The development of children’s reasoning about evolution and death: the influence of parent-child discourse

Where do living things come from? and What happens to people when they die? are fascinating questions that most children wonder about from a young age. The origins and fate of biological organisms are two of many related concepts that constitute children’s broader understanding of the biological domain. Children take an active role in the construction of their knowledge about the biological world, and their beliefs are shaped by age, cognitive ability, formal and informal education, and exposure to different cultural beliefs and practices. There is also evidence that parent-child discourse is an important social factor in children’s construction of theories about the biological world.

Building on our previous research on children’s reasoning about life and death (Panagiotaki et al., 2014; 2015), this project will explore children’s understanding of two important biological concepts; the origins of living entities, and death as a biological event. A programme of studies involving primary school children (4-11 years) and their parents will address the following questions:

a) How does children’s understanding of evolution and death develop?
b) How is the construction of knowledge of these two concepts related?
c) What is the relationship between parents’ beliefs and their children’s ideas about evolution and death?
d) What is the relationship between the content of discourse during parent-child interaction and children’s own beliefs?

This project involves interviews with children and parents, observations of parent-child interactions during structured activities, and analysis of their conversations, to establish how parent-child discourse influences children’s beliefs about evolution and death.

This project is a collaboration between developmental psychologists in the Norwich Medical School (Georgia Panagiotaki) and School of Psychology (Gavin Nobes).