Wang Zhenlin, Wang X Christine, Chui Wai Yip
Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong KongTai Po, Hong Kong.
Department of Learning and Instruction, University at Buffalo, SUNYBuffalo, NY, USA.
Front Psychol. 2017 May 16;8:725. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00725. eCollection 2017.
Children's understanding of the concepts of teaching and learning is closely associated with their theory of mind (ToM) ability and vital for school readiness. This study aimed to develop and validate a Preschool Teaching and Learning Comprehension Index (PTLCI) across cultures and examine the causal relationship between children's comprehension of teaching and learning and their mental state understanding. Two hundred and twelve children from 3 to 6 years of age from Hong Kong and the United States participated in study. The results suggested strong construct validity of the PTLCI, and its measurement and structural equivalence within and across cultures. ToM and PTLCI were significantly correlated with a medium effect size, even after controlling for age, and language ability. Hong Kong children outperformed their American counterparts in both ToM and PTLCI. Competing structural equation models suggested that children's performance on the PTLCI causally predicted their ToM across countries.
儿童对教学概念的理解与他们的心理理论（ToM）能力密切相关，并且对入学准备至关重要。本研究旨在开发并验证一种跨文化的学前教学理解指数（PTLCI），并检验儿童对教学的理解与他们对心理状态的理解之间的因果关系。来自中国香港和美国的212名3至6岁儿童参与了该研究。结果表明PTLCI具有很强的结构效度，以及在文化内部和文化之间的测量和结构等效性。即使在控制了年龄和语言能力之后，心理理论和PTLCI仍具有显著的中等效应量相关性。中国香港儿童在心理理论和PTLCI方面均优于美国儿童。竞争结构方程模型表明，儿童在PTLCI上的表现能够因果性地预测他们在不同国家的心理理论水平。
