See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/241731455

Science and Scientific Curiosity in Pre-school—The teacher's point of view

Article in International Journal of Science Education · January 2011

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.631608

CITATIONS READS

147 4,338

3 authors, including:

Ornit Spektor-Levy Yael Kesner Baruch

Bar Ilan University Bar Ilan University
29 PUBLICATIONS 567 CITATIONS 13 PUBLICATIONS 445 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Ornit Spektor-Levy on 20 January 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Ornit Spektor-Levy, Yael Kesner Baruch & Zemira Mevarech (2011):
Science and Scientific Curiosity in Pre-school—The teacher's point of view, International
Journal of Science Education, 35(13), 2226-2253. DOI:10.1080/09500693.2011.631608

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.631608

Pre-print version

Science and Scientific Curiosity in Pre-school—The teacher's point of view

Ornit Spektor-Levy a*, Yael Kesner Baruch a & Zemira Mevarech b

a Science Education, The School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
b Faculty of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

* Corresponding author: Science Education, The School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-
Gan 52900, Israel. Email: ornit.spektor-levy@biu.ac.il

Nowadays, early science education is well-accepted by researchers, education professionals and

policy makers. Overall, teachers’ attitudes and conceptions toward the science subject domain
and science education influence their ways of teaching and engagement. However, there is a
lack of research regarding factors that affect this engagement in pre-school years. The main
assumption of this study is that teachers’ attitudes regarding science in pre-school can shape
children’s engagement in science and develop their scientific curiosity. Therefore, the main
objectives of this study are to investigate the attitudes of pre-school teachers toward engaging
in science and to explore their views about the nature of curiosity: who is a curious child and
how can a child’s natural curiosity be fostered? An extensive survey was conducted among 146
pre-school teachers by employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Results indicate
that most of the participants believe that scientific education should begin in early childhood;
very young children can investigate and take part in a process of inquiry; and scientific activities
in pre-school can influence children’s long-term attitudes toward science. Despite these views,
most participants felt they did not possess sufficient scientific knowledge. Furthermore,
participants expressed diverse opinions when asked to identify what constitutes curiosity, how
the curious child can be identified and how a child’s curiosity can be fostered. The research
findings carry significant implications regarding how to implement scientific activities in pre-
school, and how to encourage pre-school teachers to engage children in scientific activities in a
way that will nurture their natural curiosity.

Keywords: Science education; Scientific curiosity; Pre-school; Teachers’ attitudes; Scientific

literacy; Early years; Teacher beliefs

Background

Children are born with a natural curiosity and an intrinsic motivation to inquire about the world

around them. They are naturally surrounded by a myriad of natural phenomena that arouses their

curiosity —such as flowers, trees, animals, the stars, and the moon. Their inquiry stems from profuse

enjoyment, genuine wonder and excitement and purely for the purpose of gaining satisfaction from

knowing and inquiring.

1
Today, researchers and education professionals agree that science education should begin in pre-

school.

Besides the fact that observing, thinking and actively engaging with scientific content touches upon

children’s natural sense of interests and experiences, studies have shown that the importance of early

exposure to scientific content and programmes can also influence children’s competencies, attitudes,

values and conceptions toward science (French, 2004; Patrick, Mantzicopoulos, & Samarapungavan,

2009; Samarapungavan, Mantzicopoulos, & Patrick, 2008).

The new core curriculum for pre-school education in science and technology was published recently

by the Israeli Ministry of Education (2009). It includes not only the themes and content that should

be taught in pre-school, but also the variety of skills, competencies, attitudes and values toward

science that should be developed among pre-school children. Yet, pre-school teachers in Israel today,

receive insufficient scientific training during their studies. Training programs include very few

courses of scientific content, mainly focused at subjects like getting to know the flora and fauna of

the country, the water cycle, or seasons. Training programs do not include courses dealing with the

nature of science, the work of the scientist, or how to foster scientific curiosity among children. This

might hinder their abilities to engage in this field and experience confident and positive attitudes

toward it. In kindergarten and pre-school, the teacher is the main educator who is required to instill

these educational aims. Therefore, examining different aspects and aggregate factors that influence

the teacher’s work is an important goal.

At present, because of the lack of empirical research in early science education there is a wide gap in

our knowledge as to how scientific concepts can be taught to pre-school children and what are the

optimal ways to ‘do science’ in pre-school. In a recent report (Klein & Yablon, 2008), the Israeli

Committee on Modes of Education for Ages 3-8 concluded that ‘Chiefly because of the absence of a

research basis permitting informed judgment, no firm conclusions could be drawn about pre-school

science education…Research on science education should be expanded, and the effectiveness of

different methods of science education and their contribution to the development of scientific thinking

should be compared’ (pp. 21, 40). Thus, researchers and education professionals should identify the
2
courses of action that teachers in pre-school should employ in order to nurture and arouse positive

scientific engagement and scientific curiosity among children.

The objectives of this study are to identify pre-school in service teachers' attitudes and perceptions

toward engaging in science in pre-school and to verify their views about who is a curious child and

how scientific curiosity can be fostered among young children. The study described here will examine

these objectives by analyzing the teachers' perspectives and attitudes. This holds great significance

for those involved in pre-school education in general, and science education in pre-school in

particular.

Literature Review

Teaching science to young children has been acceptable for a long time, however, only recently it has

become more required, and even obligatory in many countries. A generation ago, researchers and

education professionals were influenced by the Piagetian and Vygotskian theories that claimed that

the conceptual abilities of young children are bound to the perceptual level of the ‘here and now’;

therefore, according to this view, children could not possess the conceptual structures that enable

abstract thinking and engagement in non-concrete assignments (National Research Council, 2001).

However, many studies over the past two decades have provided compelling data about children's

cognitive capabilities that would enable them to understand scientific concepts (Eshach, 2006). These

accumulated findings have encouraged the development of a range of approaches and programmes

for early science education (Klein & Yablon, 2008).

Right from birth, children participate actively in mastering the world that surrounds them. In early

childhood in particular, multifaceted, reciprocal relations between nature and nurture give rise to the

pervasive growth seen in all developmental domains, which can influence, design and change the

young child’s developmental potential. This propensity to learn should encounter and engage

supporting environments in order to bring about the child’s individual fulfillment and potential.

Hence, early childhood educational settings, pedagogy, and curriculum content, can influence the

child’s later learning outcomes (National Research Council, 2001). The joint position statement of

the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Early
3
Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education affirms: ‘The first years of life are critical

for later outcomes. Young children have an innate desire to learn. That desire can be supported or

undermined by early experiences. High-quality early childhood education can promote intellectual,

linguistic, physical, social, and emotional development, creating school readiness and building a

foundation for later academic and social competence’ (p.1) (NAEYC & NAECS/SDE, 2002). Indeed,

the literature is replete with evidence about the influence of early learning experiences on children's

attitudes and interests toward different subject domains, perception of personal abilities, and

enjoyment involving these domains (Chapman, Tunmer, & Prochnow, 2000; Patrick et al., 2009;

Simpson & Oliver, 1990).

One of the most influential factors in the children’s learning experience is the education professional

who sits by their side and tutors them in the required contents and skills. The science teaching

standards, which are at the core of effective science education presented by the National Science

Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), are grounded in five assumptions that are

relevant to all grade levels. One of the assumptions is: ‘What students learn is greatly influenced by

how they are taught’ (National Research Council, 1996, p. 28). Not only the pre-school teacher, but

also the teacher at school and the university lecturer, can positively or negatively influence knowledge

acquisition and comprehension, construction of competencies and skills, development and nurturing

attitudes as well as concepts toward science. The teaching standards in the National Science

Education Standards advocate that: ‘Teachers are models for the students they teach. A teacher who

engages in inquiry with students models the skills needed for inquiry. Teachers who exhibit

enthusiasm and interest and who speak to the power and beauty of scientific understanding instill in

their students some of those same attitudes toward science. Teachers whose actions demonstrate

respect for differing ideas, attitudes, and values support a disposition fundamental to science and to

science classrooms that also is important in many everyday situations’ (National Research Council,

1996, p. 37).

