Science Education in Early Childhood Education : Are We Approaching a Cure for the State of Chronic Illness?

• Published in: Research in science education (Australasian Science Education Research Association) Vol. 52; no. S1; pp. 37 - 45
• Main Authors: Guarrella, Cristina, van Driel, Jan, Cohrssen, Caroline
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Children; Chronic illness; Early childhood education; Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (Australia); Education; Fensham (PJ); National Quality Framework (Australia) (NQF); Science curriculum; Science Education; Science teaching; Teachers; Young children; Australia
• ISSN: 0157-244X; 1573-1898
• DOI: 10.1007/s11165-022-10087-1

Thirty years ago, Fensham, (1991) diagnosed science education in early childhood in Australia in a state of "chronic illness" (p. 4). Reflecting on his experience during the Disciplinary Review of Teaching Education in Mathematics and Science (the Review) in the 1980s, Fensham, (1991) provided a succinct commentary on the state of science education in early childhood settings across Australia. He addressed the perceived "worth" of science knowledge for young children from the perspective of parents, teachers and the wider community. What emerged was a disheartening characterisation of science as an undervalued field of learning, pushed aside in favour of mathematics and literacy, which were perceived as more important for children's overall learning. In this paper, we first revisit Fensham's initial diagnosis of the chronic illness of science education in early childhood. Next, we analyse recent policy documents to identify the current symptoms of the illness and some recent interventions arising from educational policy. We conclude this paper with an updated diagnosis of science education in early childhood across Australia and an outlook to the future. [Author abstract]