The Development of Young Children's Spatial Representations of Their Classrooms

SIEGEL, ALEXANDER, W., and SCHADLER, MARGARET. The Development of Young Children's Spatial Representations of Their Classrooms. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 388-394. In an attempt to assess the development of young children's internal representations of large-scale space, 15 boys and 15 girls were asked to construct a 3-dimensional model of their kindergarten classroom. 3 groups of 10 children were tested, 2 in the spring and 1 in the following fall. 1 of the groups of children tested in the spring was given 4 accurately laced landmarks prior to their model construction. Constructions were scored on the bases of absolute accuracy (the accuracy with which items were placed relative to their absolute position in the classroom), local relational accuracy (accuracy of item placement relative to items adjacent to it), and global relational accuracy (accuracy with which clusters of items were placed relative to other clusters). On all 3 measures, the accuracy of the boys was greater than that of the girls. Increased experience in the classroom significantly increased the children's absolute accuracy but had relatively little effect on their local relational and global relational accuracy. The provision of landmarks enhanced the children's local relational and global relational accuracy but had no effect on absolute accuracy. These effects were found to be independent of maturational factors alone. Results are discussed in the context of current theories of spatial representation.