4
Teachers' Attitudes toward Science Teaching

‘Attitude’ is a theoretical concept that represents ‘a disposition to respond favorably or unfavorably

to an object, person, institution, or event’ (Ajzen, 2005, p.3). An attitude can be positive, negative,

neutral or ambivalent, and it is manifested by three categories of responses from which it can be

inferred: cognitive, affective and ‘conative’ (behaviours and behaviours intention) responses (Ajzen,

2005).

Although much is known from the literature about the attitudes of school science teachers and pre-

service teachers toward science, as far as the authors are aware, there is a lack of research regarding

in-service pre-school teachers. Studies show that many elementary school teachers and pre-service

teachers hold negative attitudes toward the science subject domain, and consider it difficult,

complicated and not enjoyable (Koballa & Crawley, 1985; Sutton, Watson, Parke, & Thomson, 1993;

Thompson & Shrigley, 1986; Tosun, 2000). Teachers’ attitudes toward science are related to their

perceptual knowledge of science (Franz & Enochs, 1982), the quality of science taught to children

(Koballa & Crawley, 1985; Tilgner, 1990), and whether they carry it out in a meaningful way (de Laat

& Watters, 1995). Shrigley (1974) found low correlation between scientific knowledge and teachers’

attitudes toward science, therefore postulating that other factors, such as the beliefs held by teachers

regarding their capability to teach science, contribute to their behaviour and instruction. ‘Self-

efficacy’ is the extent to which people perceive their capability (whether realistic or not) to produce

designated levels of performance in order to attain certain goals and outcomes (Bandura, 1977).

Teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science was found to be related to their personal interest in this

subject, their motivation to teach it in class, whether they considered it important to other aspects of

life, their selection of themes and teaching strategies (Ashton, 1984; de Laat & Watters, 1995).

Another factor that influences teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching science is their existing level of

scientific knowledge. Studies show that most elementary pre-service teachers enter elementary

education with a poor scientific background and a negative past experience in science courses (Sutton

et al., 1993; Tosun, 2000). Moreover, most pre-service training programmes include only a few

mandatory courses related to the teaching of elementary science. These factors influence their
5
teaching and become a major concern for them (Sherman, 2007). As stated above, currently there is

sparse literature available relating to these questions among early childhood pre-service and in-

service teachers in general, and in Israel in particular. According to a preliminary exploration

performed by the authors, pre-school education training programmes in Israeli universities and

colleges offer only a few courses that provide science content knowledge and scientific pedagogical

content knowledge, and enable pre-service students to opt to major in science.

Koballa and Crawley (1985) warned against the possible scenario in which low confidence in

personal abilities to teach science will result in an aversion to teaching science, which eventually

manifests into an avoidance of teaching science. Indeed, data from the American National Center for

Education Statistics (1997) reveals that the time dedicated to teaching science in elementary school

is the lowest of all other subjects (around 10%) and culminates in only 28 minutes of teaching per

day.

Examining the full spectrum of factors and needs that influence the kindergarten and pre-school

teachers’ teaching receives a further boost from studies that are concerned with the attitudes of school-

aged students toward science and their motivation for achievements in science. The literature

indicates a significant decline in positive attitudes toward science and achievements in science

especially in the middle- and high-school (George, 2006; Osborne, Simon, Collins, 2003; Simpson

& Oliver, 1990). In children from elementary school and up, factors such as attitude toward science,

motivation in science, anxiety toward science and perceived personal abilities in science, were found

to be significant predictors of achievement in science in the short-term, and influence scientific

achievements and selection of courses and careers in science, in the long-term (Akpinar, Yildiz, Tatar,

& Ergin, 2009; Simpson & Oliver, 1990; Welch, Walberg, & Fraser, 1986). However, in younger

children, there are contradictory indications. Jones, Howe, and Rua (2000) found that sixth-grade

children perceive science as relevant to everyday life, exciting, interesting and important for society.

In addition, several measurements revealed curiosity toward science in elementary school children

(Harty & Beall, 1984; Maw & Maw, 1968; Penny & McCann, 1964). Updated studies show that

pupils' thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for science become consolidated during their elementary
6
school years, and that by the age of ten to eleven, the children develop an independent attitude toward

science (Turner & Ireson, 2010). This evidence indicates that pre-school education has a great

influence on children’s scientific attitude—teachers can establish and strengthen positive attitudes

toward science in children, or they can arouse negative attitudes that will harm their chances to

proceed in this field in the future. Therefore, the pre-school teacher is a highly esteemed educator

who plants the seeds for the child’s future.

Curiosity

Ada Yonath, the Israeli scientist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009, is quoted in one of

her interviews as having said: ‘…when I decided to do science I was just a human being with

insatiable curiosity’ (Sassen, 2009). Curiosity is ‘a desire to understand various phenomena and a

quest for knowledge’ (Pisula, 2009, p.129). Curiosity functions as a source of intrinsic motivation to

learn, explore, and investigate the environment (Silvia, 2008). In the process of interest development,

curiosity may serve as an important and central preliminary stage toward the establishment of a stable

and desirable state – interest; It can be awakened or triggered by external or situational stimuli and

evolve to an enduring predisposition of engagement in certain content-specific interests (Krapp &

Prenzel, 2011). As curiosity ensures that people develop a broad set of knowledge, skills and

experience, it plays a fundamental role in human cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual and physical

development, education and scientific discovery (Silvia, 2008). For millennia, scholars have been

debating the existence of different types of curiosity and its dimensionality. Therefore, although

curiosity is widely acknowledged as the core of intrinsically motivated actions, the study of curiosity

has mainly suffered from scholarly ambivalence because of conflicting conceptualization (Reio,

Petrosko, Wiswell, & Thongsukmag, 2006). Berlyne (1954), the first researcher to study the science

of curiosity systematically, dichotomized curiosity into two types: perceptual exploration—which is

used to describe the behaviour of animals, and which leads to increased perception of stimuli; and

epistemic exploration—which is used to describe human behaviour, and whose main fruits are

knowledge. Since this kind of exploration can resolve ambiguity or conceptual conflict (referred to

as drives), it is relieved when knowledge is procured (the reduction of conflict is the reinforcement).
7
Loewenstein (1994) has also noted that for curiosity to be aroused, individuals must become aware

of the existing gap between their knowledge about a given subject and the generally available one.

Accordingly, the driving factor of curiosity is the urge to close this information gap. Previously,

Berlyne had also demonstrated that novelty, complexity, and surprise affect curiosity. According to

Berlyne (1963), these characteristics, which he called ‘collative variables’, posses the potential to

increase the physiological arousal of an individual encountering the stimuli, hence motivating the

exploration of the environment in order to gain more information about the characteristics of the

stimuli. His theory of curiosity implies that the most curiosity-arousing situations are those with an

intermediate stage of familiarity (between the already familiar and the completely novel stimuli). Too

much familiarity will remove conflict by making it an expected one, but too little familiarity will

strike the individual as meaningless and incomprehensible, therefore both situations can diminish the

motivation to explore and learn (Berlyne, 1954). There is a debate in the literature regarding the

inclusion of ‘curiosity’ in the ‘list’ of major emotions (as it involves coherent typical emotional

components such as physiological changes, facial and vocal expressions, subjective feeling and an

adaptive function across lifespan) and the discriminating of curiosity from happiness (Silvia, 2008).

In addition, the question ‘what makes something interesting and arouses curiosity?’ has led to an

appraisal theory which suggested that curiosity comes from two appraisals: cognitive appraisal—

appraisal of novelty-complexity (factors related to new, unexpected, unfamiliar and complex events)

and appraisals of coping potential (considering the self as having the skills, knowledge and resources

to deal with the unknown event) (Silvia, 2005). Overall, curiosity is considered a multidimensional

construct represented by cognitive, physical and social factors (Reio et al., 2006), it can emerge from

both social and non-social stimuli, and it has a profound influence on one’s well-being (Kashdan &

Silvia, 2009). Unfortunately, although curiosity plays a fundamental role in development and

education, the study of curiosity is characterized by inconsistency and contradicting results; the

concept of ‘curiosity’ is operationally difficult to investigate—it is unobservable directly as it requires

the use of inference indicators, it is not a unitary construct and is dynamically changing.

