Mapping the journey from home to school: a study on children's representation of space

Abstract

This paper describes a study conducted with 235 children from Brazil and Switzerland. The children, from 5 to 13 years of age, were asked to draw the journey they undertake every day from home to school. The purpose of the study is to understand the relationship between the cognitive development and map-drawing abilities of children in both countries. The maps were analyzed qualitatively by focusing on elements of space representation such as paths and landmarks. The analysis shows that younger children can draw simple topological maps and then move on to egocentric landmarks. Older children can identify and draw more streets and buildings and move on to decentered maps. Country differences are mostly related to local geographic and social particularities. No gender differences were found. Results are discussed in relation to the underlying process in developmental abilities of children.