Abstract
Science competencies are considered an important 21st century skill. How this skill develops in childhood is, however, not well understood, and in particular little is known about how different aspects of science competencies are related. In this prospective study with 58 children aged 5–6 years, we investigate the development of two aspects of science competence: scientific thinking and science content knowledge. Scientific thinking was assessed with a comprehensive 30-item instrument; science content knowledge was measured with an 18-item instrument that assesses children’s knowledge with regard to melting and evaporation. The results revealed basic competencies in scientific thinking and science content knowledge at the end of kindergarten (46% and 49% correct, respectively, both different from chance). In mid-kindergarten, children performed better than chance on the assessment of science content knowledge (40% correct) but not on the assessment of scientific thinking (34% correct). Science content knowledge in mid-kindergarten predicted children’s science content knowledge at the end of kindergarten, as well as scientific thinking (both at 6 years). The opposite pattern did not hold: scientific thinking in mid-kindergarten did not predict science content knowledge at the end of kindergarten. Our findings show initial science competencies during kindergarten, and they suggest that children’s science content knowledge and scientific thinking are interrelated in a meaningful way. These results are discussed with respect to the different hypotheses that connect scientific thinking and science content knowledge as key features of science competencies. Implications for research and teaching are discussed.
Highlights
Science competencies comprise two key aspects: scientific thinking and science content knowledge (OECD 2010)
We investigate the development of science competencies in the last year of preschool, asking if science content knowledge and scientific thinking are interrelated
The mean performance on the measure of scientific thinking did not differ significantly from what would be expected by chance (33.3% correct), t (58) = 0.36, p = 0.717; for science content knowledge, performance was significantly better than chance, t (41) = 2.33, p = 0.025, and it was marginally higher than the children’s performance on the scientific-thinking assessment, t (41) = 2.00, p = 0.055
Summary
Science competencies comprise two key aspects: scientific thinking and science content knowledge (OECD 2010). There is a growing body of research that shows basic competencies in kindergarten in both scientific thinking and science content knowledge (e.g., Wilkening and Cacchione 2011; Zimmerman 2007), researchers are just beginning to investigate how science competencies develop and how the two aspects of early science competencies (i.e., scientific thinking and science content knowledge) may be related. We investigate the development of science competencies in the last year of preschool (i.e., in the kindergarten year), asking if science content knowledge (i.e., knowledge about particular scientific phenomena) and scientific thinking (i.e., mastery of the reasoning processes involved in science) are interrelated. The study contributes to the literature by using a two-point measurement, prospective design that allows to determine the pattern and direction of the interrelation
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