An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives.
This research examined 9- to 15-year-old children's understandings about basic genetics concepts and how they integrated those understandings with their broader theories of biology. A cross-sectional case study method was used to explore the students' (n = 90) understandings of basic inher...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
John Wiley and Sons Inc.
2005
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43927 |
| _version_ | 1848756849945346048 |
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| author | Venville, G. Gribble, Susan Donovan, J. |
| author_facet | Venville, G. Gribble, Susan Donovan, J. |
| author_sort | Venville, G. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This research examined 9- to 15-year-old children's understandings about basic genetics concepts and how they integrated those understandings with their broader theories of biology. A cross-sectional case study method was used to explore the students' (n = 90) understandings of basic inheritance and molecular genetics concepts such as gene and DNA. Data were collected by interview and were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. A theoretical framework consisting of an ontological perspective and an epistemological perspective informed the data analysis. The results indicate that the majority of students had a theory of kinship because they could differentiate between socially and genetically inherited characteristics. While these students had heard of the concepts gene and DNA, a bona fide theory of genetics was elusive because they did not know where genes are or what they do. The discussion explores popular cultural origins of students' understandings and potential ontological and epistemological barriers to further learning about genetics. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:18:45Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-43927 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:18:45Z |
| publishDate | 2005 |
| publisher | John Wiley and Sons Inc. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-439272017-09-13T13:42:27Z An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. Venville, G. Gribble, Susan Donovan, J. This research examined 9- to 15-year-old children's understandings about basic genetics concepts and how they integrated those understandings with their broader theories of biology. A cross-sectional case study method was used to explore the students' (n = 90) understandings of basic inheritance and molecular genetics concepts such as gene and DNA. Data were collected by interview and were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. A theoretical framework consisting of an ontological perspective and an epistemological perspective informed the data analysis. The results indicate that the majority of students had a theory of kinship because they could differentiate between socially and genetically inherited characteristics. While these students had heard of the concepts gene and DNA, a bona fide theory of genetics was elusive because they did not know where genes are or what they do. The discussion explores popular cultural origins of students' understandings and potential ontological and epistemological barriers to further learning about genetics. 2005 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43927 10.1002/sce.20061 John Wiley and Sons Inc. unknown |
| spellingShingle | Venville, G. Gribble, Susan Donovan, J. An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title | An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title_full | An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title_fullStr | An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title_short | An Exploration of Young Childrens' Understandings of Genetics Concepts from Ontological and Epistemological Perspectives. |
| title_sort | exploration of young childrens' understandings of genetics concepts from ontological and epistemological perspectives. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43927 |