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Overview"Decades of work in psychology labs have vastly enhanced our knowledge about how children perceive, think, and reason. But it has also encouraged a distorted view of children, argues psychologist Susan Engel in this provocative and passionate book--a view that has affected every parent who has tried to debate with a six-year-old. By focusing on the thinking processes prized by adults, too many expert opinions have rendered children as little adults. What has been lost is what is truly unique and mysterious--the childlike quality of a child's mind. Engel draws on keen observations and descriptive research to take us into the nearly forgotten, untidy, phantasmagorical world of children's inner lives. She reminds us that children fuse thought and emotion, play and reality; they swing wildly between different ways of interpreting and acting in the world. But just as a gawky child may grow into a beauty, illogical and sometimes maddening childishness can foreshadow great adult ability. Engel argues that the ""scientist in a crib"" view encourages parents and teachers to expect more logical reasoning and emotional self-control from children than they possess. She provides a concise and valuable overview of what modern developmental psychologists have learned about children's developing powers of perception and capacity for reasoning, but also suggests new ways of studying children that better capture the truth about their young minds." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Susan EngelPublisher: Harvard University Press Imprint: Harvard University Press Dimensions: Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 21.00cm Weight: 0.410kg ISBN: 9780674018839ISBN 10: 0674018834 Pages: 240 Publication Date: 03 October 2005 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsReviewsFor a clue to what young children are really thinking, Susan Engel urges us to set aside our theories for a while as we listen anew to the children and watch them play. With humor and insight she celebrates the child's unique and ever-changing role playing and realities, and she calls upon us to make more sense of our research and teaching by seeing the children not as subjects but as co-discoverers.--Vivian Gussin Paley, Author Of in Mrs. Tully's Room Author InformationSusan Engel teaches developmental psychology at Williams College, where she is the founding director of the Program in Teaching. She is the author of eight books, including The Hungry Mind. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Salon, and The Atlantic. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |