Children's values in early childhood: Age differences in structure and priorities

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out which differences appear in the structure and priorities of values of late preschool and early elementary school children. A total of 243 late preschool (M = 5.98) and early elementary school (M = 7.87) children from Estonia completed the Picture Based Value Survey for Children (Döring et al., 2010). The four higher-order values identified by Schwartz (1992) were evident in both age group's value structure. Nevertheless, there were some deviations from the theoretical model in preschool children. The results suggest that school children differentiate better between some of the values within the four higher-order values. Children seem to distinguish self-oriented values earlier than other-oriented values. Both preschool and school children prioritized self-transcendence values. Among preschool children, self-enhancement ranked second and was more important than among school children. Openness to change was of higher importance to school children. The study highlights some of the key changes in values during early childhood.