Knowing what Counts as Understanding in Different Disciplines: some 10-year-old children's conceptions

Understanding is not of the same kind in all contexts. Children learn the kind of understanding that is appropriate in particular contexts largely through a process of enculturation. This study examines some aspects of 10-year-old children's conceptions of understanding. There was evidence that they had admissible conceptions of understanding in general but may be unable to distinguish unaided between the kinds of understanding that are relevant in different disciplines. An explicit attention to enculturation in lesson plans may be of benefit to such children.