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The origin of the child's idea of learning through practice

L'évolution des idées des enfants sur l'activité d'apprentissage

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Abstract

To discover qualitatively different ways in which children think of their own learning 149 children aged 3–8 years were interviewed in a pre-school context. One of the most interesting findings concerns the child's increasing awareness of his or her own role in the learning process. It was found that the stage at which children see learning as a result of practice was immediately preceded by one at which they see learning as a result of an incidental activity.

Résumé

Afin de rechercher d'éventuelles différences qualitatives dans les conceptions que les enfants ont de leurs propres processus d'acquisition, 149 sujets de 3 à 8 ans ont été interrogés en école maternelle. L'un des résultats les plus nets concerne la conscience croissante chez l'enfant du rôle de son activité propre dans l'apprentissage. Il ressort notamment qu'avant que l'enfant conçoive ses acquisitions comme le résultat de l'exercice intentionnel, il met ses nouvelles capacités sur le compte d'une activité incidente pratiquée de façon non systématique.

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The research reported here was financially supported by a grant from the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Pramling, I. The origin of the child's idea of learning through practice. Eur J Psychol Educ 1, 31–46 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172629

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172629

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