Research
Overall Program of Research
Our research group explores how children's ability to understand the mental world of self and others within the context of social action affects their learning and social experiences in the classroom. We investigate how children learn to read and make sense of the people’s thoughts and feelings, and how this ability may influence how they think and feel about themselves while interacting with their friends and teachers in schools. We are especially intrigued with exploring how gender and language play a role in the development of children’s social and emotional understanding.
An important role in social interactions is the ability to understand mental states, thoughts and feelings in others. As adults, we continually explain human behaviours based upon our understanding of the mental world of other people. We assume that people's actions are caused by their thoughts and feelings. Recently, researchers have been interested in how social understanding develops in young children, and if it is linked to children's social behaviour. It has been suggested that both social understanding and behaviour may differ for girls and boys.
The goal of our overall program of research is to investigate the development of these skills and behaviours in young girls and boys. We explore the development and connections between socio-emotional understanding and social behaviours within the context of children's play and school life. Educators believe that by studying such links we will be able to further understand the child’s emotional, cognitive, and social worlds.
What are the studies about?
Our research team investigates children’s “theory of mind,” he ability to understand that other people’s thoughts, wants, and feelings may be different from their own. This helps children to make sense of what people say and do in different situations. Our research also studies how “theory of mind” may play a role in children’s interactionswith others, including their classmates and their teachers. We explore how children’s psychological understandingor “theory of mind,” affects children’s learning experiences and social behaviours in the elementary school. Our studies explore children’s ability to “read” others’ mental states in the context of social action, and how this ability affects their learning experiences and social behaviours in the elementary school. Educators believe that by exploring how children make meaning of how people think, feel, and act, we will better understand the mental and social world of the child. Some of our studies also explore how teachers make sense of children’s social and emotional abilities in the classroom. We hope our research will provide a detailed picture of the age and gender differences in children’s psychological understanding and social behaviour.
Findings from our studies may help to broaden our understanding of children’s complex school experiences. Our research projects may lead to the development of intervention programs and curriculum materials that aim to promote both sociocognitive and emotional competence in the primary and junior grades. Our long-term objective is to investigate the link between socio-emotional reasoning and social behaviour in children and adolescents, and to see how gender and language plays a role throughout development. Our group is dedicated to promoting lifelong learning, with a goal to assist in the co-construction of curriculum and intervention programs that seek to foster the whole child (cognitive, social, and emotional lives).
Some of our related research questions include: How do children’s ability to “read the thoughts and feelings of others” develop over time, and how does this ability affect their self-worth and peer relations within the school context? Does the ability to make sense of other people’s behaviours in terms of human relations become more sophisticated with time, and how do children use their social reasoning skills to form their actions within the classroom? Do girls differ from boys? What role does language play?
Some of our more recent work has been focused on children’s understanding of the personal moral domain, and also shyness and social withdrawal within the classroom. Representative recent projects include a study of teachers’ beliefs about children’s shyness in the classroom; a project exploring the use of psychological language in children who are both aggressive and withdrawn; and a study of children’s understandings of parental rules, personal choice, and sense of self.
Research Methods
To explore the above research areas and questions, we use a range of research methods, including paper- and-pencil tasks such as self-report questionnaires, interviews, and drawings.
Current Funded Research Projects
Bosacki, S. Brock University (2006-2009)
The socioemotional worlds of gradeschoolers: psychological understanding, self-conceptions, and peer relations
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
The goal of this 3-year study is to investigate the development and connections between social understanding and social behaviours within the school context. In particular, this study explores social and emotional reasoning and how this ability is related to social behaviour in children between the ages of 8 and 12 years.
Bosacki, S., Brock University, Coplan, R., Carleton University, & Rose-Krasnor, L., Brock University (2007-2009)
“Learning to Listen to Shy Children”: Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Educational Strategies Regarding Shy Boys and Girls at School
Spencer Foundation
The central purpose of this research is to explore teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards shy children’s socio-communicative abilities within the elementary school classroom.
Spencer Foundation
The central purpose of this research is to explore teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards shy children’s socio-communicative abilities within the elementary school classroom.