Children as Co-construction of Knowledge and Identity
A new perspective of the child has been promoted by socio-cultural perspectives, which took the idea of children as meaning makers further by proposing that what the child brings into the conversation is a significant attempt to make meaning within a particular history, culture, language, and symbol systems. It is less about the child getting the “correct” answer and more about how children expand their understandings about the world they live in and the role they play in it. From this perspective, children’s ideas and theories become a place from which rich conversations about meanings can arise. For example, a different view from Piaget about children’s theories is found in the way Rinaldi (2006) interprets children’s theories. She says, “Very often the theories and understanding expressed by the child are defined as ‘misunderstandings’ or naive theories…Rather, they should be viewed as something much more important. The genesis of the young child’s desire to ask herself questions very early in life…her wondering, her whys” (p.112). Rinaldi pushes us to think about what lies beyond and behind these questions that children ask, to value and appreciate the child’s quest to make meaning of experiences and give this meaning significance.
Following are examples of how Rinaldi interprets children’s comments:
Child’s theory: “The Sea is born from the mother wave”
Rinaldi: This child is developing the idea that everything has an origin.
Child’s theory: “When someone dies, do they go into the belly of death and then get born again?”
Rinaldi: This child is searching for meaning in life.
Consider the differences between Rinaldi and Piaget’s interpretation of children’s theories. Two distinct view points – one that seeks to compare child’s thought with “higher” level thinking, and the other which seeks to find what the child has to offer in a particular place and a point in time.