- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford (14 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0199207054
- ISBN-13: 978-0199207053
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 982,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
...a useful and enlightening publication... (The Psychologist )
Siegal provides interesting slants that give evidence to back-up his assertions that children are potentially much more knowledgeable about their surroundings than had hitherto been supposed...a useful and enlightening publication that adds to the literature in the area of the development of children's knowledge and understanding. (The Psychologist )
Michael Siegal has written a searching analysis of how children's knowledge develops in a variety of domains, including cosmology, medicine, biology, and number. He repeatedly questions the idea that children undergo any radical conceptual change in noting that psychologists all too easily underestimate - or even confuse - young children with their questions. At the same time, he emphasizes how children can learn about the physical and the mental world via conversation. A veteran globetrotter himself, Michael Siegal also highlights how dramatically the world's cultures vary in their nurturance of children's early cognitive competencies. Students and researchers who want to examine cognitive development from a global perspective would do well to have this optimistic, challenging book in their backpack. (Paul L. Harris, Harvard University )
In this lucidly written book, Michael Siegal weaves together a comprehensive yet highly accessible picture of how children comes to grips with the worlds around them, be it social or physical, internal or external. Through his careful analysis of the mountains of scientific evidence accumulated in the last five decades, Siegal reveals to us the understanding young children have about cosmology, mathematics, biology, psychology, and many other subject matters that have been conventionally thought to be late developmental milestones. You cannot help but agree with Siegal that young children have marvelous minds, indeed! (Kang Lee, University of Toronto, Canada )
An insightful book that takes a critical look at children's knowledge and understanding of different concepts from around the world. Michael Siegal explores how culture can influence children's understanding from an early age and the impact that school curriculum and guidelines can have, especially in early childhood. It is a fascinating book that helps teachers to think creatively and critically about the way they teach and the assumptions they make. (Kym Anstee-Gray, Primary school teacher, Brisbane, Australia )
Siegal provides interesting slants that give evidence to back-up his assertions that children are potentially much more knowledgeable about their surroundings than had hitherto been supposed...a useful and enlightening publication that adds to the literature in the area of the development of children's knowledge and understanding. (The Psychologist )
Michael Siegal has written a searching analysis of how children's knowledge develops in a variety of domains, including cosmology, medicine, biology, and number. He repeatedly questions the idea that children undergo any radical conceptual change in noting that psychologists all too easily underestimate - or even confuse - young children with their questions. At the same time, he emphasizes how children can learn about the physical and the mental world via conversation. A veteran globetrotter himself, Michael Siegal also highlights how dramatically the world's cultures vary in their nurturance of children's early cognitive competencies. Students and researchers who want to examine cognitive development from a global perspective would do well to have this optimistic, challenging book in their backpack. (Paul L. Harris, Harvard University )
In this lucidly written book, Michael Siegal weaves together a comprehensive yet highly accessible picture of how children comes to grips with the worlds around them, be it social or physical, internal or external. Through his careful analysis of the mountains of scientific evidence accumulated in the last five decades, Siegal reveals to us the understanding young children have about cosmology, mathematics, biology, psychology, and many other subject matters that have been conventionally thought to be late developmental milestones. You cannot help but agree with Siegal that young children have marvelous minds, indeed! (Kang Lee, University of Toronto, Canada )
An insightful book that takes a critical look at children's knowledge and understanding of different concepts from around the world. Michael Siegal explores how culture can influence children's understanding from an early age and the impact that school curriculum and guidelines can have, especially in early childhood. It is a fascinating book that helps teachers to think creatively and critically about the way they teach and the assumptions they make. (Kym Anstee-Gray, Primary school teacher, Brisbane, Australia )
Product Description
