Recently, much importance has been placed on early science education. This study examined the associations between kindergarten teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and their integration of science into teaching, and investigated how four potential factors (i.e. mastery experience, interpersonal support, previous science…

This dissertation investigated teachers' practices in preschool science education between China and United States, especially focusing on the factors that affected teachers' instruction in early childhood science education, teachers' pedagogical practices in teaching children science, and teachers' classroom discourse methods used in teaching…

Young children's instinctive curiosity is essential in early childhood science education. Efficacious science education is associated with the characteristics of a qualified science program and an effective learning environment. The out-of-school learning environments make it easier to achieve the aims of science education in early childhood with…

Research in science in early childhood is an area that has not received much attention (Fleer, M., & Robbins, J. (2003). "Hit and run research" with "hit and miss" results in early childhood science education. "Research in Science Education," 33, 405-431.) and it has been reported that early children teachers lack…

Science education become one prioritie of modern societies, with the purpose of forming scientifically literate youth and adults. They play an active role in solving the problems existing in society, making critical and informed decisions. In this paper we discuss the need for scientifically literate citizens and the relevance of practical work as…

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents findings on a curricular intervention aimed at integrating computer programming with reading and writing in early elementary school. The purpose of this research was to explore the relation between students' varying literacy levels and their level of success in mastering an introductory programming language.…

Effective teaching and learning of Nature of Science (NOS) has been a curriculum goal for decades and its inclusion into the science education from K-12 is becoming commonplace worldwide, regardless of the differences in the adapted science curricula. However, less attention, if any, has been paid to the holistic representation of NOS at…

Following a theoretical framework that recognizes the potential of promotive and inhibitive effects on children's development, this study explored child-, family-, classroom-, and school-level factors as predictors of Latinx (N = 4,590) students' early elementary science achievement. Research Findings: Employing a path modeling approach with…

The purpose of the study was to investigate prospective early childhood teachers' conceptions of teaching science, and thus identify their strategies for enabling their future pre-K to 3rd grade students' construction of science content. For the purpose of this study, we subscribed to the view of conceptions of teaching as having dimensions and…

Background: The number of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy studies in K-12 education has recently increased, with most research focusing on primary and secondary education contexts. Little research focuses on AI literacy programs in early childhood education. Objectives: The aim of this mixed-methods study is to examine the feasibility of an…

Reforms within science education strive to shift early science instruction (K-2) so students have ample sense-making opportunities to construct scientific explanations. Classroom discussions play a key role in supporting these endeavors. This requires that classroom discussions are shaped in ways that foster scientific instruction and learning. In…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on education. Science teaching, in particular, has faced specific challenges given the field's emphasis on high-quality instruction that has students "do" science collaboratively rather than just read about it or hear about it in a lecture. This brief provides: (1) a summary of data collected…

Educators increasingly recognize the importance of disciplinary literacy for student success, beginning as early as the primary grades. This cutting-edge volume examines ways to help K-12 students develop the literacy skills and inquiry practices needed for high-level work in different academic domains. Chapters interweave research, theory, and…

The purpose of this research is to describe the development of a STEM-based learning environment for early childhood teacher candidates that is valid, practical, and has potential effects. The research sample consisted of 25 pre-service early childhood teachers and 19 students Kindergarten. The research method used was design research with the…

Developing student interest is critical to supporting student learning in computer science. Research indicates that student interest is a key predictor of persistence and achievement. While there is a growing body of work on developing computing identities for diverse students, little research focuses on early exposure to develop multilingual…