Identify the three basic issues on which theories of child development take a stand, and briefly describe the opposing views taken on each basic issue

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: The three basic issues on which theories of child development take a stand and the opposing views taken on each issue are as follows:
1. Is the course of development continuous or development? If development is continuous—a process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with—then infants and preschoolers respond to the world in much the same way as adults do. The difference between the immature and the mature being is simply one of amount or complexity. If development is discontinuous—a process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times—then infants and children have unique ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, ones quite different from adults.
2. Does one course of development characterize all children, or are there many possible courses? Theories that accept the discontinuous perspective regard development as taking place in stages—qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize specific periods of development. Stage theorists assume that people everywhere follow the same sequence of development. At the same time, the field of child development is becoming increasingly aware that children grow up in distinct contexts—unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change. Contemporary theorists regard the contexts that shape development as many-layered and complex. Different circumstances foster different cognitive capacities, social skills, and feelings about the self and others.
3. What are the roles of genetic and environmental factors—nature and nurture—in development? The age-old nature–nurture controversy asks whether genetic or environmental factors are more important in influencing development. Although all theories grant roles to both nature and nurture, they vary in emphasis.