Children's Understanding of Biology and Health

This book uses new research and theory to present the first state-of-the-art 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.

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.

Presenting an in-depth examination of children's understanding of biology and health and using research to examine whether children are capable of basic theorising in these areas, this book will appeal to advanced level students, academics and professionals in child health, welfare and education.