Mechanisms of Cognitive Development: Domain-General Learning or Domain-Specific Constraints?

Sloutsky, Vladimir M.

doi:10.1037/e527342012-032

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Given the intrinsic cognitive difficulties that characterize scientific concepts, the so-called domain-general perspectives on development, call into question young children's competence to grasp abstract notions (Gelman & Brenneman, 2004;Sloutsky, 2010). However, a growing body of data collected by research into specific domains of our knowledge suggests that the early human skills to produce abstract representations of objects, agents, numbers and causes (Carey, 2009) have to be seriously considered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Early Understanding of Mechanism of Rainfall: A Study Examining the Differences Between Young Minority Immigrant and Native-Born Children

Villarroel

2012

PEC

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Preschool and lower grades of primary education (that is, before the age of 8) are a crucial period to attempt to reduce the educational performance gap between minority immigrant and native-born children. Regarding the science education field, it is believed that early exposure to scientific explanations on natural phenomena may positively influence to not only a better comprehension of the surrounding world but, also, the pupils’ success in grasping subsequent and more formal scientific concepts. In this respect, little research has been conducted to examine whether the learning process on the subject of the comprehension of natural phenomena varies significantly in the case of young minority immigrant children in comparison with the mainstream process covered by native-born children. In this vein, this study aims to study how 5 to 7 year old children understand the rainfall phenomenon (N=124) and to examine whether this comprehension differs according to the differences regarding the socio-cultural background of the children comprised in the sample. To that end, children’s answers to a semi-open questionnaire and their pictorial representations are analyzed and socio-cultural perspectives on the human cognitive development are utilized to assign meaning to the results obtained. Key words: cognitive development, early understanding, natural phenomena, science education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Early Understanding of Mechanism of Rainfall: A Study Examining the Differences Between Young Minority Immigrant and Native-Born Children

Villarroel

2012

PEC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Mechanisms of Cognitive Development: Domain-General Learning or Domain-Specific Constraints?

Cited by 1 publication

References 206 publications

An Early Understanding of Mechanism of Rainfall: A Study Examining the Differences Between Young Minority Immigrant and Native-Born Children

An Early Understanding of Mechanism of Rainfall: A Study Examining the Differences Between Young Minority Immigrant and Native-Born Children

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