Children have a spontaneous interest in the world around them - whether the workings of the earth, sun, and stars, the nature of number, time and space, or the functioning of the body. Yet what is there in children's minds that is the key to their knowledge? This book examines what children can and do know, based on extensive studies from a range of different cultures. Topics include 'theory of mind' - the knowledge that others may have beliefs that differ from one's own and from reality, astronomy and geography, food, health and hygiene, processes of life and death, number and arithmetic, as well as autism and brain research on language and attention. Since what children say and do may not really reflect the depth of their knowledge of the world around them, our goal should be to discover new methods to accurately test children's knowledge, instead of trying to understand the range of failing answers they might give on the many tests that have been devised to determine what they know. Contrary to earlier studies, it is now established that in many areas considerable knowledge is within the grasp of young children with benefits for their later development. For example, although certain number concepts - in particular, fractions, proportions, and infinity - can be difficult to grasp, children generally do not need to undergo a fundamental change in their thinking and reasoning to master these. What the author of this book proposes is that children often display a capacity for understanding that we simply overlook. Written by a renowned developmental psychologist, this book presents a fascinating exploration of children minds, and how we can better understand them. For more information and video clip, please visit: http://alacode.psico.units.it/index.html
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I brought this book as it was the required reading for a module I took at university this year. This is an informative (all be it fairly one-sided) review of the developmental processes underpinning the acquisition of scientific knowledge in young children. However, this book is need of some heavy duty editing. You will need to read the entire book to be able to understand the first few chapters as there is far too much forward referencing. Furthermore, it will be necessary to guess just what exactly the author is trying to say quite a few times as there are whole paragraphs that just don't make sense (and I don't mean 'don't make sense' as in 'I couldn't understand the concept the author was trying to explain', I mean 'don't make sense' in a 'total and utter disregard for coherent writing' way).
So in summary: fairly comprehensive cover of the topic area, terrible layout and writing.
So in summary: fairly comprehensive cover of the topic area, terrible layout and writing.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I also bought (not brought) this book as it was recommended reading for a 3rd year psychology module at university. I found it to be comprehensive, innovative and engaging. It's immensely well researched and lucidly written which makes it ideal for any student of developmental psychology, however I found it really set itself apart from more course-oriented textbooks in that it delivers a genuinely optimistic account of children's capacities.
The author has split the book into chapters which tackle different domains of children's knowledge including cosmology, biology and number, as well as developmental staples such as theory of mind. I feel that this is an ideal way to approach structuring as it allows the author to explore each topic in depth, allowing a proper examination of the wealth of empirical findings.
I also need to stress that the book does not solely address the acquisition of scientific knowledge in young children. The book instead takes a much broader approach to children's knowledge, addressing knowledge domains spanning from biology and cosmology to reality and language. The confusion of the other reviewer is perhaps because the book has topics such as cosmology, and there are discussions of developmental theories which offer explanations through analogy to scientific process. The book is very broad in its remit, though if I had to summarise what the book is about, it addresses how the true capacity of children is perhaps being overlooked due to how we go about assessing it.
I would say that this book is quite challenging, which explains why some people might be unable to distinguish between their own failure of understanding and the coherence of the author. However I think that a patient lay reader should not be put off, as the entertaining and enthusiastic style makes it thoroughly enjoyable to read. If you want a book that gives a fresh, informed and enlightening analysis of children's knowledge then I wholly recommend this!
The author has split the book into chapters which tackle different domains of children's knowledge including cosmology, biology and number, as well as developmental staples such as theory of mind. I feel that this is an ideal way to approach structuring as it allows the author to explore each topic in depth, allowing a proper examination of the wealth of empirical findings.
I also need to stress that the book does not solely address the acquisition of scientific knowledge in young children. The book instead takes a much broader approach to children's knowledge, addressing knowledge domains spanning from biology and cosmology to reality and language. The confusion of the other reviewer is perhaps because the book has topics such as cosmology, and there are discussions of developmental theories which offer explanations through analogy to scientific process. The book is very broad in its remit, though if I had to summarise what the book is about, it addresses how the true capacity of children is perhaps being overlooked due to how we go about assessing it.
I would say that this book is quite challenging, which explains why some people might be unable to distinguish between their own failure of understanding and the coherence of the author. However I think that a patient lay reader should not be put off, as the entertaining and enthusiastic style makes it thoroughly enjoyable to read. If you want a book that gives a fresh, informed and enlightening analysis of children's knowledge then I wholly recommend this!
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