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Practicing for the Future: Deliberate Practice in Early Childhood.
Melissa Brinums1, Kana Imuta1, Thomas Suddendorf1
1University of Queensland.
Child Development
|October 25, 2017
Summary
Children develop deliberate practice skills after preschool. Six- and 7-year-olds understand and engage in deliberate practice, while younger children do not, indicating key developmental changes in future-oriented behavior.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Human Behavior
Background:
- Deliberate practice is crucial for skill acquisition and human adaptive success.
- The developmental trajectory of deliberate practice in children remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the emergence of selective skill practice in children aged 4 to 7 years.
- To assess children's understanding of deliberate practice and its role in skill development.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 120 children aged 4 to 7 years.
- Assessment of children's ability to selectively practice a skill for future use.
- Evaluation of children's explicit understanding of deliberate practice.
Main Results:
- Six- and 7-year-olds demonstrated explicit understanding and unprompted engagement in deliberate practice.
- Five-year-olds showed partial understanding and capacity for practice.
- Four-year-olds lacked both understanding and capacity for deliberate practice.
Conclusions:
- Significant developmental shifts in future-directed behavior and deliberate practice occur after the preschool years.
- This research highlights critical age-related changes in children's ability to strategically acquire skills.
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