8
Curiosity and Learning

Dewey believed (1910/2009) that curiosity is the most essential component of learning. Curiosity

motivates learning and academic performance: People who are more interested in given content,

spend more time reading a text, persist longer at the learning tasks, process the information more

deeply, remember more of what they read and get better grades in class (Silvia, 2005, 2008). The

beauty of curiosity is that it creates a self-propelling cycle of learning; as curiosity motivates people

to learn and acquire new information, it enables them to notice more subtle differences as well as

more contrasting and complex perspectives of that knowledge. Consequently, when they evaluate

how well the acquired knowledge is understood, it provides them with a feeling that they are able to

learn and master more, therefore making them more curious (Silvia, 2008). Empirical work has shown

that curious children demonstrate greater intelligence as they grow up, and they score higher on

scholastic achievement tests (Raine, Reynolds, Venables, & Mednick, 2002).

Scientific Curiosity

Scientific curiosity can be defined as a desire to understand and a quest for knowledge regarding

natural phenomena (Krapp & Prenzel, 2011). Like other content-specific curiosities, scientific

curiosity will also cause the curious person to behave in a certain way; to take certain courses of

action and to practice different skills that will enable the revelation of new pieces of information. The

difference between ‘scientific curiosity’ and curiosity toward other subject domains is that the

outcome of these actions in scientifically curious people, will enrich their scientific knowledge (by

doing research, reviewing the literature or consulting with an expert) and will help them acquire and

implement inquiry skills such as using scientific tools (for instance in pre-school: using a magnifying

glass, a ruler, a measuring cup and binoculars) and carrying out parts of the inquiry process (such as,

asking questions, making predictions, designing an experiment and drawing the right conclusions

from it). Eventually, these behaviours will result in greater understanding of the inquired subject and

the nature of science, and might even contribute to the development of positive attitudes toward

science. In order to acquire and deepen scientific knowledge in the most authentic and significant

way, like scientists, one should aim to practice a full or partial inquiry process when developing and
9
nurturing his/her own scientific engagement and curiosity. From a developmental point of view,

children going through the period from pre-school to primary school age experience natural, intrinsic

interest, and enjoinment while observing natural phenomena they encounter (Eshach, 2006). As

described above, pre-school teachers have a central and dominant role in children's education; They

serve as one of the main agents who deliver knowledge, skills and attitudes to the children. The basis

and principles that they establish, accompany the child during his or her future education. Moreover,

the central goal of science education - flourishing of innate curiosity, is greatly affected by the way

teachers comprehend, preserve, and nurture the scientific curiosity of a child.

In light of the literature reviewed above, one realizes that due to sparse research among pre-school

teachers regarding early science education, there is not enough data and understanding about their

attitudes concerning science in general and teaching science to young children in particular, and the

courses of actions they take to engage children in scientific activities in a way that nurture their natural

curiosity. It is accepted that teachers in pre-school classes have a major influence on young children

thus, it is important to find out their opinions regarding science in pre-school and more particularly,

how they perceive curiosity and the curious child. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are:

(1) to investigate the attitudes of pre-school teachers toward engaging in science; (2) to explore the

views of pre-school teachers about the nature of curiosity: Who is a curious child? What kind of

behaviour is displayed? How can scientific curiosity be preserved and nurtured among young

children?

Research Questions

The following research questions were determined:

1. What are the teachers' attitudes toward engaging in science in pre-school classes?

2. What are the pre-school teachers' views about who is a curious child and how scientific

curiosity can be fostered among young children?

10
Research Sample and Tools

The study population comprised 146 pre-school teachers. All participants took part in advanced

courses of science education in pre-school at the 'National Pre-School Teachers' Center for the

Promotion of Mathematic, Scientific, and Technological education'. The teachers represented various

sectors: About 46% urban, 27% rural, and 27% community settlements. Two pre-school teachers

were Muslim orthodox. All others were Jewish, 10% Jewish orthodox.

Most participants held a Bachelor’s degree (69%). Seniority ranged between 2–37 years. Average

seniority was 17 years (SD = 8.14). In order to characterize teachers’ attitudes and perceptions toward

early science education and scientific curiosity, this study employed both qualitative and quantitative

approaches. Integrating these two paradigms enables, to a certain extent, compensating for each

weakness by the strengths of the other; quantitative methods produce factual and reliable outcome

data, and qualitative methods generate rich, detailed and valid process data. Integrating both methods

facilitates generalization of the data, without interfering with personal perspective (Steckler,

McLeroy, Goodman, Bird, & McCormick, 1992). Two questionnaires were developed; In order to

answer the first research question regarding teachers' attitudes toward engagement in science in pre-

school classes we used the Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire (Appendix 1), which takes a

quantitative approach to gaining a broader view among a large number of pre-school teachers. We

took a qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding of the second research question regarding

pre-school teachers' views about who is a curious child and how scientific curiosity can be fostered

among young children, by means of the Teacher's Conceptions about Curiosity Questionnaire

(Appendix 2).

Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire: A questionnaire that examined attitudes toward personal scientific

knowledge, science education in pre-school and methods of teaching science. This questionnaire was

delivered to the entire teachers’ sample at the beginning of the study and before they started the

advanced teachers' training course.

The questionnaire composed of two parts: The first part included open-ended questions and the

second part included 19 statements, by means of which teachers were asked to report their level of
11
agreement on a Likert scale (1= disagree, 2 = slightly agree, 3 = agree, 4 = strongly agree). Items 6,

11 and 16 were ‘reverse items’. Validity of the questionnaire was established by two science

educators and two science education researchers who were asked to examine the questionnaire in

accordance with the objectives of the study. For each question and each statement in the

questionnaire, a remark was added which specified to what variable it refers. The specialists were

asked to mark whether they agree or disagree with each specification. Questions and statements were

revised until achieving full agreement between specialists and researchers.

In order to assess the construct validity of the questionnaire, factor analysis (by means of the

Varimax rotation; owing to insufficient factor loading scores, loading 0.35 was adopted as the

decisive cutoff point to include the item in a specific variable) was performed on all the items in the

second part.

Six items (items 9-11, 15, 16, 19 ) were excluded and the factor analysis revealed a structural

division of three variables:

(1) Attitude toward teaching science in pre-school (items 1 and 2). There is a positive and

significant correlation between these items (r = 0.39, p<.001).

(2) Attitude toward personal scientific knowledge (items 4, 6, 8, and 13). The reliability of this scale

is medium (= 0.57).

(3) Methods of carrying out activities (items 3, 5, 7, 12, 14, 17, and 18). The reliability of this scale

is medium (= 0.71). Appendix 1 presents the factor structure of the Teacher's Attitudes

Questionnaire found in the factor analysis conducted in the present research.

Teacher's Conceptions about Curiosity Questionnaire: A questionnaire that consisted six open-ended

questions which examined teachers’ conceptions about childrens’ curiosity in general, and scientific

curiosity in particular. The questions in this questionnaire aimed to find out how the participants

characterize a curious child, the child’s behaviours expressing curiosity and interest, the scientific

content that aroused curiosity and amazement among most children and among the more curious

children, and courses of action that arouse curiosity. Teachers were asked to write detailed responses

and to elaborate on each question. Validity of the questionnaire was established in a similar way as
12
was described for the first questionnaire by two professionals in science education and pre-school

education. The questionnaires were analysed using thematic analysis. The answers were read through

several times to gain familiarity with the data. Teachers' views from the questionnaire were identified

through re-examining, re-defining, and re-classifying until there was a strong consensus between one

of the authors and a second analyst, who is a knowledgeable practitioner with knowledge of both

science education and pre-school education. We used analytic induction and reasoning to develop

thematic categories. After several attempts, we proposed coherent categories, contrasting and

distinguishing different characteristics in teachers' conceptions (Shkedi, 2005). This data analysis

proposed a cluster of categories that correspond to four main aspects: emotional, cognitive, senso-

motoric and social. Next, the answers were re-read and statements correlating to each individual

category were marked – answers were attributed to different categories upon identification of

statements that correlated these categories. In addition, the frequency of quotes that were relevant to

each category was calculated. Only quotes achieving full inter-rater agreement between the specialists

and researchers regarding the category it is referred to were included in the analyses. Finally, data

refinement was established by identifying possible interrelationships between categories and sub-

categories, which might give added value and meaning to the central study questions.

