자연물에 대한 학령전 아동의 생물과 무생물 변별능력과 이유 분석

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examined whether preschooler's ability to distinguish animates from nonanimates and their justification of life judgement for natural kinds with reference to age, sex, natural category such as animal, plant, atmospheric ones, planet. Subjects of this study were 96 Kindergartens of 3, 4 and 5 years olds. The task used in this study were 12 natural kinds. The justifications were taped, transcribed, and coded according to age, sex and the categories of natural kinds. The collected data were analyzed with One-way ANOVA(age) T-test(sex), Repected Measure ANOVA and percentage and Chi-suare test
The following results were revealed from this study.
1. The ability to discriminate the animate-inanimates is increased with age. And male children's performance of discrimination for natural kinds is higher than female at nonbiological category
2. The preschoolers' ability to discriminate the animate -nonanimate thing is higher in biological category than in non biological category.
The result suggested that natural category were important variables to developmental level of life concept and that even 3-and 4 years-olds develop life concept on animal and plant. However, the life jugement on atmospheric ones' develop highly during the age of 4 years and on planet develop highly between the age of 4 and 5 years old.
3. The younger children's life judgements of animal and plant are strongly influenced by the perceptual characteristics and thematic bias of things. Wherease the older children`s justifications are based on biological properties(growth, breath, eating, reproduction). Therefore, the young children hold some biological beliefs, but are less well developed than those of older children.
4. The younger children justify the inanimates' functional properties but oder children judge inanimates' change and motion in life jugement for atmospheric ones' and planet.