Naive Theory of Biology: The Pre-School Child's Explanation of Death

Autor/inn/en	Vlok, Milandre; de Witt, Marike W.
Titel	Naive Theory of Biology: The Pre-School Child's Explanation of Death
Quelle	In: Early Child Development and Care, 182 (2012) 12, S.1645-1659 (15 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0300-4430
DOI	10.1080/03004430.2011.636811
Schlagwörter	Biology; Grounded Theory; Death; Phenomenology; Comprehension; Preschool Teachers; Preschool Children; Theories; Socioeconomic Influences; Cultural Influences; Teacher Attitudes; Urban Areas; Suburbs; Foreign Countries; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Biologie; Sterbefall; Tod; Todesfall; Phenomenological psychology; Phänomenologie; Psychologie; Verstehen; Verständnis; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Erzieher; Erzieherin; Kindergärtnerin; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Theory; Theorie; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Lehrerverhalten; Urban area; Stadtregion; Einzugsbereich; Ausland; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	This article explains the naive theory of biology that the pre-school child uses to explain the cause of death. The empirical investigation showed that the young participants do use a naive theory of biology to explain function and do make reference to "vitalistic causality" in explaining organ function. Furthermore, most of these participants gave an external explanation for the cause of death (e.g. gunshots, poison, sticks), but those participants who gave an internal (biological) explanation for the cause of death were well-informed about the biological teleology of body organs. These findings concluded that education, socioeconomic factors and culture influenced the acquisition of a naive theory of biology. Regarding the view of educators, all emphasised the need for guidance in how to explain the concept of death to young children. The research approach was conducted from a qualitative paradigm and was based on the strategy of phenomenology and grounded theory approach. The researcher chose two cultural settings (urban and suburban milieu) and used eight pre-school children and four educators as her participants. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10