Children’s understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: mental models or fragments of knowledge?

Article


Nobes, Gavin, Moore, D., Martin, Alan E., Clifford, B., Butterworth, George, Panagiotaki, Georgia and Siegal, Michael 2003. Children’s understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: mental models or fragments of knowledge? Developmental Science. 6 (1), pp. 72-85.
AuthorsNobes, Gavin, Moore, D., Martin, Alan E., Clifford, B., Butterworth, George, Panagiotaki, Georgia and Siegal, Michael
Abstract

Children’s understanding of properties of the earth was investigated by interviewing Asian and white British classmates aged 4 - 8 years (N = 167). Two issues were explored: whether they held mental models of the earth (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992) or instead had fragmented knowledge (di Sessa, 1988); and the influence of the children’s different cultural backgrounds. Children selected from a set of plastic models and answered forced choice questions. Using this methodology, there were no significant differences in the overall performance of Asian and white children after language skills were partialled out. Even young children showed an emerging knowledge of some properties of the earth, but the distributions of their combinations of responses provided no evidence that they had mental models. Instead, these distributions closely resembled those that would be expected if children’s knowledge in this domain were fragmented. Possible reasons for the differences between these findings and those of previous research are discussed.

KeywordsScientific thought; fragmentation
JournalDevelopmental Science
Journal citation6 (1), pp. 72-85
ISSN1363-755X
1467-7687
Year2003
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY-ND
Web address (URL)http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00257
http://hdl.handle.net/10552/822
Publication dates
Print2003
Publication process dates
Deposited30 Jun 2010
Additional information

Citation:
Nobes, G., Moore, D.G., Martin, A.E., Clifford, B.R., Butterworth, G.,
Panagiotaki, G., Siegal M. (2003) ‘Children’s understanding of the earth in a
multicultural community: mental models or fragments of knowledge?’ Developmental
Science, 6 (1) 72–85.

Permalink -

https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/86949

Download files


Accepted author manuscript
  • 190
    total views
  • 352
    total downloads
  • 3
    views this month
  • 17
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

