Children's Understanding of Society

Martyn Barrett, Eithne Buchanan-Barrow

• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781135426033
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

A state-of-the-art review of the research in this area, this collection covers children's understanding of family, school, economics, race, politics and gender roles. Recent changes and trends in research are summarised. This is explained in terms of a progression from the Piagetian stages model of development to the current emphasis on socially-mediated sources of information, socio-cultural context and children's own naiive theories about societal phenomena. Bringing together some of the most prominent and active researchers in this field this volume presents an advanced overview of developments in this under-represented area of social psychology.

CHAPTER ONE
Emergent themes in the study of children's understanding of society

Martyn Barrett and Eithne Buchanan-Barrow
Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK

All children are born into, and grow up within, particular societies. Each of these societies contains many different institutions and is regulated by some kind of common economic, political, and legal systems. These societal institutions and systems facilitate, shape, regulate, and constrain many of the activities and behaviours in which individuals engage throughout the course of their everyday lives. For the developing child, a crucial aspect of the process of growing up is to acquire an understanding of these societal institutions and systems, so that by the time adulthood is attained, he or she will be able to function appropriately within the particular society in which he or she lives, and can engage with and participate in (and possibly even change) the various societal institutions, systems, and processes that influence and govern the lives of individuals within that society.

In addition, the societies within which children grow up are internally differentiated in a number of ways, for example, in terms of gender groups, social class groups, occupational groups, racial groups, ethnic groups, national groups, etc. A further important task facing the developing child is to learn about the various groups that characterise his or her own society, to establish a sense of personal identity in relationship to some of the available groups, and to internalise those norms, values, representations, and practices that are relevant for the groups to which a sense of personal belonging is established.

This book offers the reader a state-of-the-art review of the research literature on children's societal cognition. Taken together, the chapters 1 provide a systematic overview and evaluation of the research that has been conducted into the development of children's understanding of the various institutions and economic, political, and legal systems that characterise the society in which they live, and into the development of children's understanding of several large-scale social groupings that characterise most contemporary societies, including gender, social class, occupation, race, ethnicity, and nationality.

EARLY STUDIES ON CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY

Early research into children's societal understanding (e.g., Adelson, 1971; Adelson, Green, & O'Neil, 1969; Adelson & O'Neil, 1966; Berti & Bombi, 1979, 1981, 1988; Burris, 1983; Connell, 1971, 1977; Danziger, 1958; Furth, 1978, 1980; Hess & Torney, 1967; Jahoda, 1962, 1963, 1979, 1981; Piaget, 1928; Piaget & Weil, 1951; Strauss, 1952; Tapp & Levine, 1977; Torney, 1971; Weinstein, 1957) tended to rely upon either open-ended verbal interviewing or written questionnaires to gather their data from children, with the responses that were collected by these means subsequently being content-analysed. Many early researchers used these methods to try and identify distinctive age-related stages in the development of children's societal understanding. It was commonly claimed that such developmental stages were indeed present, with each individual stage being characterised as a qualitatively unique way of thinking about the phenomena under question. The developmental stages that were proposed were also typically postulated to occur in a constant order of succession through childhood. Stage-based theories were proposed to explain children's understanding in a large number of different societal areas, including politics (e.g., Connell, 1971), economics (e.g., Berti & Bombi, 1981), the law (e.g., Tapp & Levine, 1977), occupational groups (e.g., Furth, 1978, 1980), and national groups (e.g., Piaget & Weil, 1951).

