ERIC Number: EJ1206467
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2324-805X
EISSN: N/A
Young Children's Theory of Mind: Home Literacy Environment, Technology Usage, and Preschool Education
Altun, Dilek
Journal of Education and Training Studies, v7 n3 p86-98 Mar 2019
Theory of mind (ToM) skills involve young children's mentalizing ability to be aware of their own selves and other individuals' thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions (mental states). The social cognition skills are essential for processing complex social relations and overcoming interpersonal difficulties in communication. Previous studies shed light on the relationship of parenting and demographics to children's ToM skills, but do not examine the associations with both home environment and preschool education experiences. The goal of the present study is to investigate children's preschool education experience, home literacy environment (HLE), and technology usage in relation to their ToM skills. Participants were 203 preschoolers and their parents. The study data were collected using a home literacy environment questionnaire (HLEQ), theory of mind scale, and a demographic information form. The findings revealed that (a) children's ToM scores are not differentiated regarding gender, excluding the diverse belief tasks, b) children's ToM performances were differentiated in favor of children who have internet access at home, c) HLE, child age, daily TV watching, household income, maternal education, preschool experience, and shared book reading explained 46% of the total variance of preschoolers' ToM scores.
Descriptors: Theory of Mind, Preschool Education, Foreign Countries, Preschool Children, Family Environment, Parents, Scores, Technology Uses in Education, Questionnaires, Family Literacy
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A