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Promoting social inclusion in the early years of elementary school: A focus on children’s epistemic beliefs for moral reasoning
Scholes, Laura Brownlee, Joanna Walker, Sue Johansson, Eva Lawson, Veronica Mascadri, Julia
Scholes, Laura
Brownlee, Joanna
Walker, Sue
Johansson, Eva
Lawson, Veronica
Mascadri, Julia
Abstract
As classrooms continue to diversify, there is an increasing need to understand children’s inclusive behaviours and moral reasoning. Research shows that epistemic beliefs (beliefs about knowing and knowledge) can influence reasoning for adults, but we know little about this relationship in younger children or how classroom contexts relate to epistemic beliefs for moral reasoning. Thirty-one elementary school children (mean age 6.5 years) participated in epistemic beliefs and moral reasoning tasks in the first year of a three-year longitudinal study. Findings showed that while children described objectivist epistemic beliefs (right/wrong answers) about social inclusion, their justifications revealed an unexpected, more complex set of epistemic beliefs. Implications for moral pedagogies are discussed.
Keywords
Children’s personal epistemology, moral reasoning, social inclusion, early childhood education, social domain theory, moral pedagogy
Date
2017
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Inclusive Education
Book
Volume
21
Issue
5
Page Range
507-520
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education (ILSTE)
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled