Research shows that epistemic cognition can support reasoning about the inclusion of diverse children. We argue that, to engage in such reasoning, children need the capacity to consider and evaluate competing knowledge perspectives (epistemic cognition) and to be cognitively flexible. Cognitive flexibility involves a subset of skills within the suite of self-regulation skills known as executive functions (EF). This study explored the extent to which cognitive flexibility might be related to epistemic cognition and the effectiveness of a pictorial and interview methodology to explore children’s epistemic cognition. Eighty-two children participated in three EF tasks designed to assess their ability to flexibly shift from one mental set to another (cognitive flexibility). Children were also interviewed about the drawings they created to represent social exclusion/inclusion in their play settings. Results indicated that, in contrast to expectations, cognitive flexibility and epistemic cognition were not related. Challenges associated with using the pictorial and interview methodology are discussed.

研究表明，认知认知可以支持关于包容不同儿童的推理。我们认为，为了进行这种推理，儿童需要有能力考虑和评估相互竞争的知识观点（认知认知），并且在认知上具有灵活性。认知灵活性涉及被称为执行功能 (EF) 的自我调节技能套件中的一部分技能。本研究探讨了认知灵活性可能与认知认知相关的程度，以及图片和访谈方法在探索儿童认知认知方面的有效性。82 名儿童参加了三项 EF 任务，旨在评估他们从一种心理状态灵活转变为另一种心理状态的能力（认知灵活性）。孩子们还接受了关于他们在游戏环境中为代表社会排斥/包容而创作的图画的采访。结果表明，与期望相反，认知灵活性和认知认知不相关。讨论了与使用图片和访谈方法相关的挑战。