School Enjoyment and its Relation to the Development of General Knowledge

• In Event: The Development of Curiosity: How Children Approach Information and ask Questions to Gain Knowledge

Abstract

Early learning environments can provide experiences that support the development of foundational knowledge and promote children's curiosity to learn (Gottfried et al., 2016). This study explores the relation between curiosity and general knowledge from preschool to kindergarten, assessing curiosity as enjoyment of learning. Children are naturally curious and enjoy learning, but curiosity and enjoyment seem to decline with schooling (Engel, 2013; Gottfried et al., 2001). Research suggests that knowledge and skills related to science, social studies, and the humanities (general knowledge, GK) is an important but understudied predictor of academic success (Grissmer et al., 2010; Hirsch, 2019). Social and natural science are topics children are most curious about (Post & Walma van der Molen, n.d.), and curiosity can serve as a motivator for learning (Jirout, 2020). Further, GK involves developing a broader understanding across domains through exploration of ideas and spaces, which is more aligned with the ways that young children approach and learn about their world (Gopnik, 2012).

Current Study
The current study tested whether preschool enjoyment and GK were respectively predictive of first grade enjoyment and GK, controlling for preschool levels. We hypothesized significant correlations between school enjoyment and general knowledge at both preschool and kindergarten. Because little research has been conducted on general knowledge, and there are inconsistencies between the direction of the relation between school enjoyment and other academic domains, we did not state specific hypotheses about the direction of the relation we were testing.

Methods and Results
The data for this study were part of a larger, ongoing longitudinal project. Our sample included 1359 children who completed both the enjoyment and GK measures at one or both time points. Enjoyment was assessed using three items on the Children's Academic Orientations Scale (CAOS, see Table 1; Ruzek et al., 2020; GK was assessed using the Woodcock Johnson III (Woodcock et al., 2003). Both tasks were administered individually by a trained data collector using standardized procedures.
We used a cross lagged panel model (between child) on GK and enjoyment, controlling for GK in preschool, as well as gender and whether children spoke Spanish at home. Results showed a significant effect of preschool enjoyment on kindergarten GK with a standardized coefficient of β =.079 (p = .041). Preschool GK did not have a significant effect on kindergarten enjoyment. Significant gender differences were observed, with boys lower on both measures, whereas those who speak Spanish at home were only lower on GK. Unsurprisingly, preschool GK significantly related to kindergarten GK (β = 0.62, p = 0.0001). Preschool enjoyment related to kindergarten enjoyment less strongly.

Conclusion
Our results suggest that preschool curiosity predicts residualized gains in GK from preschool to kindergarten, while preschool GK does not predict residualized gains in enjoyment over the same period. While these results are correlational and preliminary, they suggest the importance of further study of whether school readiness interventions should focus on curiosity and school enjoyment over developing knowledge and skills to support broader academic development.

Authors

• Jamie J Jirout, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Erik Ruzek, University of Virginia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica E Whittaker, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Robert C Pianta, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author