Preservice Early Childhood Teachers’ Asset-based Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Predicting Children’s Mastery Motivation in Robotics Learning

• In Event: Cultural Responsiveness and Inclusivity in Technology-Oriented STEM Education for Young Children and Teachers

Abstract

Early childhood educators (ECEs) who exhibit cultural competence and critical consciousness create positive learning experiences for young children (Alim & Paris, 2017). Equity-committed ECEs can offer historically marginalized children quality learning experiences and supportive classroom environments that contribute to closing opportunity gaps during critical phases of their educational journey (Lopez, 2024; Pianta et al., 2008). This study aims to explore how preservice ECEs’ culturally responsive asset-based pedagogy (ABP) influences children's mastery motivation in early STEM learning.
The study involved 20 preservice ECEs and 26 children aged 5–7 years who participated in a robotics after-school program at a community school serving economically under-resourced Latinx families in the Southwestern United States. We used a mixed-methods design, collecting quantitative survey data – ECEs’ ABP at program-start (T1) and ECE-reported child mastery motivation post-program (T2). The survey assessing ECEs’ ABP (Lopéz, 2017) includes subscales on Language, Critical Awareness, Cultural Curriculum Integration, Cultural Knowledge-Funds of Knowledge (FOK), and Cultural Knowledge-Formative Assessment. Mastery motivation (Morgan et al., 2019) was measured through subscales on Cognitive/Object Persistence, Gross/Motor Persistence, Social Persistence with Adults, Social Persistence with Children, Mastery Pleasure, Negative Reactions Frustration/Anger, and Negative Reactions Sadness/Shame. We conducted zero-order bivariate correlations using IBM SPSS 29 for quantitative analysis. Qualitative data were gathered from ECEs’ written reflections, which we analyzed using thematic coding with NVivo to identify themes related to culturally responsive pedagogy and synthesize findings.
Our analysis revealed that ABP Cultural Knowledge FOK had a marginally significant positive relationship with children’s gross/motor persistence (r = .486, p = .078) and a marginally negative relationship with children’s Negative Reactions Frustration/Anger (r = -.499, p = .069), both of which support mastery motivation. However, ABP Critical Awareness showed a significant positive relationship with children’s Negative Reactions Frustration/Anger (r = .550, p = .041), contrary to our expectations. We hypothesize that ECEs with higher critical awareness may be more attuned to detecting emotional frustration in children.
Written reflections highlighted ECEs’ belief in and commitment to ABP but also revealed their lack of confidence in applying culturally responsive strategies to specific STEM activities. ECEs expressed a strong desire to learn more about making STEM education accessible and inclusive for diverse learners, recognizing that children's frustrations may stem from varying levels of STEM skill. Additionally, ECEs demonstrated an interest in extending the benefits of STEM education beyond the classroom through community collaborations.
The attrition rate in post-secondary STEM education is high (Chen, 2013), and racial/ethnic minorities often feel a lower sense of belonging in STEM fields (Rainey et al., 2018). Hispanic students remain underrepresented among STEM degree recipients (National Science Board, 2022). This study indicates that early exposure to ABP in STEM learning can enhance Latinx children’s mastery motivation, potentially influencing their future STEM pursuits and contributing to systemic change. Results highlight room for improvement in ECEs’ culturally responsive pedagogy even in non-traditional learning environments. Future work will focus on increasing sample size/power to enable advanced quantitative modeling, as well as on developing strategic plans to strengthen preservice ECEs’ ABP in STEM education.

Authors

• Katherine C. Cheng, University of Arizona

• Megan Marguerite Hokama, University of Arizona

• Sung Eun Jung, University of Arizona

• Maham Khalid, University of Arizona