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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/71955
Description
Title
The Development of the Concept of Calendar Time
Author(s)
Zhang, Lihui
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Katz, L.,
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Elementary
Psychology, Developmental
Abstract
The acquisition of calendar concepts requires the mastery of other concepts, such as the concept of number, sense of cycles and sequences and the ability to use the vocabulary of time.
It is hypothesized that (a) children as they gain knowledge about the calendar system proceed from understanding short periods of time to long periods of time; (b) children start the process of knowledge acquisition of the calendar system from their personal experiences, such as their birthday, their daily or weekly activities, etc.
Forty subjects ages 5 to 8 years were selected to be interviewed with a calendar questionnaire, which consisted of 50 items. These items were divided into 4 sections: (a) concept of birthday, (b) concept of weeks, (c) concept of months and (d) concept of year.
According to the children's responses to the questions in this study, they were divided into three developmental levels: (I) the preparatory period for the acquisition of the calendar concepts; (II) the transitional period for mastering calendar concepts; (III) the final period of acquisition and mastery of calendar concepts.
The results of this study suggest that the differences still exist between adults and children, even those who were placed in Level III, as children only hold one calendar system, i.e., the day to day calendar system. It is assumed that there are two systems in adults' understanding of calendar concepts-the day to day calendar system and the official calendar system.
The hypotheses of the study were confirmed that children start with simple, short-span units of time, gradually proceed to acquire more difficult and longer-time span concepts, and finally complete the process in gaining knowledge about the calendar. On the other hand, children from the very beginning when they start to learn calendar concepts tend to associate this learning process with their personal experiences and daily lives. This tendency later becomes a very important step for children's acquisition of calendar concepts.
Based on the results of this research, some suggestions and considerations are listed with regard to the teaching of calendar knowledge.
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