Quantity conceptions in university students: another look.
One hundred and thirty-eight post-graduate students enrolled in a Diploma in Education course were tested for their ability to converse weight and volume. A methodological criticism of the earlier work or Elkind (1962) and Towler & Wheatley (1971) is offered which casts doubt on the extremely high proportion of non-conservers of volume reported in those studies. Nevertheless, using a modified version of Elkind's methodology, 18 per cent of our sample were non-conservers of volume, a result providing some support for the generaltiy of Elkind's findings. The results are discussed under the four headings of horizontal decalage, sex differences, possible effects of pre-graduate courses of study and educational implications. The importance of the individual as constructor and interpreter of his own experience is emphasized.
D000328:Adult; D001154:Art; D003071:Cognition; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012586:Science; D013028:Space Perception; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D014892:Weight Perception