Environmental judgment in early childhood and its relationship with the understanding of the concept of living beings

The evidence collected concerning the biocentric judgment that young children express when evaluating human actions on the environment leads some scholars to suggest that an essential understanding of the notion of living beings should appear earlier than previously believed. This research project aims to study that assumption. To this end, young children’s choice when they are put in situation of having to compare and choose the most negative option between environmentally harmful actions and the breaking of social conventions are examined. Afterwards, the results are categorized in relation to those obtained from the study of children’s grasp of the distinction between living beings and inanimate entities. The data is analysed according to the individuals’ age and overall, it suggests a lack of relationship between environmental judgment and the understanding of the concept of living beings. The final results are discussed in keeping with recent research in the field of moral development that underscores the role that unconscious emotional processing plays in the individual’s normative judgment.

Zientzien irakaskuntza: argumentazio gaitasuna sustatzeko proposamena, sendagaien ezagupenaren bidez

[eus] Gaur egun, aditu desberdinek diotenez, Lehen Hezkuntzan konpetentzia zientifikoa garatzeko zailtasunak daude . Egoera hobetzeko, kultura zientifikoan murgiltzeko aukera, eta argumentazio gaitasuna garatzeko aukera eskaini behar zaie ikasleei. Esku-hartze honetan, eztabaida soziozientifikoen bidez, argumentazio gaitasuna lantzen da, sendagaien eraginkortasuna eta efektu sekundarioen arteko harremana eztabaidagai izanik. Esku-hartzea burutzean, ikusi ahal izan da adin txikiko ikasleak, aukera eskaintzen zaienean, argumentu justifikatuak emateko gai izan direla konpetentzia zientifikoa lortzeko bidea eraikiz. Aldi berean, sendagaien eraginkortasunaren eta efektu sekundarioen arteko harremanaz ohartu dira.