Interrelationships were established by examining common statements among the answerers.

This questionnaire was completed by 46 pre-school teachers of the sample due to the facts that

participating in the study was not obligatory and because by the time we administered this

questionnaire, many of the participants already completed their training courses.

Results

Further details concerning the teachers who participated in this study were illuminated by the

questionnaires: The average number of children in a pre-school class is 30, while the range varies

from between 15 to 38 children in a class. Ages of children in the participants' classes range from

three to six. In the first part of the Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire, the teachers were asked about

the frequency of Math, Science and Technology activities taking place during class time. Most of the

13
pre-school teachers reported about weekly activities (62%). Close to a third engage in these activities

once or twice a month (27%), and 11% do so once or twice every two months.

Although the curriculum guides the teachers what science topics should be taught, variable scientific

topics are taught by the teachers (Figure 1). Most participants teach scientific topics that are concrete

and relevant to the daily life of children, such as plants (62%) seasons and weather (36.5%) or animals

(34%). Nearly half of the pre-school teachers (47%) noted that they teach how to use measuring tools

and methods of measurements while engaging in science. Thirty percent of the teachers teach topics

concerned with environmental education. Other topics mentioned were light & shadow, water cycle,

magnetism, symmetry, earth, space, etc. It is important to note that 9.5% of the participants indicated

that they do not teach any particular scientific topic.

Attitudes toward science instruction in pre-school

Illuminating statistics concerning the results of the questionnaire (Table 1) showed that most of the

pre-school teachers who participated in this study believe that engaging in scientific topics should

begin in pre-school. They believe that children in this age group have the ability to engage in research

activities, and that science education in pre-school has a long-term impact on the child’s attitude

14
 toward sciences (94.4%, 83.9% and 70.2% respectively). However, few of the teachers feel confident

regarding their personal scientific knowledge (16.4%).

Table 1: Teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards engaging in science (n=146)

Statement Frequency in percent (%) Average

Strongly Agree Somewhat Disagree level of
Agree Agree response
(SD)
Engagement with scientific topics should
1 94.4 5.6 - - 3.9 (0.2)
begin in pre-school
Pre-school children have the ability to
2 83.9 14 2.1 - 3.8 (0.4)
engage in inquiry based activities
I integrate many activities from the domain
3 39.2 49 11.2 0.7 3.3 (0.7)
of science in the pre-school programme
I feel confident about my knowledge of
4 16.4 48.6 29.3 5.7 2.7 (0.8)
sciences
I frequently search for information and
5 39.9 42.7 14 3.5 3.2 (0.8)
activities for school on the Internet
6 I need more knowledge in scientific topics 66.7 28.5 4.9 - 3.6 (0.6)
I integrate many activities from the domain
7 of mathematics in the pre-school 41.7 52.1 6.3 - 3.3 (0.6)
programme
I feel confident teaching topics from the
8 41.3 49 7.7 2.1 3.3 (0.7)
domain of mathematics
It is important to plan computer activities as
9 43.9 39.6 12.2 4.3 3.2 (0.8)
part of the pre-school programme
Scientific education in pre-school has a
10 long-term impact on the child’s attitude to 70.2 26.2 2.8 0.7 3.6 (0.6)
sciences (a few years)
I need more knowledge in the domain of
11 mathematics in order to engage in it in pre- 47.6 42.9 7.1 2.4 3.3 (0.7)
school
I integrate many activities from the field of
12 13.5 41.1 39 6.4 2.6 (0.8)
technology in the pre-school programme
I feel confident regarding my knowledge in
13 11.4 35.7 41.4 11.4 2.5 (0.8)
the field of technology
I engage in environmental education and
14 55.2 30.1 14 0.7 3.4 (0.7)
protecting the environment in pre-school
I love to engage in math, science and
15 65.9 31.8 2.3 - 3.6 (0.5)
technology subjects in pre-school
I need more knowledge in the field of
16 technology in order to engage in it in pre- 57.8 35.6 4.4 2.2 3.5 (0.7)
school
I am satisfied with the organization and
17 36.4 45 17.1 1.4 3.2 (0.7)
design of the space in my pre-school
I am satisfied with the organization of the
18 22.1 30.7 35 12.1 2.6 (0.9)
yard in my pre-school
It is important to teach math, science and
19 93.5 6.5 - - 3.9 (0.2)
technology to pre-school aged children

15
As mentioned above, factor analysis was conducted. Three variables were obtained: (1) Attitude

toward teaching science in pre-school; (2) Attitude toward personal scientific knowledge; (3)

Methods of carrying out scientific activities. The average level of response for each variable was:

Attitude toward teaching science in pre-school—3.9 (SD = 0.3); Attitude toward personal scientific

knowledge—3.0 (SD = 0.5); Methods of carrying out scientific activities—3.1 (SD = 0.5).

In order to verify whether there are significant correlations between the three variables in the

questionnaire, Pearson correlation tests were conducted between the three variables, since Pearson

correlation is a measure of the strength of linear dependence between two continuous variables.

Results show that significant positive correlations exist between methods of carrying out scientific

activities and attitudes toward personal scientific knowledge and attitudes toward teaching science in

pre-school (Table 2). In addition, a significant positive correlation exist between attitudes toward

teaching science in pre-school and attitudes toward personal scientific knowledge.

Table 2: Correlations between variables concerning teachers' attitudes towards science education in

pre-school.

Attitudes towards teaching Attitudes towards personal

Attitudes towards personal
scientific knowledge
Attitudes towards ways to
conduct activities
* p<0.05; *** p<0.001
science in pre-school scientific knowledge
r 0.16*
n 144
r 0.16* 0.62***
n 144 144

Pearson correlation tests were conducted in order to test whether there are significant correlations

between statements that indicate teachers’ positive attitudes to teaching Math, Science and

Technology subjects (statement 15) and the importance they give to these subjects (statement 19);

and between statements that indicate their need for additional scientific knowledge (statement 6) and

the extent to which they integrate science activities in their pre-school (statement 3). Results show

that the extent to which the teachers integrate Math, Science and Technology activities within the

pre-school classroom, positively matches, in a significant correlation, the degree of importance that
16
they place on teaching these subjects in pre-school, r(45)=0.362, p<0.05, and the degree in which

they like to engage in these subjects, r(43)=0.558, p<0.001. No significant correlation was found

between the need of the teachers for additional scientific knowledge and these parameters. In addition,

a significant positive correlation was found between the degree of importance teachers accord to

Math, Science and Technology subjects in pre-school, and teachers’ positive attitudes to engage in

these subjects, r(44)=0.327, p<0.05.

Teachers' views about scientific curiosity and the curious child

A total of forty six participants responded to the Teacher's Conceptions about Curiosity

questionnaire. One of these participants was a Muslim, all others were Jewish, from which 6.5% were

Jewish orthodox. Out of the 46 participants, 85% teach in urban pre-schools and 15% in rural pre-

schools. As stated above, the questionnaire consisted of six open-ended questions, to which teachers

gave various comprehensive answers regarding their conceptions and descriptions of the curious child

and their perceptions about fostering scientific curiosity.

