Children’s conceptions of coronavirus

The present study aimed to examine children’s conceptions of coronavirus as denoted in their verbal descriptions and drawings and whether these vary as a function of children’s age and the mode of expression. Data were collected in Greece during spring 2020 and 344 children aged 4 to 10 years were first asked to verbally describe coronavirus and then to produce a drawing of it. Content analysis of data revealed the following main themes: (a) Coronavirus, (b) Medical, (c) Psychological, and (d) Social. Results showed that children from an early age present a remarkable level of understanding of coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease as a multidimensional construct, which can be designated not only through characteristics of the Sars-Cov-2 but also through its medical, social, and psychological consequences on people’s lives. Moreover, children were found to emphasize different aspects of this construct depending on their age and the mode of expression.

Czech Preschool Children’s Conceptions about Nature

This study focused on young children’s understanding of nature, an issue observed to be a research gap in the scientific community. The question “What nature?” is central to this research. Answers to this question were obtained from 342 children from 21 Czech kindergartens, and results showed 302 preschool and children (aged from 3 to 6.5 years) from the sample displayed a conceptual understanding of nature and expressed their ideas verbally. Qualitative content analysis and comparative analysis (nouns and verbs separately) were performed on the results. Most children interpreted nature through lists of objects or as a space or a concrete place, and most of the objects mentioned related to living nature. Children used verbs describing natural events more often than verbs describing their own or human activities in nature. The comparison between children’s, adults’, and pupils’ concepts of nature shows that children expressed their concepts in a similar, albeit not identical, manner to adults. They expressed the utilitarian and aesthetic value of nature, showed a scientific interest and an emotional connection to nature, and showed their joy in interacting with nature. Children understood nature more positively (no fear, aversion, or efforts to control nature) than adults. Czech children noticed more plants and mushrooms than Norwegian children. A similar percentage of Czech and Australian children included people on their lists of nature. Although certain similarities in children’s answers were noted, each child understands nature individually. Teachers should respect this fact and consider this in environmental and global education.

Draw-A-Science-Comic: Alternative prompts and the presence of danger

The early years of primary school are important in shaping how children see scientists and science, but researching younger children is known to be difficult. The Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST), in which students are asked to draw a scientist, has been one of the most popular ways to chart children’s conceptions of scientists and science. However, DAST tends to focus mainly on children’s conceptions about the appearance of scientists. To focus more on children’s conceptions of scientific activities as well as the emotions and attitudes associated with science, the Draw-A-Science-Comic test (DASC) was recently introduced. This study compares three alternative DASC prompts for two age groups of respondents (8- to 10-year-olds and 10- to 13-year-olds). The prompts asking students to draw a comic or a set of pictures produced significantly more sequential storytelling and depictions of science related emotions and attitudes than the prompt asking students to depict a story. The depictions of elements of danger, such as accidents and hazards in the laboratory, were also frequent in drawings with sequential storytelling. A more detailed analysis of the depictions showed that the frequency of elements of danger was closely associated with depictions of activity especially in the field of chemistry. For example, several comics included failed chemical experiments leading to explosions. Although depictions of danger are sometimes interpreted as a negative conception, in the children’s drawings the explosions and overflowing flasks were often seen also as a source of excitement and joy. Based on the result of this study, the use of DASC seems a suitable way for charting children’s conceptions of scientific activities as well as the emotions and attitudes associated with science from the early years of primary education until the beginning of secondary education.