Traffic and mobility psychology/education Insights on children’s behaviour

1. Traffic and mobility psychology/education Insights on children’s behaviour Mobiel 21 – March 2008Elke Bossaert, Lies Lambert

2. Contents • Children ≠ small adults • Traffic & mobility education • How and why of campaigns such as the Traffic Snake Game

3. Children ≠ small adults • Move in and through traffic in a different way, • different perception, • different way of thinking, • different way of handling, • but ready and eager to learn!

4. Perceiving / Perception • Seeing • Children have a different point of view….literally • Hearing • Directions are difficult and hard to determine • Attention • Experiencing the world from a self-centred point of view • Attention is diversified; before the age of 8 it is difficult, if not impossible to give attention to the most important things in traffic

5. Perceiving / Perception (2) Viewing behaviour of a 9-year old without cycling experience (number of fixation = 13 )

6. Perceiving / Perception (3) Viewing behaviour of a 9-year old with cycling experience (number of fixation = 4 )

7. Thinking • Magical Thinking • Magical thinking is a child's belief that what he or she wishes or expects can affect what really happens • Till the age of 4 to 5, reality and fantasy seem to collide with each other • Difficulty to understand that what they want is not always what they will get

8. Thinking (2) Magical Thinking (2) Example: a car approaching

9. Thinking (3) • Egocentric thinking • Normal tendency for a young child • See everything that happens as it relates to him or herself. This is not selfishness. • Young children are unable to understand different points of view • Example: I see the car approaching... • From research it is clear that only from the age of about 12 a clear distinction is made between what you see and being seen

10. Thinking (4) Conditional logic and thinking From the age of 7 or 8 most children are in a position to start thinking about conditions Able to estimate timings Example: car approaching, when to cross the road

11. Thinking (5) • Conditional logic and thinking (2) • Children under 8 years old, see the movements, know how it works, but don’t see the proces • Example: seeing a car approaching, timing when it will cross, seeing the process of a car needing distance to come to a full stop

12. Acting • Motoral compentence • Under the age of 6 any motoral activity such as walking demands all the attention. • Motoral skills are still developing • Example: crossing a street and stepping onto a high pavement • Learning to cycle is an even more complex task. • Example: first learning how to move in a moving environment

13. Acting (2) • Play • The outside world is one big play arena • Traffic, zebra crossings, high pavements are all challenges that need to be explored as in a game • Knowing and doing • From the age of 6 children are ready to learn traffic regulations. However a lot of practice is needed to create an automatism

14. Acting (3) • Impulsivity • 2 big groups of children show riskful behaviour: • The big mouths • The scary crows

15. Learning • Children learn easily • Learn most of all by imitating behaviour • Role of champions, teachers and most of all parents!

16. Learning (2) Procedural Declarative knowledge knowledge Affective knowledge Knowing that… E.g. a green light means safe to go

17. Learning (3) Procedural Declarative knowledge knowledge Affective knowledge Knowing how... E.g. a green light means safe to go, yet I must look first at the left, than at the right, than at the left again ==> knowing in interaction with environment!

18. Learning (4) Procedural Declarative knowledge knowledge Affective knowledge Subjective relation to real-life interactions E.g. confidence and faith in riding a bike E.g. what to do when a car is wrongly parked in the bike lane

19. Learning (5) Procedural Declarative knowledge knowledge Affective knowledge INTERACTION !!! Complex relationship between these aspects. Interaction with real-life, experiences and expectations are crucial. Metacognitive skills and knowledge (planning, strategies!)

20. Traffic and mobility education • Traditional traffic education • Safety education, no correlation with environment • To adapt children as weak traffic participants -safety and prevention of accidents • By reglementation, adapting to the system, fear, attentivity • In class

21. Traffic and mobility education (2) Contemporary mobility education Traffic AND mobility Safety education but also ecological topics, sustainability, autonomy, health To have children as active traffic participants Children as pedestrians and cyclists Child‘s perspective  small adult perspective From learning in a classroom over a safe and protected environment to learning in real life situations and in real traffic

22. Traffic and mobility education (3) • Mobility education is consciously thinking of the different modes of transport, their advantages and disadvantages • Learning by doing • Learning by imitation

23. Why campaigns like the TSG? • Putting traffic and mobility (education) in the picture: • showing the importance to the parents • showing the neighbourhood

24. Why campaigns like the TSG? (2) • Cooperation, collaboration with parents (imitation function!) • Successful triangle: parents, teachers, pupils • Cooperation and collaboration with local government is a motivator

25. Why campaigns like the TSG? (3) Can be a mere campaign. But even then: a lot of parties involved! Can be a stepping stone for traffic and mobility education Can be a stepping stone for traffic and mobility issues beyond education