In fact, classsic empirical “theory theory” research showed that children develop more abstract, framework knowledge over and above their specific causal knowledge. For example, when they make judgments about objects, children often seem to understand broad causal principles before they understand specific details.
Throughout reading the research, there is a focus on very young children (under 4 years). As a secondary teacher, I've been thinking about applications of this idea in my social studies and english classes, settling on inquiry and project based learning. This kind of student-centered activity provides scaffolding, but encourages students to review new information, "experiment," and adjust their conclusions based on the information they have.