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Hungry for more: early childhood educators' perspectives on STEM education, teaching and professional development.

O'Neill, Sandra orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4271-8163, Gillic, Córa orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2976-1893 and O'Reilly, Nicola orcid logoORCID: 0009-0009-9031-6853 (2023) Hungry for more: early childhood educators' perspectives on STEM education, teaching and professional development. Irish Educational Studies . ISSN 0332-3315

Abstract
Increasingly, educational policies and curricula recommend that young children experience STEM learning opportunities within Early Childhood (EC) settings. Despite greater demands placed on EC educators, their opinions on STEM have seldom been sought. This study investigated EC educators’ (1) interest in STEM education (2) opinions about the appropriateness of EC STEM education (3) ratings of their STEM self-efficacy and (4) STEM professional development preferences. An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed in the Republic of Ireland, with 198 complete responses received. The respondents, many of whom were highly qualified and experienced educators, reported being interested in STEM and felt it was important, though notably, some believed only for older children. Two-thirds felt their preservice education, which included mathematics (43%); science (30%); technology (17%); and engineering (10%), had not prepared them to support STEM. Knowledge of STEM policy was also limited. Despite this, high levels of STEM confidence were reported. Challenges reported included a lack of resources, support and guidance, and STEM knowledge. 96% of respondents expressed interest in attending EC STEM professional development and a variety of approaches to learning were identified. Implications for policy and practice are suggested.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:STEM; early childhood; professional development; early STEM teaching; STEM education
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Teaching
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Language, Literacy, & Early Childhood Education
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of STEM Education, Innovation, & Global Studies
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2261903
Copyright Information:© 2023 The Authors.
ID Code:29184
Deposited On:10 Nov 2023 10:40 by Córa Gillic . Last Modified 10 Nov 2023 10:40
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