Fourth graders understandings on state: The social representation approach

In this study, the social representations approach is employed to investigate how primary school children understand societal concepts, believing that social representations are crucial for explaining these concepts regardless of developmental stages. State is one such concept that extends throughout our lives. This research aimed to determine the cognitive structures of 183 fourth-grade students (9-year-olds) from Bolu Central District, Turkey, related to the concept of “state” through the analysis of their drawings. The drawings were categorized and analyzed based on the structural elements of the state: Nation, Country, and Sovereignty. The findings indicate that children’s political socialization is predominantly influenced by school and reflects the content of Turkish life studies and social studies curricula and textbooks. Their primary representations focused on the state’s functional roles in daily life, such as education (f:42), health (f:37), and security (f:16). They also strongly associated the state with national symbols (Turkish Flag f:22, Atatürk f:7), suggesting a significant influence of "banal nationalism". Turkish fourth graders demonstrated a substantial awareness of the state, linking key political concepts to concrete institutions and national identity.