Loading...
Children's literature as an invitation to science inquiry in early childhood education
McLean, Karen Jones, Mellita Schaper, Clare
McLean, Karen
Jones, Mellita
Schaper, Clare
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
Despite widespread recognition of the importance of science in early childhood, the quality and quantity of science teaching in early childhood remains a concern. One way of addressing this problem may be to utilise early childhood teachers' familiarity with children's literature and play pedagogies to foster inquiry-based pedagogical approaches to science in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of children's literature to provide thematic links to science inquiry play experiences in an early childhood preschool setting. To understand the influences on an early childhood teacher's confidence in her/his ability to teach science, a participatory approach to research using a narrative case study was employed. The sources of data included multiple semi-structured teacher interviews, teacher reflective journals and digital video. The findings indicate that the use of children's literature as invitational in providing contexts for science inquiry play may offer a way for early childhood teachers to develop confidence and competence to teach science by inquiry. A model informed by the findings of this study is presented for further investigation.
Keywords
Date
2015
Type
Journal article
Journal
Australasian Journal of Early Childhood
Book
Volume
40
Issue
4
Page Range
49-56
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education (ILSTE)
Faculty of Education and Arts
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
School of Education
Collections
Relation URI
DOI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled