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Journals / Hakkari Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 5 Sayı: 1

The Child’s First World of Knowledge: Family, Trust, and Epistemic Development

ÇOCUĞUN İLK BİLGİ DÜNYASI: AİLE, GÜVEN VE EPİSTEMİK GELİŞİM

Davut Açar(Hakkari Üniversitesi)0000-0003-4877-9036
Pages
50–69
Publication Date
2026-06-24
DOI
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Accordingly, this review proposes a family-based cycle of epistemic development and highlights its implications for fostering trust in knowledge, critical evaluation of information, and lifelong learning competencies.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Although child development is commonly explained through biological maturation and learning processes, the ways in which children access, evaluate, and identify trustworthy sources of knowledge also constitute fundamental dimensions of development.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The theoretical framework integrates insights from social epistemology, constructivist and sociocultural learning theories, attachment theory, ecological systems theory, neurodevelopmental plasticity, epistemic trust, and digital literacy research.
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Conclusion & Impact:Accordingly, this review proposes a family-based cycle of epistemic development and highlights its implications for fostering trust in knowledge, critical evaluation of information, and lifelong learning competencies.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Çocuk Gelişimi · Aile · Bağlanma

Abstract

Although child development is commonly explained through biological maturation and learning processes, the ways in which children access, evaluate, and identify trustworthy sources of knowledge also constitute fundamental dimensions of development. This review examines child development from an epistemic perspective, focusing on how relationships with knowledge emerge and evolve from the earliest years of life. The central argument is that the family serves not only as a child’s primary caregiving system but also as the first epistemic environment. Early interactions with caregivers, including experiences of trust, joint attention, parental language, symbolic play, and everyday social exchanges, shape children’s attitudes toward knowledge and their emerging patterns of inquiry. As development progresses, schools, peer relationships, support systems, and digital media environments further expand and transform this epistemic structure. The theoretical framework integrates insights from social epistemology, constructivist and sociocultural learning theories, attachment theory, ecological systems theory, neurodevelopmental plasticity, epistemic trust, and digital literacy research. The literature suggests that epistemic development extends beyond cognitive capacity and emerges through continuous interactions among relational, cultural, and technological contexts. Accordingly, this review proposes a family-based cycle of epistemic development and highlights its implications for fostering trust in knowledge, critical evaluation of information, and lifelong learning competencies.

Özet

Çocuk gelişimi çoğunlukla biyolojik olgunlaşma ve öğrenme süreçleri üzerinden açıklansa da, çocukların bilgiye nasıl ulaştıkları, bilgiyi nasıl değerlendirdikleri ve güvenilir bilgi kaynaklarını nasıl tanımladıkları da gelişimin temel bileşenleri arasında yer almaktadır. Bu derleme, çocuk gelişimini epistemik bir perspektiften ele alarak bilgiyle kurulan ilişkinin yaşamın ilk yıllarından itibaren nasıl şekillendiğini incelemektedir. Çalışmanın temel argümanı, ailenin çocuğun ilk bakım sistemi olduğu kadar ilk epistemik çevresi de olduğudur. Erken dönemde bakım verenlerle kurulan ilişkiler, güven duygusu, ortak dikkat deneyimleri, ebeveyn dili, sembolik oyunlar ve gündelik etkileşimler çocukların bilgiye yönelik tutumlarını ve sorgulama biçimlerini biçimlendirmektedir. Okul, akran ilişkileri, destek sistemleri ve dijital medya ortamları ise bu epistemik yapıyı zamanla genişletmektedir. Kuramsal çerçeve; sosyal epistemoloji, yapılandırmacı ve sosyokültürel öğrenme yaklaşımları, bağlanma kuramı, ekolojik sistemler yaklaşımı, nörogelişimsel plastisite, epistemik güven ve dijital okuryazarlık literatürünün bütünleştirilmesiyle oluşturulmuştur. Bulgular, epistemik gelişimin bilişsel kapasitenin ötesinde ilişkisel, kültürel ve teknolojik etkileşimler içerisinde şekillenen dinamik bir süreç olduğunu göstermekte ve aile temelli bir epistemik gelişim döngüsü önermektedir.

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Cite This Article

Açar, D. (2026). The Child’s First World of Knowledge: Family, Trust, and Epistemic Development. Hakkari Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 5 Sayı: 1, 50–69. https://ajindex.com/articles/1629693

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