兒童對於戰爭的知覺概念--年齡差異之探討

Age Differences in Children's Perceptions of War

本研究旨在描述與比較三個不同年齡層的兒童對於戰爭的知覺概念。研究設計採用質性研究法，共有五十位三到十七歲的兒童接受深度訪談。他們主要來自於兩個美國中西部大學城。本文除了檢視年齡變項對於兒童知覺差異的影響，亦就不同年齡層，比較台裔美籍兒童與非台裔美籍兒童對於戰爭的知覺概念有何異同。本研究發現年齡是影響兒童對戰爭知覺差異的主要因素，從兒童的回答中分析出許多對於戰爭概念的主題與類別。總括而言，低年齡組的兒童描述戰爭主要以其活動與武器等具體事項為主，而中、高年齡組的兒童則會加入較抽象的概念如戰爭發生的原因與後果等，亦討論到所出現的個別差異。台裔美籍兒童與非台裔美籍兒童對於戰爭概念的描述非常相似，但是仍然存在一些可能因為文化背景而產生的差異。本研究應用認知發展理論和符號理論來解釋及討論所發現的組間差異。最後，根據研究結果對於未來實務與學術研究發展的方向提出建議。

This study explored differences in children’s perceptions of war among three age groups. A qualitative research design was adopted. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 50 children recruited from two mid-western university towns in the U.S. Comparisons of perception differences also were made between Taiwanese American (TA) children and non-Taiwanese American (NTA) children on the basis of different age groups. Age was found to be an important factor influencing children’s perceptions of war. In general， children in the youngest age group described war mainly in terms of war activities and weapons. Those in the middle and oldest age groups were much more likely than the youngest children to include consequences and causes of war in their descriptions. Individual differences also were discussed. The results of this study indicated a strong similarity between TA and NTA children’s descriptions of war; however， a few differences also were identified， some of which seemed to be related to TA children’s unique cultural background. Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Symbolic Interactionism were adopted to explain and understand the differences found in age groups and ethnic groups. Implications for practice and future research are suggested.