Teachers' conceptions and descriptions of the curious child

Qualitative data analyses revealed four main categories that describe teachers' conceptions and

descriptions of the curious child: emotional aspects, cognitive aspects, sonso-motoric aspects and

social aspects (Table 3). According to teachers’ answers, these aspects can be exhibited in various

expressions by the curious child. Emotionally, children’s expressions (facial and vocal), movements

and gestures are changed to manifest wonder and excitement. In addition, their behaviour sometimes

becomes impatient in order to get answers and attention immediately. Cognitively, teachers reported

that some of the children become very attentive and focused on a given subject when they find it

interesting. Teachers also emphasize that curious children tend to describe their observations, ask a

lot of questions, make predictions, provide explanations and look for the social, cultural and physical

contexts within which the given subject is embedded. In addition, the need to gather more information

will be manifested in behaviours that involve elements of an inquiry process. As for senso-motoric

reactions, teachers indicated that curious children will be ambitious to explore an interesting given

object with all their senses. Social aspects, according to most of the teachers, are manifested by
17
curious children so that they feel the urge to experience their discoveries and interests along with

others: peers, teachers or assistants. Data analysis also revealed interrelationships between sub-

categories within the emotional, cognitive, senso-motoric and social aspects. According to teachers,

most of the children who ask more questions, driven by a compulsion to gain more knowledge, are

also the children who feel the need for further inquiry; are attentive and focused toward a given

subject; make predictions, provide explanations and describe their observations and spontaneously

weave connections and relations to other subject domains and contents.

Most of the children who express wonder and excitement while showing curiosity in a given subject

will also ask more questions and be attentive and focused toward that subject. Interestingly,

according to what the teachers discerned, only some of the children who express their need to know

more, by asking more questions will also try to receive a total sensory experience (by approaching

and touching). Yet, almost all of the children who approach and touch the observed phenomena also

ask more questions. According to the teachers, all of the curious children who feel the need to share

their discoveries, findings and interests with their peers, will also be willing to share it with their

teachers, but not necessarily vice versa. Finally, most of the curious children who ask more

questions and have the urge to share their interests with someone else—either teachers or peers—

are also those who feel the need for further inquiry; are attentive and focused toward a given

subject; make predictions; provide explanations; describe their observations and spontaneously

weave connections and relations to other subject domains and content and express wonder and

excitement.

18
Table 3: Teachers' conceptions and descriptions of the curious child (n=46)

Aspect Category Percentage of Sample teacher responses

teachers
Emotional Expressions of 37% ‘Her facial expression changes, her eyes open, and her mouth opens wide’; ‘The
wonder and child is excited, jumps around, shouts cheerfully, calls me and comes over to take
excitement me, to show me something. He/she is impatient, happy and joyful’; ‘The child
changes sitting position; leans forward, sometimes sits on the edge of the chair
and even stands up. The voice becomes stronger, and he/she usually has no
patience to wait for permission to speak’; ‘Runs toward us, burst out, shouts
loudly’.
Urgent need for 57% ‘Sometimes when I'm busy with something else, children touch my face and turn it
immediate to the direction of the thing they want me to look at’; ‘Calls excitedly to come and
acknowledgment see. Sometimes pulls my clothes, if I'm not currently able to respond’; ‘The child
will not only call me by name, but will touch me again and again and again, or
will try to turn my attention to the place or thing that is of interest’.
Cognitive Concentration and 61% ‘The child stands next to me and intently watches everything I do’; ‘The child
attention listens with interest—he is quiet (doesn't speak when I speak) and his eyes stare
with curiosity’; ‘Some kids will sit restrained and will watch intently, with
excitement’;
Need to know more 87% ‘Asks questions, again and again’; ‘If the child doesn't ask any questions—I
know that what I have taught is not interesting’; ‘If the child is curious about
something, he/she will not give up and will ask more and more and more
questions. They will try to get as much information as they can in order to satisfy
the thirst for knowledge… he/she may physically follow me around until I give
him/her the information’.
Making predictions 37% ‘The child will make predictions and will succeed in drawing conclusions’; ‘A
and providing curious child demonstrates creative answers and thoughts’; ‘Some children
explanations express a lot of interest in the experiments we carry out; they make predictions
and try to make inferences from previous experiments’.
Descriptions of 44% ‘The child will tell me everything he/she understood and saw in a detailed way’;
observations ‘The child will describe the changes and will follow the changes, he/she will
notice the small details and will remember’; ‘He/She will visit the same place

19
 over and over again in order to observe whether different developments have
occurred’.
Need for further 46% ‘The child will ask me for tools or materials that he/she needs’; ‘Asks to look in a
inquiry book that has answers about the phenomenon’; ‘Asks questions beyond, or tries
to understand what was done’; ‘If the children find an insect in the yard, they run
into the classroom, look it up in the insect handbook, and take out a magnifying
glass’.
Weaving connections 52% ‘Initiates other activities that relate to the domain'; ‘A curious child will try to
and relations to other relate the phenomenon to his/her previous knowledge’; ‘The child will find
subject domains and contexts in everything he/she sees’; ‘The child will deduce from one knowledge
content domain to another’; ‘The child remembers and relates the things we have learned
to new things’; ‘He/she will bring relevant examples or things from home the next
day’; ‘The child brings information from different data sources’; ‘Brings to
school stuff he/she found while traveling with his/her family’.
Senso- Proximity for 55% ‘The child looks, wants to touch, to explore…he/she investigates with his/ her
motoric observation senses; touches and smells’; ‘The natural tendency of children is to stand up,
tactile attempts 37% look at, and touch the thing that interests them’; ‘The child asks to touch—to
explore and feel’; ‘The child wants to experience full attention with allhis/ her
senses’.
Social Sharing with teachers 91% ‘Describes, recounts and shares as much as possible with anyone who is
Sharing with peers 41% prepared to listen’; ‘—wants to show his friends. Sometimes he/she comes up
with suggestions about how to show and what to tell’; ‘Usually the child invites
other friends to come and see. He/she also shares with the teacher and other
professional staff… He calls his friends to come over and shows his/her findings’.

20
Table 4: Teachers' Perceptions about Fostering Scientific Curiosity among Pre-school Children (n=46)

Aspect Category Percentage of Sample teacher responses

teachers
Emotional Being attentive 26% ‘When a child turns to me with any scientific question, I treat her/him with respect… It
and responsive is very important to relate to every question and encourage the natural curiosity of the
children’.
Demonstrating 44% ‘The teacher's curiosity and the meanings she transmits, draw the child to scientific
and modeling curiosity’; ‘I think that all scientific domains interest them… especially when the
excitement and teacher loves, and knows, and is not afraid of the domain’; ‘The teacher should
curiosity consistently demonstrate interest and curiosity in different phenomena… Modeling is
the most important method as I see it in education in general and science education in
particular’; ‘When the adults are enthusiastic and the subject carries personal
significance—it is contagious’.
Cognitive Encouraging 41% ‘The teacher should relate to the phenomenon and encourage questioning’; ‘The
question-asking teacher should teach how to ask questions in order to enable the children to continue
to take an interest in what they brought. For example: when a child brings a special
plant, she should provide him/her with the means to study it’.
Arousing 24% ‘The teacher should routinely arouse the children's attention by asking them
children’s regularly—“Did you notice if the daffodils are blooming in the yard? Who saw what
attention the sky looks like? Who wants to draw a picture of the weather?”
Facilitation and 33% ‘The teacher should facilitate and be part of the inquiry processes; ‘The teacher should
participation in encourage children to observe, investigate and ask questions’; ‘Teachers should allow
inquiry the children to approach, observe, ask questions and to mediate their exposure to
sources of knowledge such as guides and handbooks, to wide variety of tools such as
magnifying glass, writing materials etc.’.
Use of scientific 6.5% ‘Teachers should bring science to the children…they should verbalize the process and
language teach new concepts’; ‘Verbally—teachers should use scientific language’.
Senso- Utilizing stories, 32% ‘The scientific subject can be integrated into the daily course of pre-school activity by
motoric games and means of games. When the subject is detached from the routine it is harder to arouse
pictures the children’s curiosity’; ‘It is possible to promote their interest in everything, if they
are not interested in the subject, one can use familiar activities and then they will feel
connected’; ‘The phenomena can be presented to the children by means of a story, or a

