So many questions we need to answer

The research on questioning really suggests that children are doing it simply because they are trying to work out how and why the world work.

As the saying goes ‘children ask questions a wise person cannot answer’. However, we may need to be answering these questions as best we can. Journalist Jessica Willis talks to Professor Virginia Slaughter, Head of the School of Psychology and founder of the Early Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Queensland, about why children ask so many questions and the importance of answering.

“There is a really simple answer as to why young children ask so many questions – to learn!” Slaughter said.

“They are trying to make sense of the world.”

As a teacher, it can be wearying to try and answer every single question throughout the day especially as this number multiplies with every child.

However, it is important to remember that a student is asking questions not just to test your patience or seek attention.

Asking as learning

“The research on questioning really suggests that children are doing it simply because they are trying to work out how and why the world works,” said Slaughter.

“Children are bombarded with information and they don’t have frameworks for understanding the way adults do.

“When adults learn a new fact or a new relationship, it slots into a bigger framework that they have for the way, for instance, society or the physical world works.

“Children are still developing these bigger conceptual frameworks.

“Especially from the age of around three to about seven, children have quite good verbal ability, yet they don’t have sophisticated causal explanatory frameworks for slotting in new facts, observations and bits of information that they hear, so instead they ask questions.”

Properly answering questions is therefore extremely important as an engine of cognitive development.

Research has also shown that if their questions are not answered satisfactorily, children will simply keep asking.

“There was a study done a few years ago by The University of Michigan that analysed adult-child question and answer sequences from a really intense day-to-day recording of family conversations.

“They analysed the question-answer sequences in terms of whether answers given to children would be considered satisfactory from an adult perspective and they found that if an answer was not satisfactory there was always a follow up question.

“It’s better to give children what they need so they can build and add to their causal explanatory framework.”

Emotive and important questions

This remains the same for awkward and uncomfortable questions, which can be extra tricky for teachers balancing their role when encountering questions that should be answered in the family domain.

“The main area of concern that no one wants to address is about death, followed closely by birth – so both sides of the lifecycle,” Slaughter said.

“Children are aware when they hit a highly emotive and important topic. If you are avoidant, and don’t tell them the truth or are confusing, you can potentially create a lot of anxiety.”

However, as a teacher answering questions regarding topics such as birth, death, sex, gender, violence or illness can place you in a highly vulnerable position, especially taking into account any cultural or religious considerations.

Kay Harling, Director of Emerald Preschool and Community Kindergarten, believes it is important to exercise your professional judgement on the suitability of information given to young children.

“Giving truthful but appropriate answers is critical,” Harling said.

“Keeping communication open with parents about topics that will be or have been discussed is also critical.

“Some things we do, such as call body parts by their proper name, are for child protection and safety and needs to be communicated to families at the beginning of the year.

“A good strategy to use is asking children why they have asked the question.

“Normally, it’s for a completely different reason than expected and you can adjust your answer accordingly.”

Teachers often perform a remarkable task of addressing such emotive and important topics with their students, but in doing so they should also be mindful to ensure they follow any workplace policies and procedures, or employer directives.

If these do not exist, our Union encourages members to work together to develop some as a chapter in collaboration with their employers and their committees.

How do you answer children’s questions? Send your examples to bedrock@bedrock.ieu.asn.au