Children’s Questions and Teachers’ Responses about the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey and the United States

With the resumption of face-to-face classes in schools, children have begun to ask questions about the COVID-19 outbreak not only to parents but also to teachers. However, there has not been any research examining children’s questions and teachers’ responses about the Covid-19 pandemic. The study examined 3-12-year-old children’s questions and teachers’ responses about the Covid-19 pandemic in two sociocultural contexts: Turkey and the United States. A total of 119 teachers from Turkey and 95 teachers from the United States participated in the study. Teachers completed an online survey consisting of a demographic form and a questionnaire asking them to report three questions about Covid-19 asked by children in their classrooms and their responses to these questions. We analyzed children’s questions and teachers’ responses for their type and content. We also examined whether demographic factors were associated with children’s questions and teachers’ responses. Consistent with the literature, children in the Turkish sample asked fewer explanation-seeking (i.e., why/how) questions than children in the US sample. Children asked questions about virus and precautions to teachers and teachers responded to children’s questions realistically in both cultures. We discuss these findings in relation to similarities and differences across cultures in children’s question-asking behavior when acquiring knowledge.