Preschoolers Know, but How Do They Know? Developing a Framework for Early Epistemology Development

Two areas that are lacking for the purpose of training high-quality preschool teachers; and constructing developmentally appropriate learning standards and curriculum for preschool children are awareness of early epistemic development (beliefs about knowledge and knowing) and understanding preschoolers' cognitive processes during epistemic development. Personal epistemology is an individual's beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). During the past three decades there has been substantial gains in the area of personal epistemology, particularly in college students [Perry, 1970; Baxter Magoldo, 1987; Schommer, 1990], adults [King & Kitchener, 1994; Belensky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986], and more recently adolescents [Kuhn, 2000; Mansfield & Clinchy, 2002]. Specifically, the use of, inquiry, focus groups, and technology during instruction can identify more observable developmental schemes, such as, cognitive processes [theory of mind], social and emotional views of the child. Knowing how these developmental domains operate harmoniously can provide more meaningful insights about "what" and "how"children begin to conceptualize knowledge and the process of knowing. This ecological and epistemic framework can have implications for early childhood education. This article describes new research and thinking about the epistemology of preschool children and how it might influence teacher training and instructional approaches.