Some of these early researchers went still further in their theoretical claims, arguing that the stages that they had identifed in their data mapped directly on to Piagetian stages of development, with egocentric and pre-operational characteristics being exhibited in children's societal thinking up to 6 –7 years of age, concrete operational characteristics being exhibited between 6 –7 and 10 –11 years of age, and formal operational characteristics and relatively decentred abstract thinking being exhibited from 11 years of age onwards (e.g., Berti & Bombi, 1981, 1988; Burris, 1983; Connell, 1971; Piaget & Weil, 1951). It was also often tacitly assumed, and sometimes explicitly argued (e.g., Berti & Bombi, 1981, 1988; Tapp & Levine, 1977), that the stage-sequences that were being proposed were universal, and that influences from the child's sociocultural context were minimal and could

only either accelerate or decelerate the rate at which the child progressed through the sequence of stages. The assumption underlying many of these stage-based accounts was that the development of societal cognition proceeds through the child reflecting upon his or her own personal experience, actively constructing explanations of the observed phenomena using his or her current cognitive capacities and skills (see, e.g., Furth, 1978, 1980). Furthermore, these cognitive capacities and skills were often assumed to be domain-general rather than domain-specific (being grounded in the universal Piagetian stages of cognitive development).

MORE RECENT EMPHASES IN THE STUDY OF CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY

However, this traditional Piagetian picture has now been largely superseded, as the various chapters in this book testify. In particular, there are four noticeable emphases that now appear with some regularity in the more recent research literature. Taken together, these four emphases represent a major shift away from the traditional Piagetian position, and reveal that contemporary researchers are conceptualising the development of societal cognition in children in a very different manner.

First, there is an increasing acknowledgement that, in societal fields in particular, the child does not always have first-hand personal experience of the relevant phenomena and institutions (e.g., of teachers' decision-making in schools, of profit generation in shops and banks, of procedures in courts of law, of the political decision-making process, etc.; see, for example, the chapters in this book by Buchanan-Barrow, by Webley, by Ceci, Markle, & Chae, and by Berti). Consequently, it is now commonly acknowledged that the child's own personal experience cannot always function as the source of their societal knowledge. Instead, it is now recognised by many researchers that children are sometimes very heavily reliant upon indirect and socially mediated sources of information for learning about many societal phenomena, with television, parent and peer discourse, and the school curriculum possibly being the most important sources of information.

Second, it has become increasingly clear in recent years that children's understanding in many different societal areas can exhibit variation as a function of the particular sociocultural context within which the child lives. Findings indicating the existence of systematic variability as a function of children's own socioeconomic status, ethnicity, nationality, etc. have now been obtained in relationship to children's understanding of the school, of economics, of social class, of ethnic groups, and of national groups (see the chapters by Buchanan-Barrow, by Webley, by Emler & Dickinson, by Lo Coco, Inguglia, & Pace, and by Barrett). Variations in children's patterns of understanding as a function of their own sociocultural context is, of course, to be expected if children's knowledge in societal domains is heavily dependent upon the provision of information to the child by salient socialisation agents such as television, parents, peers, and teachers.

Third, there are a number of researchers currently working within this field who, rather than using a Piagetian approach, are instead using a naї ve theory (sometimes also called a folk or lay theory) approach to the study of children's societal cognition. According to this approach, during the course of development, children construct naїve theories to explain phenomena in particular domains. These theories are specialised for particular types of conceptual content (i.e., are domain-specific rather than domain-general); provide cause-and-effect explanations of the phenomena within that particular domain; involve hypothetical constructs of unobservable factors or processes; and are subject to change during the course of development.

Moreover, children's naїve theories are usually implicit rather than explicit; thus, children may not be able to consciously access and verbalise these theories. Verbal interviewing is therefore likely to underestimate children's understanding. Instead, in order to reveal the structure of the child's thinking, the child needs to be presented with scenarios, stories, or vignettes in which variables are manipulated and about which the child has to make predictive judgements. In several societal domains (e.g., economics, gender, social class, and race), researchers have now begun to use this alternative to the traditional Piagetian approach (see, for example, the chapters by Webley, by Durkin, by Emler & Dickinson, and by Hirschfeld), and it seems likely that further advances in the study of children's societal cognition will emerge from the broader application of this post-Piagetian theoretical and methodological approach to the study of children's thinking about societal institutions, systems, and groups.

