Reflections on How Adults Respond to Children’s Contributions in Children–Adult Argumentative Interactions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22047032 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elisa Angiolini (0000-0003-2883-2506, University of Neuchâtel, corresponding author), Céline Miserez-Caperos (Smith Chapel Bible University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1069 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-20 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci15081069 |
| OpenAlex | W4413355294 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
This paper aims to analyze adults’ responses to children’s argumentative contributions within children–adult dialogic interactions. More precisely, we focus on the phenomenon of children opening subdiscussions within argumentative interactions with peers and adults. This phenomenon occurs when a child problematizes and calls into question some proposition in the ongoing discussion, hence the opening of a subdiscussion is an initiative that comes as unexpected from the perspective of the adult. In this contribution, we examine what happens after a child opens a subdiscussion and how the adult’s reaction to such initiatives can shape the development of dialogue. This means that we observe adult behaviour in dialogic interactions with children, given the complexity of the adult’s role in such interactions. Drawing on the dialogical approach to argumentation, we present and discuss some excerpts of children–adult subdiscussions at a kindergarten. The data analysis uses concepts and tools from a linguistics-based approach to argumentation, i.e., the pragma-dialectical theory, and it highlights conversational dynamics of children–adult argumentative discourse. The study’s contribution is twofold: (1) it presents the important and delicate role of the adult in dialogic children–adult interactions; (2) it shows how the development of children’s arguments is intrinsically linked to the flexibility of the discussion space organized by the adult
Argumentative · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Child Development and Digital Technology · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Dialogic Inquiry
Argumentation Theory
Dialogue and the Development of Children's Thinking
The Skills of Argument
Speech Acts in Argumentative Discussions
Effects of Dyadic Interaction on Argumentive Reasoning
The Development of Argument Skills
A Systematic Theory of Argumentation
Peer talk as a ‘double opportunity space’
The Origins and Nature of Arguments
Children's use of verbal strategies in resolving conflicts 1
| Highly cited | No |
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