The Impact of Academies on School Connectedness, Future Aspirations and Mental Health in Adolescents from Areas of Deprivation in London
Frostick, C., Tong, Jin, Moore, D., Renton, A. and Netuveli, G. 2018. The Impact of Academies on School Connectedness, Future Aspirations and Mental Health in Adolescents from Areas of Deprivation in London. Pastoral Care in Education. 36 (4), pp. 325-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2018.1528626
Well London: Results of a community engagement approach to improving health among adolescents from areas of deprivation in London
Frostick, C., Watts, P., Netuveli, G., Renton, A. and Moore, D. 2017. Well London: Results of a community engagement approach to improving health among adolescents from areas of deprivation in London. Journal of Community Practice. 25 (2), pp. 235-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2017.1309611
Applying gaze-contingent training within community settings to infants from diverse SES backgrounds
Ballieux, H., Wass, Sam V., Tomalski, Przemyslaw, Kushnerenko, E., Karmiloff-Smith, Annette, Johnson, Mark H. and Moore, D. 2016. Applying gaze-contingent training within community settings to infants from diverse SES backgrounds. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 43, pp. 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2015.12.005
Motor delays in MDMA (ecstasy) exposed infants persist to 2years
Singer, Lynn T., Moore, D., Min, Meeyoung O., Goodwin, Julia, Turner, J., Fulton, Sarah and Parrott, Andrew C. 2016. Motor delays in MDMA (ecstasy) exposed infants persist to 2years. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. 54, pp. 22-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2016.01.003
Separating the effects of ethnicity and socio-economic status on sleep practices of 6- to 7-month-old infants
Tomalski, Przemyslaw, Moore, D., Ballieux, H., Kushnerenko, E., Johnson, Mark H. and Karmiloff-Smith, Annette 2016. Separating the effects of ethnicity and socio-economic status on sleep practices of 6- to 7-month-old infants. Learning and Individual Differences. 46, pp. 64-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.028
The Educational and Employment Aspirations of Adolescents from Areas of High Deprivation in London
Frostick, C., Phillips, G., Renton, A. and Moore, D. 2015. The Educational and Employment Aspirations of Adolescents from Areas of High Deprivation in London. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 45 (6), pp. 1126-1140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0347-4
Feasibility of Undertaking Off-Site Infant Eye-Tracking Assessments of Neuro-Cognitive Functioning in Early-Intervention Centres
Ballieux, H., Tomalski, Przemyslaw, Kushnerenko, Elena, Karmiloff-Smith, Annette and Moore, D. 2015. Feasibility of Undertaking Off-Site Infant Eye-Tracking Assessments of Neuro-Cognitive Functioning in Early-Intervention Centres. Infant and Child Development.
Measures of exposure to the Well London Phase-1 intervention and their association with health well-being and social outcomes
Phillips, G., Bottomley, Christian, Schmidt, Elena, Tobi, P., Lais, Shahana, Yu, Ge, Lynch, Rebecca, Lock, Karen, Draper, Alizon, Moore, D., Clow, Angela, Petticrew, Mark, Hayes, Richard and Renton, A. 2014. Measures of exposure to the Well London Phase-1 intervention and their association with health well-being and social outcomes. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 68 (7), pp. 597-605.
The role of parental influences in the development of musical performance
Davidson, Jane W., Howe, Michael J. A., Moore, D. and Sloboda, John A. 2011. The role of parental influences in the development of musical performance. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 14 (4), pp. 399-412.
One-Year Outcomes of Prenatal Exposure to MDMA and Other Recreational Drugs
Singer, L.T., Moore, D., Min, M.O., Goodwin, J., Turner, J., Fulton, S. and Parrott, A.C. 2012. One-Year Outcomes of Prenatal Exposure to MDMA and Other Recreational Drugs. Pediatrics. 130 (3), pp. 407-413. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-0666
MDMA and heightened cortisol: a neurohormonal perspective on the pregnancy outcomes of mothers used ‘Ecstasy’ during pregnancy
Parrott, Andrew C., Moore, D., Turner, J., Goodwin, Julia E., Min, Meeyoung O. and Singer, Lynn T. 2014. MDMA and heightened cortisol: a neurohormonal perspective on the pregnancy outcomes of mothers used ‘Ecstasy’ during pregnancy. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental. 29 (1), pp. 1-7.
Well London Phase-1: results among adults of a cluster-randomised trial of a community engagement approach to improving health behaviours and mental well-being in deprived inner-city neighbourhoods
Phillips, G., Bottomley, Christian, Schmidt, Elena, Tobi, P., Lais, Shahana, Yu, Ge, Lynch, Rebecca, Lock, Karen, Draper, Alizon, Moore, D., Clow, Angela, Petticrew, Mark, Hayes, Richard and Renton, A. 2014. Well London Phase-1: results among adults of a cluster-randomised trial of a community engagement approach to improving health behaviours and mental well-being in deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Brain responses to audiovisual speech mismatch in infants are associated with individual differences in looking behaviour
Kushnerenko, E., Tomalski, P., Ballieux, H., Ribeiro, Helena, Potton, A., Axelsson, Emma L., Murphy, Elizabeth and Moore, D. 2013. Brain responses to audiovisual speech mismatch in infants are associated with individual differences in looking behaviour. European Journal of Neuroscience. 38 (9), pp. 3363-3369.
Socioeconomic status and functional brain development - associations in early infancy
Tomalski, P., Moore, D., Ribeiro, Helena, Axelsson, Emma L., Murphy, Elizabeth, Karmiloff-Smith, Annette, Johnson, Mark H. and Kushnerenko, E. 2013. Socioeconomic status and functional brain development - associations in early infancy. Developmental Science. 16 (5), pp. 676-687.
Exploring early developmental changes in face scanning patterns during the perception of audiovisual mismatch of speech cues
Tomalski, P., Ribeiro, Helena, Ballieux, H., Axelsson, Emma L., Murphy, Elizabeth, Moore, D. and Kushnerenko, E. 2013. Exploring early developmental changes in face scanning patterns during the perception of audiovisual mismatch of speech cues. European Journal of Developmental Psychology. 10 (5), pp. 611-624.
Brain responses and looking behavior during audiovisual speech integration in infants predict auditory speech comprehension in the second year of life
Kushnerenko, E., Tomalski, P., Ballieux, H., Potton, A., Birtles, D., Frostick, C. and Moore, D. 2013. Brain responses and looking behavior during audiovisual speech integration in infants predict auditory speech comprehension in the second year of life. Frontiers in Psychology. 4 (432).
Physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining individual and neighbourhood-level factors