Fourth, there has been a growing recognition in recent years that children's cognitions concerning societal institutions, systems, and groups are not always emotionally neutral; instead, these cognitions are often accompanied by, or associated with, very strong emotions. These emotions sometimes appear to result from the child's own subjective identification with a particular social group (e.g., with a particular gender, ethnic, or national group). Developmentally, it has been found that such emotions are sometimes present prior to the child's acquisition of factual knowledge or understanding within a particular area. Hence, there is a possibility that these emotions serve a significant motivational role in the acquisition of societal understanding. Whether or not, and how, these emotions do impact upon the child's cognitive functioning is unclear at the present time, but the recognition that societal cognition is often emotionally ``hot'' is a theme that developmental researchers working within this field are currently beginning to address (see especially the chapters by Durkin, by Lo Coco et al., and by Barrett).

Hence, some important conceptual and theoretical shifts have recently taken place in this field of research. The aims of the various chapters within this book are threefold: (1) to take stock of the existing literature in this field; (2) to identify the theoretical developments that are currently taking place in the study of children's societal cognition; and (3) to mark out the territory that needs to be explored by future studies in this area.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK

Chapter 2, by Eithne Buchanan-Barrow, opens the substantive part of this book with a review of the research that has been conducted on children's understanding of the school. As Buchanan-Barrow notes, for most children, entering school as a pupil often constitutes their first experience of a major societal institution beyond that of the family. Furthermore, insofar as the school itself is a micro-society, operating with its own system of rules, conventions, and power relations, it is possible that children's understanding and beliefs about other societal institutions, which will be encountered in later life, may be influenced by their early experiences of school. Therefore, in addition to examining children's perceptions of specific areas of school life, such as school rules, the roles of teachers and headteachers, academic and classroom processes, and school councils, this chapter reviews children's overall understanding of the school as a community or a social system.

Clearly, children often have first-hand personal experience of many aspects of the school, as they are prominent and, indeed, essential role-players in any school system. However, their comprehension of less evident aspects of the school context, such as the hierarchical power structure, has also been found to develop with age, as children make sense of the school system. Some aspects of children's understanding appear more intuitive and implicit rather than substantive and explicit, suggesting that naїve theories might underpin their comprehension. However, as yet, no studies have specifically examined children's thinking about school from a naїve theory perspective. Buchanan-Barrow also argues that the particular sociocultural context of children influences their school perceptions. Variations in children's understanding of such specific areas as teachers' roles, or more generally in their overall comprehension of the school, have been linked not only to variation across cultures and socioeconomic classes, but more narrowly to differences in school ethos or organisation in schools within cultures, thus hinting at the complexities involved in children's developing societal understanding.

Chapter 3, by Paul Webley, reviews the research literature on children's understanding of economics. Economics is a further area in which children often have the opportunity of first-hand personal experience. Consequently, Webley's review focuses on the child's understanding of his or her own economic behaviour as well as on the child's understanding of the adult economy. After an initial review of the more traditional approach, examining children's comprehension of economic concepts, such as money, prices, supply and demand, profits, and banks, there is an extensive review of research investigating children as economic agents. The studies cover such areas as children's understanding of pocket money, their own savings, and the autonomous economic world of childhood, including the so-called playground economy, in which children develop such behaviours as swapping.

It is notable that, while Webley acknowledges the important role in children's developing economic understanding played by domain-general cognitive changes, he also points out the increasing input from both direct and indirect sources of information with age. As children get older, with respect to direct experience, they have greater economic independence, with generally increasing amounts of their own money (either pocket-money or earnings) and more freedom to spend it. However, children also have greater exposure to indirect sources of information as well, such as formal education, media, commercial savings literature, parental discourse, etc.There is also evidence of cross-cultural and within-cultural differences in economic understanding, which may relate to variations in direct and indirect sources of information, as a consequence of differences in the economies or socioeconomic classes in which the children are living.

Webley also examines the naїve theory perspective with respect to children's understanding of economics. Recent studies that have been conducted using this perspective have indicated that children do indeed hold implicit beliefs about cause-and-effect economic relationships, and that these beliefs underlie their comprehension of concepts such as demand, supply, and price. However, Webley also warns against too simplistic an approach to children's economic understanding. He argues that economic concepts should not be treated as givens but should be related to the wider social context, as children's economic thinking must also reflect the more general principles shaping the society in which they are developing.

