SYMBOLIC FUNCTIONING IN PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN

An important goal of parents and preschool educators alike is to intro duce young children to a variety of symbol systems, and to help childr en begin to master some of these crucial cultural tools. Our research indicates that, in spite of the importance that adults place on symbol ization, adult intiutions about the acquisition of symbolic functionin g and how to facilitate it are often poor. In this article we summariz e research on toddlers' understanding of two kinds of symbols-models a nd pictures. We show that the initial insight that something is a symb ol or representation of something else is extremely challenging for yo ung children, and it is an insight that must be achieved with each sym bol system they encounter. Two factors that contribute to the difficul ty children have appreciating symbolic relations are discussed: dual r epresentation (the ability to think about something in two different w ays at the same time; specifically, the ability to think of something both as an object itself and a symbol for something else) and represen tational specificity (understanding that a symbol can stand for a spec ific reality). Implications of these factors for preschool practice ar e considered.