Abstract
This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities, teacher’s role and assessment. The curriculum analysis framework developed by Van den Akker (2003) was used as a methodological framework for the curricula analysis. Based on the theory-driven content analyses, findings show that both countries have several components of constructivist curriculum, but not always clearly focused on science education. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) integrates children’s science learning within their five specific learning outcomes, whereas the Finnish national core curriculum for early childhood education and care has no defined learning outcomes in general. The Finnish curriculum more clearly than EYLF encompasses science and environmental education as a learning domain, within which children participate in targeted scientific activities to gain procedural knowledge in specific environmental-related concepts. More focus should be turned to the teachers’ role and assessment, which are not determined in science context in both countries. This international comparative study calls for the need of a considered EC curriculum framework that more explicitly has science domains with specifically defined rationale, aims, content areas, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The implications lie in providing early childhood educators with tangible and theoretically solid curriculum framework and resources in order to foster scientific thinking in young children.
Highlights
Curriculum is best understood as a multi-faceted phenomenon
This paper draws from research that pose how important it is for teachers to be knowledgeable about the science curriculum and resources available to them in order to plan for all children’s scientific inquiry and science-related learning outcomes (Fensham 1994, 2016; Kallery and Psillos 2004; Smith and Gunstone 2009) at the same time consideration of how science curricula prepare children for future learning and fulfil the components of scientific inquiry skills, which have been the highest priority recommendation issued by the Organization for Economic and Collaboration Development (OECD) recent research report (Mostafa and Pál 2018)
What is the ultimate ideology of the education? What are the views indicated about the important of science learning outcomes? What are the knowledge and skills targeted in teaching and learning? Which goals are children learning? How science and digital learning is presented as learning domains and what are the key science and technology topics/strands/themes mentioned? What kind of teaching and learning methods are used? How is the teacher facilitating learning? What are the areas targeted in assessment? What are the methods and approaches used in assessment? Ways to measure how far children’s learning has progressed in the science domain?
Summary
Curriculum is best understood as a multi-faceted phenomenon. This paper draws from research that pose how important it is for teachers to be knowledgeable about the science curriculum and resources available to them in order to plan for all children’s scientific inquiry and science-related learning outcomes (Fensham 1994, 2016; Kallery and Psillos 2004; Smith and Gunstone 2009) at the same time consideration of how science curricula prepare children for future learning and fulfil the components of scientific inquiry skills, which have been the highest priority recommendation issued by the Organization for Economic and Collaboration Development (OECD) recent research report (Mostafa and Pál 2018). To encourage teachers to use conceptual and inquiry approaches more frequently that link to specific learning outcomes for children such as becoming confident and creative learners, there is a need to develop and strengthen the existing educational frameworks which support the teachers pedagogically These can stem from curricula frameworks, at the Australian or Finnish level and benchmarked, from country to country to probe into teachers’ understanding of key contents, approaches and teaching methods rooted within the constructivist perspective in EC science education (Hamilton et al 2019). EC education and care lays the foundations for the children’s transversal competences to develop their abilities to apply knowledge and skills, values and attitudes in various contexts (Finnish National Agency for Education 2018)
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