What is a Hero? An exploratory study of students' conceptions of heroes

This article examines the responses given by 590 kindergarten to 12th-Grade students when they were asked about their conception of heroes. The sequence of questions asked students to define, describe, name, and justify their response about heroes. Students, regardless of age level, appear to use an operational definition of hero, but when asked to identify a hero, most students named a person with whom they have had personal experiences. Responses given over the age spans move from a specific behaviour to that of a sustained behaviour over a period of time. The change in responses demonstrates developmental changes in conceptual, cognitive, and social growth.