TY - JOUR
T1 - Theory of mind at school
T2 - academic outcomes and the influence of the school context
AU - Lecce, Serena
AU - Devine, R.T.
PY - 2021/10/11
Y1 - 2021/10/11
N2 - The recent expansion of research on children’s understanding of others’ minds (or ‘theory of mind’) into middle childhood provides fresh opportunities to consider its origins and consequences. In this paper, we propose that, in addition to supporting children’s social interactions, individual differences in theory of mind benefit academic achievement, in particular, reading comprehension and scientific reasoning. Furthermore, we argue that the school and classroom context can influence individual differences in theory of mind and its ongoing development in middle childhood. We suggest future directions for research to test these claims, which will provide a new perspective on the consequences of theory of mind and test the developmental continuity of socio-cultural accounts of mindreading.
AB - The recent expansion of research on children’s understanding of others’ minds (or ‘theory of mind’) into middle childhood provides fresh opportunities to consider its origins and consequences. In this paper, we propose that, in addition to supporting children’s social interactions, individual differences in theory of mind benefit academic achievement, in particular, reading comprehension and scientific reasoning. Furthermore, we argue that the school and classroom context can influence individual differences in theory of mind and its ongoing development in middle childhood. We suggest future directions for research to test these claims, which will provide a new perspective on the consequences of theory of mind and test the developmental continuity of socio-cultural accounts of mindreading.
KW - Middle Childhood
KW - academic achievement
KW - schooling
KW - theory of mind
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116766056&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/icd.2274
DO - 10.1002/icd.2274
M3 - Article
SN - 1522-7227
JO - Infant and Child Development
JF - Infant and Child Development
M1 - e2274
ER -