Preschoolers’ Thoughts on the Concept of Time

GÜNEŞ G., ŞAHİN V.

Journal of Genetic Psychology, vol.181, no.4, pp.293-317, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 181 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/00221325.2020.1753645
  • Journal Name: Journal of Genetic Psychology
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, PASCAL, Applied Science & Technology Source, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.293-317
  • Keywords: children’s drawings, preschoolers’ epistemological views, scientific thought, time concept, time machine
  • Hakkari University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study aimed to examine preschool children’s epistemological views in the context of the concept of time via their drawings of the time machine. The study was conducted with 30 five-year-old children (17 girls and 13 boys) attending state and private preschools in the academic year 2018/2019. The data collection tools used in the study were the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production TCT-DP, Children’s Thoughts on Time Questionnaire (CTTQ) and Children’s Epistemological Views Questionnaire (CEVQ). Of the mixed methods typologies, the fully mixed sequential dominant status-qualitative design was employed. The results obtained from the study indicated that the time machine drawings of almost half the participating children included creative elements and logical thinking products. In addition, 40% of the children’s responses reflected sophisticated epistemological views such as scientific, imaginative/science fiction-based, divergent and eccentric approaches and non-authority figures regarding the concept of time. In conclusion: contrary to Piegatian interpretation, our results show that five-year old children can demonstrate abstract scientific understanding regarding the concept of time and preschoolers’ epistemic approach has a critical role in determining their development of abstract cognitive concepts.