ERIC Number: ED162721
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1978-Sep
Pages: 43
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Developing Young Children's Curiosity: A Review of Research with Implications for Teachers.
Bradbard, Marilyn R.; Endsley, Richard C.
This review of the literature on the development of young children's curiosity is directed specifically toward teachers and other practitioners and emphasizes what socialization agents can do to influence children's curiosity. Gaps in current knowledge about children's curiosity and implications of research findings are discussed. Theoretical perspectives on children's curiosity, including trait, perceptual, mastery motivational, learning, cognitive and ethological theories, are briefly delineated. Developmental and situational factors related to curiosity are pointed out and individual differences among children's expressions of curiosity are probed. Correlates of curiosity, including intelligence, play, creativity, authoritarianism, anxiety and self-concept, are examined. The influence of situation and setting variations on curiosity, such as maternal absence, environmental deprivation, the presence of strangers, educational programs, group size, the opportunity to manipulate objects and object novelty, are reported. Findings show that adults can be instrumental in fostering and maintaining children's curiosity by being attentive, sensitive, and supportive of children's needs to explore, by answering children's questions informatively, and by displaying the positive characteristics of curious people. Areas for further research are indicated. (Author/RH)
Descriptors: Children, Curiosity, Environmental Influences, Individual Differences, Literature Reviews, Parent Role, Perceptual Motor Learning, Research Needs, Social Influences, Teacher Influence, Teacher Role
ERIC Clearinghouse on Early Childhood Education, University of Illinois, 805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (Catalog #177, $3.25)
Publication Type: Reference Materials - Bibliographies
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Early Childhood Education, Champaign, IL.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A