Examining the Early Science Learning Environment, Learning-Related Behaviors, and Science Growth Using a Nationally Representative Sample

• In Event: Promoting STEM Learning in Early Childhood

Abstract

The present study utilized a national representative sample to examine (1) the growth pattern for children’s science achievement from kindergarten to fifth grade; (2) whether learning-related behaviors partially explain the relationships between cognitive function and growth in science after accounting for children individual and school’s characteristics (i.e., age, gender, family SES, race/ethnicity, home language, and school ethnic concentration); and (3) the extent to which the aforementioned relationships vary for classrooms with low-, medium, and high curriculum focus. Results suggested that children’s growth was nonlinear, and their cognitive ability had both direct and indirect effects via learning-related behaviors, and such indirect effects depended on curriculum focus. This study evinced the importance of enhancing children’s science learning by expanded science content areas.

Author

• Tingting Reid, Harvard University