Gillic, Córa
ORCID: 0000-0003-2976-1893, O’Neill, Sandra
ORCID: 0000-0002-4271-8163 and O’Reilly, Nicola
(2023)
Hungry for more: early childhood educators’ perspectives on STEM education, teaching and professional development.
Irish Educational Studies, 42
(4).
pp. 971-993.
ISSN 03323315
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 |
| Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
| Official URL: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03323... |
| Copyright Information: | Authors |
| ID Code: | 32228 |
| Deposited On: | 26 Jan 2026 11:07 by Vidatum Academic . Last Modified 26 Jan 2026 11:07 |
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