Work

How children’s media and teachers communicate exclusive and essentialist views of science and scientists.

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Language that uses noun labels and generic descriptions to discuss people who do science (e.g., “Let’s be scientists! Scientists discover new things”) signals to children that scientists are a distinctive category. This identity-focused language promotes essentialist beliefs and leads to disengagement from science among young children in experimental contexts. The extent to which these cues shape the development of children’s beliefs and behaviors in daily life, however, depends on (a) the availability of identity-focused language in children’s environments, and (b) the power of these cues to shape beliefs over time, even in the noisier, more variable contexts in which children are exposed to them. Documenting the availability of this language, linguistic coding of children’s media (Study 1) and prekindergarten teachers’ language from one science lesson (Study 2; n = 103; 98 female, 1 male, 4 unknown; 66% White, 8% African American, 6% Asian/Asian American, 3% Mixed/Biracial; 21% of the sample, of any race, identified as Hispanic/Latinx), confirmed that identity-focused language was the most common form of science language in these two contexts. Further, children (Study 3; n = 83; Mage = 4.36 years; 43 female, 40 male; 64% White, 12% Asian/Asian American, 24% Mixed/Biracial; 36% of the sample, of any race, identified as Hispanic/Latinx) who were exposed to lower proportions of identity-focused language from their teachers developed increasingly inclusive science beliefs and greater science engagement over time. These findings suggest that linguistic input is an important mechanism through which exclusive beliefs about science are conveyed to children in daily life.

Source: Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/dev0001364

Authors: Michelle M. Wang, Amanda Cardarelli, Sarah-Jane Leslie, Marjorie Rhodes

Language: English

Topic: Science Education and Perceptions

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Award: “The Linguistic Transmission of Maladaptive Beliefs”