Zijn nieuwsgierige kinderen beter in bètaleren? Een onderzoek naar de invloed van kwaliteit en kwanteit van exploratiegedrag en prestatie-motivatie op de bètavaardigheden van basisschoolleerlingen van 5 tot 8 jaar oud.

Although curiosity is regularly mentioned as an important factor for the development of scientific skills, limited research has been done to verify this assumption. The present study examined the relationship between curiosity, by examining qualitative and quantitative exploratory behaviour and mastery motivation, and science skills of primary schoolchildren from 5 to 8 years old. Exploration was measured with the ‘Playhouse’ computer task, mastery motivation with the DMQ questionnaire and science skills were measured with the WPPSI-III-NL Block Patterns and RAKIT Quantity. The results showed that there was a weak, yet significant relationship for science skills with quantitative exploratory behaviour (r = .16 p = .011), and ‘General Competence’ (r =.14, p = .021) as well as ‘Object-oriented persistence’ (r = .14, p = .020) on the mastery motivation subscale. Multiple regression analysis showed that there was a small influence of ‘General Competence’ on scientific skills, R2 = .02....Show moreAlthough curiosity is regularly mentioned as an important factor for the development of scientific skills, limited research has been done to verify this assumption. The present study examined the relationship between curiosity, by examining qualitative and quantitative exploratory behaviour and mastery motivation, and science skills of primary schoolchildren from 5 to 8 years old. Exploration was measured with the ‘Playhouse’ computer task, mastery motivation with the DMQ questionnaire and science skills were measured with the WPPSI-III-NL Block Patterns and RAKIT Quantity. The results showed that there was a weak, yet significant relationship for science skills with quantitative exploratory behaviour (r = .16 p = .011), and ‘General Competence’ (r =.14, p = .021) as well as ‘Object-oriented persistence’ (r = .14, p = .020) on the mastery motivation subscale. Multiple regression analysis showed that there was a small influence of ‘General Competence’ on scientific skills, R2 = .02. This influence is substantially smaller than the influence of age, R2 = .21. So in this research the children with better qualitative and quantitative exploratory behaviour and stronger mastery motivation are not assumed to have better scientific skills. More research is required to understand the role of exploratory behaviour and mastery motivation in the development of scientific skills of primary school students.Show less

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Zijn nieuwsgierige kinderen beter in bètaleren? Een onderzoek naar de invloed van kwaliteit en kwanteit van exploratiegedrag en prestatie-motivatie op de bètavaardigheden van basisschoolleerlingen van 5 tot 8 jaar oud.