Young Chinese Children's Justifications of Plants as Living Things

作者：Tao, Ying^*

来源：Early Education and Development, 2016, 27(8): 1159-1174.

DOI：10.1080/10409289.2016.1210456

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to explore how Chinese preschool children categorize plants into either living or nonliving things. The research was framed within the interpretive paradigm and was designed as a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Participants were children 4 to 6 years of age from 3 kindergartens in Jiangsu Province in eastern China (n = 90). In-depth interviews were carried out to explore the justifications children used to classify trees, flowers, and grass as living or nonliving things. Six types of justifications were identified among the participating children. Cross-sectional comparisons of children's justifications were made both quantitatively and qualitatively. A developmental pathway of children's justifications of plants as living things was proposed. Practice or Policy: The results indicated that children's justifications of plants as living things undergo gradual change from 4 to 6 years of age. Moreover, the development of these justifications may be influenced by the accumulation of biological knowledge. Implications for early science instruction on young children's understanding of plants as living things are discussed.

• 出版日期2016
• 单位南京师范大学