What Primary-Grade Students Say About Their Ideal Future Homes

Abstract

As part of a larger study of children's knowledge and thinking about the topic of shelter, individual interviews were conducted with 216 K-3 students, stratified according to grade, socioeconomic status, achievement level, and gender. The interviews included questions about the physical characteristics and geographical locations of the types of homes in which the children would prefer to reside as adults. Analyses indicated that most students depicted single family homes located in suburban or semi-rural areas, near relatives and friends but removed from urban density and crime. Overall, the students emphasized many of the same home features and location considerations that their parents might have mentioned in response to the same questions, except that many responses emphasized home features that have special relevance for young children and only a few students talked about locating near the parents' workplaces or the children's schools. Findings are discussed with reference to curriculum and instruction in the primary grades.