The concept of “pets” as perceived by 4-8 year-old children

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Published: Feb 8, 2017
Updated: 2017-02-08
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2017-02-08 (1)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18844/cerj.v6i4.1412

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Nuray Koç Çilekçiler
Reyhane Arslan

Abstract

A number of studies examining the interaction of children with animals have shown the benefits of animals on the physical, mental, emotional and social development of children. Especially thanks to pets, children can learn a great many things like love of nature and animals, in addition to developing a sense of responsibility and loyalty and building good relationships. This study aimed to put forward the concept of “pets†as perceived by children aged between four and eight. The study group used in this research consisted of kindergarten and 1st - 2nd grade primary school children (n = 94) from Bursa Province (Turkey) over the 2014-2015 school year. Semi-structured interview questions and the children’s drawings of “pet themed†pictures were employed as data collection tools. A document review of the collected data was conducted and analyzed using content analysis techniques. According to the results obtained, while a large number of the children knew the concept of “petsâ€, they had different ideas about the characteristics of pets, as was revealed in their drawings. Moreover, regarding the perception of pets, there appeared to be a difference between children who had pets and those who did not.

Keywords: early childhood, child, pets, perception.

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How to Cite
Koç Çilekçiler, N., & Arslan, R. (2017). The concept of “pets” as perceived by 4-8 year-old children . Contemporary Educational Researches Journal, 6(4), 154–160. https://doi.org/10.18844/cerj.v6i4.1412
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Vol. 6 No. 4 (2016): November
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Articles
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