Children's Understanding of Biology and Health

Uses theory and research to examine children's understanding of biology and health.

Michael Siegal (Edited by), Candida C. Peterson (Edited by)

9780521021791, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 November 2005

308 pages, 15 tables
22.8 x 15.4 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'… a vital and valuable book that everyone who works with children and young people should consult in depth.' Health Education

This book uses research and theory to an in-depth account of children's understanding of biology and health. Each of the contributors views children's understanding in these areas to be to some extent adaptive to their well-being and survival and uses evidence collected through a variety of different techniques to consider whether young children are capable of basic theorising and understanding of health and illness. Topics ranging from babies to the elderly including birth, death, contamination and contagion, food and pain are examined and close links between research and practice are made with obvious attendant benefits in terms of education and communication. The combination of theory and practice will guarantee the appeal of this book to an international audience of advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students and professionals in areas such as education, child welfare, medicine and law.

1. Introduction Michael Siegal and Candida Peterson
Part I. Development of Biological Understanding: 2. Young children's understanding of mind-body relationships Kayako Inagaki and Giyoo Hatano
3. How a naive theory of biology is acquired Ken Springer
4. Constructing a coherent theory
children's biological understanding of life and death Virginia Slaughter, Raquel Jaakkola and Susan Carey
Part II. Health Issues: 5. What young children's understanding of contamination and contagion tells us about their concepts of illness Charles W. Kalish
6. Children and pain John E. Taplin, Belinda Goodenough, Joan R. Webb and Laura Vogl
7. Children and food Leann Birch, Jennifer Fischer and Karen Grimm-Thomas
8. The ethics of emaciation: moral connotations of body, self and diet Carol J. Nemeroff and Carolyn J. Cavanaugh
Part III. Applications: 9. Considering children's folkbiology in health education Terry Kit-fong Au, Laura F. Romo and Jennifer E. Dewitt
10. Young children's understanding of the physician's role and the medical hearsay exception Melody R. Herbst, Margaret S. Steward, Robin L. Hansen and John E. B. Myers
11. Cognitive development and the competence to consent to medical and psychotherapeutic treatment Candida C. Peterson and Michael Siegal.

Subject Areas: Psychiatry [MMH], Child & developmental psychology [JMC]