Chapter 4, by Anna Emilia Berti, focuses on children's understanding of politics, including political institutions and their operation, political values, and ideologies. The chapter begins with a general overview of the many different theoretical perspectives that have been used in this area over the years, including the political socialisation, lifespan developmental, Piagetian, contextualist, and social representations approaches, in an attempt to find an appropriate and productive research framework for this topic. Despite the difficulties of dealing with such varied perspectives, some general developmental trends in children's political understanding have emerged from the studies that have been conducted. Young children (6 –7 years) first understand general societal roles, such as teachers, before developing a comprehension of the political role, such as ``chief ' or ``boss'' (7 –9 years), with its added aspect of power/authority; finally, around the age of 10 –12 years, children become aware of the political domain with an increasingly developed understanding in adolescence. Berti's chapter also reviews the more limited research that has been conducted into children's understanding of political values and ideologies, such as rights, tolerance, and commitment to ideologies.

This is clearly an area where children often have very limited personal experience, with politics being predominantly a field of adult activity. It is therefore likely that much of children's understanding is constructed from information derived from indirect sources. As Berti points out, the developmental trends that have been found may result from a multiplicity of processes and influences, including educational input, cognitive development, role-taking or decision-making opportunities, exposure to political issues, and participation in societal institutions, in addition to more general influences, such as parental and peer discourse or the media. Furthermore, all these possible influences may be unevenly distributed according to the child's own nationality, ethnicity, and/or socioeconomic class. Political knowledge and understanding is likely to be closely linked to the power and status of various groups, and membership of lower socioeconomic groups or subordinate ethnic minority groups may mean that children have less opportunity to acquire political knowledge. However, while there is some cross-cultural research into children's political understanding, there is very little examination of other influences that might stem from the child's particular sociocultural context. In addition, this area might well benefit from the more extensive application of the naїve theory perspective. As Berti concludes, there is considerable scope for future developmental research in this area.

Chapter 5, by Stephen Ceci, Faith Markle, and Yoo Jin Chae, deals with children's understanding of the law and legal processes. This chapter discusses the extant research literature on two very different groups of children. The first of these is the majority of children who have no particular experience of the law, and who are thus largely dependent on indirect sources of information. The second group is the minority of children who do have personal experience of the law, either because they are witnesses or victims of crimes, or because they are perpetrators of crimes. Because of the problems entailed in dealing with young children in the legal process, whether as victims, witnesses, or defendants, research has tended to concentrate on the latter group, with relatively little research examining the understanding of the majority of children as they make sense of an important aspect of society.

The chapter begins with an examination of various general developmental competencies that affect children's understanding of the law, including their conceptual, memory, and language limitations, with the latter two particularly relevant to children actually participating in legal processes.There is evidence that more specialist skills, such as the ability to reason in ways appropriate to the legal context, are also generally lacking in young children. With a focus on the minority of children actually participating in legal processes, there is an examination of the way in which the legal system understands children, reviewing the typical court processes in the US and in the UK....

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
• CHAPTER ONE: EMERGENT THEMES IN THE STUDY OF CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY
• CHAPTER TWO: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCHOOL
• CHAPTER THREE: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMICS
• CHAPTER FOUR: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICS
• CHAPTER FIVE: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW AND LEGAL PROCESSES
• CHAPTER SIX: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF GENDER ROLES IN SOCIETY
• CHAPTER SEVEN: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL CLASS AND OCCUPATIONAL GROUPINGS
• CHAPTER EIGHT: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF RACIAL GROUPS
• CHAPTER NINE: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF ETHNIC BELONGING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ETHNIC ATTITUDES
• CHAPTER TEN: CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF, AND FEELINGS ABOUT, COUNTRIES AND NATIONAL GROUPS
• CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETAL COGNITION: A COMMENTARY