How do children and juveniles understand the law? Six phases of the development of legal thinking

Abstract

The present article is directed towards the development of legal thinking, a domain of societal understanding that has not been explored in depth until now. First, theoretical assumptions with regard to the conception of legal thinking and to the relationship of law and morality are discussed, followed by a presentation of the findings of two research projects that investigated the development of pre-legal and legal understanding. Overall 170 children and juveniles aged 1.5 to 23 years were examined. Six phases were reconstructed that range from the understanding of unilateral possession-rules in early childhood to a principle-based understanding of the law in early adulthood. Finally, the theoretical conception of the model, its limits and its educational implications are discussed.