21
 presentation or pictures…teachers should expose the children to books with interesting
pictures’.
Exposing and 58% ‘The teachers should provide concrete objects, so the children can touch, feel, inquire
providing and examine’; ‘Children should be involved in… more than talk about… they need to
accessibility to be convinced by phenomena that take place in front of their very eyes’; ‘Teaching by
stimuli experiencing is the most significant for children and creates motivation. Every theory
that can be taught through experiential learning will be better understood and be more
stimulating’.
Using 34% ‘Children should be stimulated in every possible way!!! …experiencing with all senses,
multisensory and especially by doing—do not talk about something, but DO something’.
teaching methods
Social Working in small 6.5% ‘Subjects should be instilled in small heterogeneous learning groups’; ‘The work
groups should take place in small groups of children within the same age-group or with
similar interests, since different children are interested in different phenomena’.
Inclusion of 6.5% ‘Parents should be involved by bringing in learning materials’; ‘Teachers should bring
parents up a question and not provide the answer. They should ask the children to think about
the answer at home, consult with their parents or with any other source of
information’; ‘When the subject is important to the teacher and the parents, it will be
important to the child. The children know what the adults appreciate, and respond to
it’.

22
Teachers' Perceptions about Fostering Scientific Curiosity among Pre-school Children

Analysis of the data that describe teachers' conceptions about fostering scientific curiosity among pre-

school children proposed a cluster of categories that correspond to four main aspects: emotional,

cognitive, senso-motoric and social (Table 4). According to teachers’ answers, these aspects can be

exhibited in various expressions by the curious child. The emotional aspect: Teachers indicate that

they should be attentive to the children’s interests, and that they should respond with respect,

openness and seriousness to every scientific query they have. Moreover, teachers indicate that their

behaviour serves as a model for children— therefore by demonstrating excitement and curiosity

toward the scientific world they plant these emotions in the children as well. The cognitive aspect:

Teachers referred to the importance of acquiring and developing the ability of asking questions and

inquiry skills in order to foster curiosity and encourage knowledge acquirement. Teachers indicated

that their role is to draw children’s attention to scientific phenomena, to provide them with the means

that facilitate observations and to model, scaffold and teach components of inquiry process and

experimentations. In addition, some teachers noted in their answers that they should use scientific

language—words, phrases and concepts in order to develop curiosity among pre-school children. As

part of the senso-motoric aspect, teachers noted in their answers that the scientific content should be

integrated into the pre-school routine, by using games, demonstrations, stories and pictures. Teachers

emphasized that the children should be able to experience the objects, stimuli or phenomena with all

their senses and that their teaching should facilitate it. Interestingly, our analyses revealed that

teachers’ answers referred minimally to the social aspects of scientific curiosity-arousing situations

and that little emphasis was placed on teaching in small groups and sharing with the parents the

scientific engagement in order to foster scientific curiosity among the children. Data analyses also

revealed interrelationships between sub-categories within the emotional and the cognitive aspects.

Most of the teachers who indicated that their role is to facilitate and participate in inquiry, also noted

that they should encourage the children to ask questions. In addition, about half of the teachers who

noted their role in encouraging the children to ask questions also mentioned that as teachers, they

should be attentive and responsive to children’s scientific interests and quests. Interestingly, only a
23
third of the teachers that pointed out the expressions of wonder and excitement in the curios child as

indicators of curiosity, have also mentioned that they model or demonstrate these behaviours

themselves while encountering an interesting natural phenomena. Finally, all the teachers who

mentioned those social aspects concerning how teachers should provide encouragement in order to

arouse scientific curiosity in children, also mentioned that curious children have an intuitive urge to

share their discoveries, findings and interests with their peers and/or teachers. However, as mentioned

previously, only a small percentage of the participants indicated social aspects as constituting their

perceptions about fostering scientific curiosity among young children.

In summary, one quote can summarize this section regarding the role and behaviour of the pre-school

teacher: ‘The teacher should use scientific language and reveal concepts through sensory exploration

and activities. The teacher should create a model of enthusiasm that triggers interest through wonder,

and integrates emotion and discussion as a grown-up facilitator’.

Discussion

The purpose of the present study was to find out pre-school teachers’ opinions regarding early science

education. In particular, this study aimed to examine in-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions

toward engaging in science in pre-school and toward the concept of scientific curiosity as it is realized

in pre-school. Two questionnaires were developed and both qualitative and quantitative approaches

were employed in order to gain a broader view as well as a deeper understanding regarding these two

issues. Data analyses revealed varied and interesting findings.

As previously mentioned before, studies that investigate in-service pre-school teachers in the context

of science education are scarce. Research findings reported here suggest that most participants in this

study believe that scientific education should start in early childhood; that very young children can

investigate and take part in a process of inquiry; and that scientific activities in pre-school can

influence children's long-term attitudes toward science. However, despite these views, most

participants felt uncomfortable about planning scientific activities, and felt they don't have sufficient

scientific knowledge. Back in 1986 Shulman discussed what he called ‘the missing paradigm’ and

claimed: ‘In reading the literature of research on teaching, it is clear that central questions are unasked.
24
The emphasis is on how teachers manage their classrooms, organize activities, allocate time and turns,

structure assignments, ascribe praise and blame, formulate the levels of their questions, plan lessons,

and judge general student understanding. What we miss are questions about the content of the lessons

taught, the questions asked, and the explanations offered’ (p. 8). Shulman (1986) suggested three

types of knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge

(PCK). Shulman referred mainly to the teaching taking place in schools. Although the ‘missing

paradigm’ has been dealt with extensively in research and professional literature, it seems that as far

as science education in kindergarten and pre-school is concerned, not much has changed and training

programmes are still missing the components of content knowledge and PCK. Most of the participants

in this study expressed similar opinions. The fact that pre-school education training programmes in

Israeli universities and colleges offer only few courses that provide scientific knowledge and even

less courses that provide scientific pedagogical knowledge, explains this view and warns that a change

is required (Gross, Shcheni, Andres, & Nebet, 2002).

Results show significant positive correlations between methods of carrying out scientific activities,

attitudes toward personal scientific knowledge and attitudes toward teaching science in pre-school.

Significant positive correlation was also found between attitudes toward teaching science in pre-

school and attitudes toward personal scientific knowledge. In addition, it was found that the extent

to which the teachers integrate science activities within the pre-school teaching programme,

positively correlates in a significant manner to the degree of importance that they place on teaching

these subjects in pre-school, and the degree to which they like to engage in these subjects. No

significant correlation was found between the teachers’ need for additional scientific knowledge and

these parameters. This point is actually quite encouraging, although teachers lack content knowledge

and PCK, they hold positive attitudes toward science education in pre-school. Therefore, the duty of

policy makers and teacher trainers in Israel should focus on the next necessary step which is equipping

pre-school teachers with the required scientific knowledge and PCK.

The literature review reveals that elementary school pre- and in-service teachers consider science as

difficult, complicated and not enjoyable. Consequently, these perceptions influence their perceptual
25
knowledge of science and the quality of their science teaching. Nowadays, teaching science in pre-

school has become an acceptable view in the eyes of researchers, education professionals and policy

makers. Therefore, it is necessary to examine these aspects and the needs that influence teachers'

work. As opposed to school education, in pre-school the individual teacher is the main agent

delivering knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to the children. Therefore considering these factors

is especially crucial when attempting to implement optimal early science education.

The science teaching standards that are at the core of effective science education presented by the

National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) are grounded on five

assumptions that are relevant to all grade levels. Two of the assumptions are ‘What students learn is

greatly influenced by how they are taught’ and ‘Student understanding is actively constructed through

individual and social process’ (p. 39). In addition, the standards advocate that inquiry-based science

programmes, which meet students' interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities and experiences,

will create the most efficient science education. Unfortunately, many traditional educational systems

still operate in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry (Şahhüseyinoğlu, 2010). Overall,

our findings suggest that in the current Israeli pre-school reality, to some extent, teachers meet this

assumption.

