ERIC Number: EJ961476
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0017-8055
EISSN: N/A
Children's Need to Know: Curiosity in Schools
Engel, Susan
Harvard Educational Review, v81 n4 p625-645 Win 2011
In this essay, Susan Engel argues that curiosity is both intrinsic to children's development and unfolds through social interactions. Thus, it should be cultivated in schools, even though it is often almost completely absent from classrooms. Calling on well-established research and more recent studies, Engel argues that interactions between teachers and students can foster or inhibit children's curiosity. She offers an explanation for why curiosity is not a priority in our educational system and calls for greater attention to children's interests and explorations, which, she argues, are the mechanisms that underlie authentic learning. (Contains 2 notes.)
Descriptors: Personality Traits, Learning Activities, Childhood Interests, Teacher Student Relationship, Interaction, Social Development, Student Interests, Teaching Methods, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Infants, Toddlers, Child Development, Active Learning, Discovery Learning, Inquiry, Young Children
Harvard Education Publishing Group. 8 Story Street First Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: 617-495-3432; Fax: 617-496-3584; e-mail: hepg@harvard.edu; Web site: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hepg/her.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A