Watts, Paul, Phillips, G., Petticrew, Mark, Hayes, Richard, Bottomley, Christian, Yu, Ge, Schmidt, Elena, Tobi, P., Moore, D., Frostick, C., Lock, Karen and Renton, A. 2013. Physical activity in deprived communities in London: examining individual and neighbourhood-level factors. PLoS ONE. 8 (7), p. e69472. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069472
The Olympic Regeneration in East London (ORiEL) study: protocol for a prospective controlled quasi-experiment to evaluate the impact of urban regeneration on young people and their families
Smith, N. R., Clark, C., Fahy, A. E., Tharmaratnam, V., Lewis, D. J., Thompson, C., Renton, A., Moore, D., Bhui, K. S., Taylor, S. J. C., Eldridge, S., Petticrew, M., Greenhalgh, T., Stansfeld, S. A. and Cummins, S. 2012. The Olympic Regeneration in East London (ORiEL) study: protocol for a prospective controlled quasi-experiment to evaluate the impact of urban regeneration on young people and their families. BMJ Open. 2 (4), p. e001840.
The Well London program - a cluster randomized trial of community engagement for improving health behaviors and mental wellbeing: baseline survey results
Phillips, G., Renton, A., Moore, D., Bottomley, Christian, Schmidt, Elena, Lais, Shahana, Yu, Ge, Wall, Martin, Tobi, P., Frostick, C., Clow, Angela, Lock, Karen, Petticrew, Mark and Hayes, Richard 2012. The Well London program - a cluster randomized trial of community engagement for improving health behaviors and mental wellbeing: baseline survey results. Trials. 13 (105).
During pregnancy, recreational drug-using women stop taking ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) and reduce alcohol consumption but continue to smoke tobacco and cannabis
Moore, D., Turner, J., Parrott, A.C., Goodwin, J.E., Fulton, S., Min, M.O., Fox, H.C., Braddick, F.M.B., Toplis, A.S., Axelsson, E.L., Lynch, S., Ribeiro, H., Frostick, C. and Singer, L.T. 2010. During pregnancy, recreational drug-using women stop taking ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) and reduce alcohol consumption but continue to smoke tobacco and cannabis. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 24 (9), pp. 1403-1410.
In-utero exposure to the popular ‘recreational’ drugs MDMA (Ecstasy) and Methamphetamine (Ice, Crystal): preliminary findings
Moore, D., Turner, J., Goodwin, J.E., Fulton, S.E., Singer, L.T. and Parrott, A.C. 2011. In-utero exposure to the popular ‘recreational’ drugs MDMA (Ecstasy) and Methamphetamine (Ice, Crystal): preliminary findings. in: Preece, P.M. and Riley, E.P. (ed.) Alcohol, drugs and medication in pregnancy: the long-term outcome for the child John Wiley & Sons.
Reassessing emotion recognition performance in people with mental retardation: a review
Moore, D. 2001. Reassessing emotion recognition performance in people with mental retardation: a review. American Journal on Mental Retardation. 106 (6), pp. 481-502.
A presentation briefly outlining the context, vision and future of the Institute for Research in Child Development presented at the UEL Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference. June 28th 2010.
Moore, D. 2010. A presentation briefly outlining the context, vision and future of the Institute for Research in Child Development presented at the UEL Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference. June 28th 2010. UEL Research and Knowledge Exchange Conference. University of East London, London 28 Jun 2012
Underestimating the emotion perception capacities of people with mental retardation
Moore, D. 2000. Underestimating the emotion perception capacities of people with mental retardation. in: Thommen, E. and Vogel, C. (ed.) Lire les passions Berne Peter Lang Publishing. pp. 79-96
The social context of musical success: a developmental account
Moore, D., Burland, Karen and Davidson, Jane W. 2003. The social context of musical success: a developmental account. British Journal of Psychology. 94 (4), pp. 529-549.
Infants perceive human point-light displays as solid forms
Moore, D., Goodwin, Julia E., George, R., Axelsson, Emma L. and Braddick, Fleur M.B. 2007. Infants perceive human point-light displays as solid forms. Cognition. 104 (2), pp. 377-396.
Recognition of biological motion in children with autistic spectrum disorders
Parron, Carole, Da Fonseca, David, Santos, Andreia, Moore, D., Monfardini, Elisa and Deruelle, Christine 2008. Recognition of biological motion in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Autism. 12 (3), pp. 261-274.
Behavior of mothers and infants with and without Down syndrome during the still-face procedure
Moore, D., Oates, John M., Goodwin, Julia E. and Hobson, R. Peter 2008. Behavior of mothers and infants with and without Down syndrome during the still-face procedure. Infancy. 13 (1), pp. 75-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15250000701779394
A modified version of the BSID-II scales for cognitive matching of infants with and without Down syndrome
Moore, D., Goodwin, Julia E. and Oates, John M. 2008. A modified version of the BSID-II scales for cognitive matching of infants with and without Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 52 (6), pp. 554-561.
Social and cognitive development in children with Down syndrome: trying to build wider developmental models?
Moore, D. 2010. Social and cognitive development in children with Down syndrome: trying to build wider developmental models? s syndrome: trying to build wider developmental models?’ Keynote speaker ECIDD: European Conference on Psychological Theory and Research on Intellectual and Developmental Difficulties. University of Geneva 19th June 2010
Recognition of emotional and non-emotional biological motion in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders
Hubert, B., Wicker, B., Moore, D., Monfardini, E., Duverger, H., Da Fonséca, D. and Deruelle, C. 2007. Recognition of emotional and non-emotional biological motion in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 37 (7), pp. 1386-1392.
Characteristics of music teachers and the progress of young instrumentalists
Davidson, Jane W., Moore, D., Sloboda, John A. and Howe, Michael J.A. 1998. Characteristics of music teachers and the progress of young instrumentalists. Journal of Research in Music Education. 46 (1), pp. 141-160.
Social cognition in children with Down's syndrome: challenges to research and theory building
Cebula, Katie R., Moore, D. and Wishart, Jennifer G. 2010. Social cognition in children with Down's syndrome: challenges to research and theory building. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 54 (2), pp. 113-134.
Cognitive and social factors in the development of infants with Down syndrome
Moore, D., Oates, John M., Hobson, R.P. and Goodwin, Julia E. 2002. Cognitive and social factors in the development of infants with Down syndrome. Downs Syndrome Research and Practice. 8 (2), pp. 43-52.
Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health: a cluster randomised controlled trial
Wall, Martin, Hayes, Richard, Moore, D., Petticrew, Mark, Clow, Angela, Schmidt, Elena, Draper, Alizon, Lock, Karen, Lynch, Rebecca and Renton, A. 2009. Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health: a cluster randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 9 (207).