The study’s results revealed that teachers' responses, regarding their conceptions and descriptions of

the curious child and their perceptions about fostering scientific curiosity, correspond to four aspects:

emotional, cognitive, senso-motoric and social. Nevertheless, looking into the frequency of quotes

relevant to each sub-category reveals that some (such as, exposing and providing accessibility to

stimuli and encouraging questions) were more prevalent than others (such as, being attentive and

responsive and sharing with parents). In addition, data analyses revealed some gaps between teachers'

perceptions of the curious child’s behaviour (i.e. how they characterize an optimal curious behaviour)

and their intention to act (i.e. how they perceive their role in fostering it). Teachers’ sensitivity and

responsiveness is a primary characteristic to be considered in order to understand the regulatory

qualities of the classroom environment (Gardner, 1987). In the kindergarten classroom, teachers’

sensitivity has been shown to affect children’s social competence and on-task behaviour (Pianta, La
26
Paro, Payne, Cox, & Bradley, 2002). In our view, these gaps between pre-school teachers’ perceptions

and intentions to act may be the major weak points of early science education.

Overall the teachers’ responses neglected to refer to the social aspects of effective science teaching.

Sadly, their responses did not reflect the well accepted socio-cultural practises of science. Social

cooperation is embedded in scientific culture: the scientific community shares cognitive resources for

data collection, analysis and representations, targets of investigations, formal education and training,

besides scientific discourses, peer-reviewing and informal shared scientific experiences (Giere, 1988;

Knorr-Cetina, 1999). These are all inseparable components of scientific work, and it should not be

taken for granted that social cooperation will develop naturally. Teachers should place more emphasis

on the social aspects of scientific teaching when they desire to foster scientific curiosity in children.

Whether working in small or large groups, teachers should be more intent on encouraging the

cooperative work of the children, their awareness and recognition of each other's discoveries, findings

and interests, as well as their mutual and cooperative learning. The fact that teachers pointed out that

curious children feel the urge to share with their surrounding, but did not emphasize their role in

facilitating this process, might indicate a gap between the teachers' perceptions and intentions to act.

When asked how one could identify the behaviour patterns of the curious child, about a third of the

teachers pointed out behaviours that express wonder and excitement. The fact that only a third of the

teachers that pointed out these behaviours also indicated their role in modeling wonder and

excitement themselves indicates another gap between the teachers' perceptions and intentions to act.

The findings reveal that about half of the teachers think that curious children have a need for total

sensory exploration of the object or phenomenon at stake, but not all of these teachers (only 60% of

them) also mentioned their role in exposing and providing accessibility to the stimuli. This might

point out to another gap between teachers' perceptions and their intentions to act.

The fact that only half of the teachers pointed out the need for sensory exploration of the curious child

came by surprise, as naturally, children explore with their senses, and they are predisposed to express

their curiosity and learn actively, by ‘doing’; engaging, exploring, manipulating, interacting with their

environment (National Research Council, 2001; Peterson, 1975). In our view, this is an important
27
finding which should be further examined in studies that will elaborate directly upon the senso-

motoric aspects of children’s scientific engagement.

Another important finding is that only 6.5% of the teachers noted in their answers the importance of

using scientific language (words, phrases and concepts) while engaging in science. Teacher trainers

and policy makers should address this finding since uninformed scientific education environment

may produce systematic patterns of misconceptions and mismatches that will be resistant to change,

guide subsequent learning and interpret deeper meanings acquisitions (Eshach, 2006; Honig, 2010).

This is especially important in early science education as adequate instruction has been shown to

induce more valid concept understandings and less misconceptions acquirement, with long lasting

effect (Novak & Musonda, 1991). Moreover, by using scientific language and discourse, teachers’

themselves can attain greater content knowledge, PCK and positive attitudes toward science (Lee,

Hart, Cuevas & Enders, 2004).

When teachers were asked to describe the ways to foster scientific curiosity among young children,

various sub-categories were identified within the four emotional, cognitive, senso-motoric, and social

aspects: (1) being attentive and responsive; (2) demonstrating and modeling excitement and curiosity;

(3) encouraging questioning; (4) arousing children’s attention; (5) facilitating and participating in

inquiry; (6) utilizing stories, games and pictures; (7) exposing and providing accessibility to stimuli;

and (8) using multisensory teaching methods. These varied courses of actions correspond to Eshach's

(2006) comprehensive summary regarding seven educational topics that should be considered when

teaching science in early childhood: (1) learning science by engaging in the inquiry process; (2)

learning through authentic problems that deal with questions that are of interest to the child; (3)

learning through experience and what is familiar to the child; (4) providing scaffolding and assistance;

(5) embedding the teaching within the social, cultural and physical contexts that it is being used; (6)

exploring from many angles, across multiple subject domains; and (7) using non-verbal teaching

materials (illustrations, sensory, motor, emotional etc.)

In addition, these spontaneous teachers' answers brilliantly correspond to and demonstrate the science

teaching standards which appear in the National Science Education Standards (National Research
28
Council, 1996); ‘teachers should focus and support inquiries while interacting with the students…

[They should] encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness

to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science’ (p. 32). Moreover, ‘[Teachers

should]…display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students.

Enable students to have a significant voice in decisions about the content and context of their work…

Nurture collaboration among students. Structure and facilitate ongoing formal and informal

discussion based on a shared understanding of rules of scientific discourse. Model and emphasize the

skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry’ (p. 46).

Limitations and Further Work

Data analysis in this study included factor analysis. It is suggested that the factor structure of the

Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire, should be further validated in future research, owing to the small

sample size used in the present research (n<200).

Furthermore, it is important to note that all findings in this study are based on pre-school teachers'

statements. Future studies may investigate the actual practises and actions that pre-school teachers

take on duty in the classroom. However, based on these results, implications for pre-school science

programmes and professional development programmes for teachers were found. First, it is obvious

that teachers in pre-school classes have a great influence on young children. Therefore, it is of great

importance to listen to their opinions and to learn from their experiences of describing the curious

child’s behaviour and their role in fostering this desirable state. Second, teacher trainers and policy

makers should take teachers' attitudes and perceptions regarding science engagement into

consideration as part of their work plan. It can elucidate questions such as, how to implement

scientific activities in pre-school, and how to encourage pre-school teachers to engage children in

scientific activities in a way that will nurture their natural curiosity. Since results of this study show

that teachers’ positive attitudes toward teaching science in pre-school classes and the development of

personal scientific knowledge are correlated with the willingness to conduct scientific activities in

classes, it is of utter importance to develop scientific knowledge and understanding among pre-school

teachers and to integrate courses that teach how to engage in science in a meaningful way, in their
29
training. Third, the issue of scientific curiosity in pre-school should be further studied from the

children's perspective. Surveying the literature for studies of curiosity toward scientific content in

young children has revealed poor results; several existing measurements of curiosity toward scientific

content were obtained, but none of them applied to children at pre-school ages. Therefore, new valid

and reliable measuring tools should be developed. These issues are extremely important for the

establishment of an utmost early science education outline and programmes. Therefore, continuation

studies which involve empiric grounded recommendations regarding implementation of science

education in pre-school are currently taking place by our group.

