In the March 2010 issue, the editors of the prestigious Scientific American discuss the state of good science education in early childhood. Quoting, “Good science education at the earliest grades is supremely important, but in most classrooms it gets short shrift.” Studies have found that children in Kindergarten classrooms are already forming negative views. Apparently researchers who interviewed children in Kindergarten found that barely one-third showed an interest in science. Many thought that science was for older kids and fewer girls are interested in science than boys.
Many teachers feel unprepared to teach science in the early years. “A 2009 Head Start study conducted in Florida found significantly lower readiness scores in science than in any other domain.” Findings likes these may be indicative of the lack of focus on science instruction in early childhood. The effects of this deficiency may help to form the kindergarteners’ negative attitudes.
We must do a much better job in this area. The Obama Administration has established the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) grant opportunity. We are hopeful that Prekindergarten will benefit from this very important initiative.
Go to: http://discoverscience.hatchearlychildhood.com
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