What do children learn about biology from factual information? A comparison of interventions to improve understanding of contagious illnesses

Abstract

Children have been shown to hold misconceptions about illness, and previous work has indicated that their knowledge can be improved through the use of interventions. This study aims to evaluate interventions based on the provision of factual information for improving understanding of contagious illness. The participants were 96 children from two age groups: 7 and 11 years. During the pre-test, the children were asked about three contagious illnesses and one novel illness. There were three intervention conditions, differing in the level of factual information provided: explanations provided, no explanations provided and scientific factual style. The interventions were focused on contagious illnesses (cold, chickenpox). A post-test was conducted 6 weeks later. Results from the pre-test show that the older children have more sophisticated understanding of illness than the younger children. Mean pre- to post-test change was calculated and analyses revealed that there is greater pre- to post-test change in the explanation and scientific fact conditions when compared with that in the no-explanation condition. The improvements in knowledge generalized to other contagious illnesses, and the older children showed more improvements than the younger children. These findings add to the literature on children's understanding of contagious illnesses and contribute towards discussions on the best approach to health education.