This article recounts the changes that occurred when a research study was redesigned to become more participatory, involving children, teachers, families, and the wider symbolic cultural neighbourhood. What emerged was a research study that was "integrated" into the curriculum of a four-year-old classroom. Here, the process is…

In this study, the impact of the Map and Globe Use Training Program on the map and globe reading and interpretation skills of five-year-olds continuing to a preschool program was examined. A semi-experimental model with a pretest/post-test control group was used to assess the impact of a 10-week map and globe use-training program in the preschools…

Preschool children can navigate by simple geometric maps of the environment, but the nature of the geometric relations they use in map reading remains unclear. Here, children were tested specifically on their sensitivity to angle. Forty-eight children (age 47:15-53:30 months) were presented with fragments of geometric maps, in which angle sections…

While maps and globes continue to be an important part of the geography and social studies curricula, there has been some debate about the ability of young children to engage in maps in a meaningful way. Some researchers have argued that children younger than seven do not have the spatial-cognitive abilities to truly understand the perspective and…

A series of microgenetic experiments was conducted to examine the role of experience on 2.5- to 5-year-old children's discovery of spatial mapping strategies. With experience, 3- to 4-year-olds discovered a strategy for mapping corresponding locations that shared both featural and spatial similarities. When featural and spatial correspondences…

Map-guided wayfinding requires updating the map-space relation whenever we turn. In 3 studies, children used a map to follow a path with two 90 degree turns. Although carrying the map, children rarely physically adjusted the map after turns. They performed well when the map was aligned with the space (on the 1st and 3rd legs), and they performed…