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8 - Understanding Developmental and Individual Differences in the Process of Inquiry during the Preschool Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2020

By
Candice M. Mills  and
Kaitlin R. Sands
Edited by
Lucas Payne Butler ,
Samuel Ronfard  and
Kathleen H. Corriveau
Lucas Payne Butler
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
Samuel Ronfard
Affiliation:
University of Toronto Mississauga
Kathleen H. Corriveau
Affiliation:
Boston University
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Summary

This chapter focuses on breaking down the process of using questions to gather information from others (i.e., inquiry) into its subcomponent parts to better understand the circumstances under which preschool-aged children can and will ask questions to gather information from others. We see the process of inquiry as involving at least four steps: determining when to engage in inquiry, deciding what to ask, selecting whom to question, and evaluating the information gathered to decide if inquiry should conclude or continue. In this chapter, we will briefly overview what we know about children’s ability to succeed at each of these steps during the preschool years, followed by a discussion of possible reasons for individual differences. The chapter concludes with implications for future research, including the importance of reflecting on the cost–benefit analysis children may undertake when determining whether or not to engage in each step of inquiry.

Keywords

questionsinquirypreschoolerslearningcuriosityselective trustindividual differences
Type
Chapter
Information
The Questioning Child
Insights from Psychology and Education
 , pp. 144 - 163
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

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