Childrens Thinking About Cultural Universals

Drawing on interview data, the authors describe K-3 students knowledge and thinking about basic aspects of the social world that are addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum. The interviews focused on human activities relating to nine cultural universals that are commonly addressed in the elementary social studies curriculum: food, clothing, shelter, communication, transportation, family living, childhood, money, and government. This volume synthesizes findings from the research and discusses their implications for curriculum and instruction in early social studies.

Childrens Thinking About Cultural Universals significantly expands the knowledge base on developments in childrens social knowledge and thinking and, in addition, provides a wealth of information to inform social studies educators and curriculum developers efforts to match instruction to students prior knowledge, both by building on already developed valid knowledge and by addressing common misconceptions. It represents a quantum leap in the availability of information on the trajectories of childrens knowledge about common topics in primary elementary social studies education.