Conservation Skills: A Replicated Study of Order of Acquisition across Tasks

Abstract

Abstract Developmental patterns in conservation skills were examined in four samples of children (N = 390) 4 to 11 years of age. Judgments of conservation and explanations were elicited for seven conservation tasks assessing concepts from number to volume (adapted from Goldschmid & Bentler 1968a). Across all ages and samples, judgment-only and judgment-plus-explanation scores were highly correlated. Explanations provided little additional information on level of conservation skill. The greatest increment in conservation skill occurred between kindergarten and Grade 1, with some further increase between Grades 1 and 3 or 4. Order of acquisition of number, area, and volume were consistent in all samples, with number easiest and volume hardest. Conservation of substance, discontinuous quantity, continuous quantity and weight were always more difficult than area and easier than volume, but there was no evidence of consistent differences in difficulty among the matter and weight tasks. These findings confirm that the acquisition of conservation skills is not discrete, but that the gradual process of acquisition reflects a specifiable, orderly sequence.