THE COLOR CONCEPT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS IN 8 - 10 YEARS-OLD CHILDREN: LOOKING FOR OPERATIONAL INVARIANTS

ABSTRACT:

This paper was a result of a longitudinal research which is still on course. This research counted with 63 children, students in a public school, from 8 to 10 years old in Minas Gerais state (Brazil). Our goal was to identify which operational invariants were used by the children on a color/shadow construction situation through the use of a projector. We considered the solutions proposed by the children and also their own graphic notation. We’ve chosen Bardin’s Content Analysis as the methodological approach and we’ve done, based on Conceptual Fields theory, the identification of the operational invariants. The conclusions point out that the understanding of colors by the children is a result of a differentiation between shades of brightness and dark. Our contribution relies on the new feature brought to Conceptual Fields theory’s analytical framework which is the ability to evaluate the colors’ conceptualization process in children.

Keywords:
Colors construction; Conceptualisation; Conceptual Fields Theory