Children’s perspectives as ‘touch downs’ in time: assessing and developing children’s understanding simultaneously

In this article, getting access to children’s perspectives is presented as a prerequisite for assessing as well as developing children’s understanding. Children’s perspectives are analysed through examples taken from three domains of knowledge: music, mathematics and nature. The issues of assessing and developing children’s knowledge are discussed against this empirical background. It is argued that children’s perspectives are pivotal to both these educational objectives.