“Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up
Previous studies on child development have emphasized universal developmental stages and socialization, overlooking a direct investigation of young children’s subjective understanding of growing up. This study explored the perspectives of preschool children on growing up. Participant observations, s...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/3/253 |
| _version_ | 1827307060917698560 |
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| author | Yinshan Su Jin Huang |
| author_facet | Yinshan Su Jin Huang |
| author_sort | Yinshan Su |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Previous studies on child development have emphasized universal developmental stages and socialization, overlooking a direct investigation of young children’s subjective understanding of growing up. This study explored the perspectives of preschool children on growing up. Participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and drawing-telling were employed to investigate 56 urban Chinese preschoolers. The theoretical framework adopted for this study was Merleau-Ponty’s existential phenomenology, providing a lens through which the children’s voices were elucidated. The results revealed that children perceive their growth holistically across four themes: body, space, skills, and relations. Their perception of growing up adheres to a structure–agency duality, where social influences and children’s agency coalesce to shape their understanding of growing up. Adults contribute by embedding significance in daily situations and designated “occupations”, while children actively reinterpret these societal narratives, forging their conceptions of growing up. These findings suggest a need for educational approaches that resonate with children’s interpretations of their evolving lifeworld beyond merely imparting knowledge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:32:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ffd9171ae1184c1f9d3dc7cc26778d7b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:32:55Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ffd9171ae1184c1f9d3dc7cc26778d7b2024-03-27T13:21:38ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2024-03-0114325310.3390/bs14030253“Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing UpYinshan Su0Jin Huang1School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, ChinaSchool of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, ChinaPrevious studies on child development have emphasized universal developmental stages and socialization, overlooking a direct investigation of young children’s subjective understanding of growing up. This study explored the perspectives of preschool children on growing up. Participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and drawing-telling were employed to investigate 56 urban Chinese preschoolers. The theoretical framework adopted for this study was Merleau-Ponty’s existential phenomenology, providing a lens through which the children’s voices were elucidated. The results revealed that children perceive their growth holistically across four themes: body, space, skills, and relations. Their perception of growing up adheres to a structure–agency duality, where social influences and children’s agency coalesce to shape their understanding of growing up. Adults contribute by embedding significance in daily situations and designated “occupations”, while children actively reinterpret these societal narratives, forging their conceptions of growing up. These findings suggest a need for educational approaches that resonate with children’s interpretations of their evolving lifeworld beyond merely imparting knowledge.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/3/253preschool childrengrowing upchildren’s perspectivesMerleau-Ponty’s phenomenology |
| spellingShingle | Yinshan Su Jin Huang “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up Behavioral Sciences preschool children growing up children’s perspectives Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology |
| title | “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up |
| title_full | “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up |
| title_fullStr | “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up |
| title_short | “Mom Said after the Spring Festival, I’ve Grown a Year”: Chinese Preschoolers’ Perspectives on Growing Up |
| title_sort | mom said after the spring festival i ve grown a year chinese preschoolers perspectives on growing up |
| topic | preschool children growing up children’s perspectives Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/3/253 |
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