human Development and the Future of the Field

Research on child development has been advanced by the contributions of human development and human development family science (or studies) departments, which trace their origins to the land grant movement, home economics programs, and the child study movement that coalesced in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In this article, we detail the main historical influences on the field, as well as contemporary strengths and opportunities for the field. We highlight the interdisciplinarity and applied work that are uniquely inherent strengths of human development and family science/studies. We also discuss challenges that are both historic and contemporary in reviewing how experiences of racial and gender discrimination affected and affect scholars in the field, as well as issues of field identity and purpose. Finally, we recommend that the field acknowledge and publicize its past to capitalize on the strengths of its history and to address historical challenges that remain relevant to the study of human development and family science today.