The implications of this study are that educators must consider bridging the gaps between teachers'

perceptions of the curious child’s behaviour and their intention to act in order to foster it, as one of

the primary goals of early science education. Pre-school teachers should understand that young

children see them as role models – if they express wonder and excitement, the child thinks that the

subject deserves of being appreciated and excited about. As for scientific contents, policy makers and

teachers should keep in mind that children have a need for total sensory exploration of the object or

phenomenon at stake. This should guide the choice of scientific contents that should be explored in

pre-schools, and the training that pre-service and in-service teachers receive in order to implement it

pedagogically. Policy makers can not rely on the assumption that pre-school teachers are naturally

creative, resourceful and have a multidisciplinary point of view. On the contrary, they should enrich

their knowledge by providing them with various ideas, appropriate tools and different ways of

feasibility. Finally, the social aspects of effective science teaching should be emphasized in early

science education outline and programmes. Teachers should acquire skills how to encourage and

facilitate a cooperative work, inquiry and learning of the children. As mentioned earlier, this will

arouse their awareness and recognition of each other's discoveries, findings and interests, as well as

their mutual learning.

References

30
Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality, and behavior (2nd ed.). Milton-Keynes., England: Open

University Press (McGraw-Hill).

Akpinar, E., Yildiz, E., Tatar, N., & Ergin, O. (2009). Students’ attitudes toward science and

technology: an investigation of gender, grade level, and academic achievement. Procedia Social

and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 2804–2808.

Ashton, P. T. (1984). Teacher efficacy: A motivational paradigm for effective teacher education.

Journal of Teacher Education, 35(5), 38-32.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological

Review, 84(2), 191-215.

Berlyne, D. E. (1954). A theory of human curiosity. British Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 180-191.

Berlyne, D. E. (1963). Motivational problems raised by exploratory and epistemic behavior. In S.

Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science (Vol. 5, pp. 284-364). New York-Toronto-London:

McGraw-Hill.

Chapman, J. W., Tunmer, W.E., & Prochnow, J.E. (2000). Early Reading-Related Skills and

Performance, Reading Self-Concept, and the Development of Academic Self-Concept: A

Longitudinal Study. Journal of educational psychology, 92(4), 703-708.

de Laat, J., Watters, J. J. (1995). Science teaching self-efficacy in a primary school: A case study.

Research in Science Education, 25(4), 453-464.

Dewey, J. (1910). How we think (2009 ed.). Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Inc.

Eshach, H. (2006). Science literacy in primary schools and pre-schools. Dordrecht: Springer Verlag.

Franz, J. R., & Enochs, L. G. (1982). Elementary school science: State certification requirements in

science and their implications. Science Education, 66(2), 287-292.

French, L. (2004). Science as the center of a coherent, integrated early childhood curriculum. Early

Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 138-149.

Gardner, P. L. (1987). Comments on “toward the development of a children's science curiosity scale”.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24(2), 175-176.

31
George, R. (2006). A cross-domain analysis of change in students’ attitudes toward science and

attitudes about the utility of science. International Journal of Science Education, 28(6), 571-589.

Giere, R. N. (1988). Explaining science. A cognitive approach. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gross, Y., Shcheni, E., Andres, B., Nebet, H. (2002). Bikur studentiot Le'horaa be'ganey mada. Ma

hen lamdu? [The visit of pre-service teachers in scientific pre-schools. What did they learn?]. Hed

Hagan, 3, 22-29 [in Hebrew].

Harty, H., & Beall, D. (1984). Toward the development of a children's science curiosity measure.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 21(4), 425-436.

Honig, S. L. (2010). A Framework for Supporting Scientific Language in Primary Grades. The

Reading Teacher, 64(1), 23–32.

Jones, M. G., Howe, A., & Rua, M. J. (2000). Gender differences in students' experiences, interests,

and attitudes toward science and scientists. Science Education, 84(2), 180-192.

Kashdan, T. B., & Silvia, P. J. (2009). Curiosity and interest: The benefits of thriving on novelty

and challenge. In S. Lopez, & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (pp.

367-374). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Klein, P. S., & Yablon, Y. B. (Eds.) (2008). From Research to Practice in Early Childhood

Education. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities [in Hebrew].

Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures: How the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press.

Koballa, T. R., & Crawley, F. E. (1985). The Influence of Attitude on Science Teaching and Learning.

School Science and Mathematics, 85, 222 – 232.

Krapp, A., & Prenzel, M. (2011). Research on Interest in Science: Theories, methods, and findings.

International Journal of Science Education, 33(1), 27-50.

Lee, O., Hart, J. H., Cuevas, P., & Enders, C. (2004). Professional development in inquiry-based

science for elementary teachers of diverse student groups. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,

41(10), 1021-1043.

32
Loewenstein, G. (1994). The Psychology of Curiosity: A Review and Reinterpretation. Psychological

Bulletin, 116(1), 75-98.

Maw, W. H., & Maw, E. W. (1970). Self-concepts of high and low curiosity boys. Child

Development, 41, 123-129.

Ministry of Education. (2009). Tochnit limudim be'mada ve'technologia be'gan hayeladim

hamamlachty ve'hamamlachty-dati [curriculum of science and technology for state and state-

religious kindergartens]. Department for Curriculum Planning and Development.

http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/units/tochniyot_limudim/kdamyesodi/tochniyotlimudim

/madatechnologia.htm. Accessed 19 July 2010

National Association for the Education of Young Children and The National Association of Early

Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAEYC & NAECS/SDE). (2002). Early

learning standards: creating the conditions for success.

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/position_statement.pdf. Accessed 1 September

2010

National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Time spent teaching core academic subject in

elementary schools: Comparisons across community, school teacher, and student characteristics

(NCES 97-923). http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=97293. Accessed 14 April 2010

National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC:

National Academy Press.

National Research Council. (2001). Eager to learn: Educating our preschoolers. Committee on

Early Childhood Pedagogy. B. T., Bowman, M. S., Donovan, & M. S., Burns (Eds.). Washington,

DC: National Academies Press.

Novak, J. D., & Musonda, D. (1991). A Twelve-Year Longitudinal Study of Science Concept

Learning. American Educational Research Journal, 28(1), 117-153.

Osborne, J., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes toward science: a review of the literature and

its implications. International Journal of Science Education, 25(9), 1049-1079.

33
Patrick, H., Mantzicopoulos, P., & Samarapungavan, A. (2009). Motivation for learning science in

kindergarten: Is there a gender gap and does integrated inquiry and literacy instruction make a

difference. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(2), 166-191.

Penny, R. K., & McCann, B. (1964). The Children's Reactive Curiosity Scale. Psychological

Reports, 15, 323-334.

Peterson, R. W. (1975). The differential effect of an adult's presence on the curiosity behavior of

children. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 12(3), 199-208.

Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., Payne, C., Cox, M. J., & Bradley, R. (2002). The relation of

kindergarten classroom environment to teacher, family, and school characteristics and child

outcomes. The Elementary School Journal, 102(3), 225-238.

Pisula, W. (2009). Curiosity and Information Seeking in Animal and Human Behavior. Boca Raton,

Florida: Brown Walker Press.

Raine, A., Reynolds, C., Venables, P. H., & Mednick, S. A. (2002). Stimulation seeking and

intelligence: A prospective longitudinal study, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

82(4), 663-674.

Reio, T. G., Petrosko, J. M., Wiswell, A. K., & Thongsukmag, J. (2006). The measurement and

conceptualization of curiosity, The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 167(2), 117-135.

Şahhüseyinoğlu, D. (2010). Children as researchers: a report from 6 year old Turkish students

'science' classroom. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 5152-5156.

Samarapungavan, A., Mantzicopoulos, P., & Patrick, H. (2008). Learning science through inquiry in

kindergarten. Science Education, 92(5), 868-908.

Sassen, R. (2009, October 9) Israel’s Ada Yonath wins the coveted Nobel Prize in chemistry. South

Africa Jewish Report. www.sajewishreport.co.za. Accessed 25 July 2010

Sherman, A., & MacDonald, L. (2007). Pre-service teachers’ experiences with a science education

module. Journal of science teacher education, 18(4), 525-541.

Shkedi, A. (2005). Multiple Case Narrative: A Qualitative Approach to Studying Multiple

Populations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

34
Shrigley, R. L. (1974). The Attitude of Pre Service Elementary Teachers Toward Science1. School

Science and Mathematics, 74(3), 243-250.

Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational

Researcher, 15(2), 4-14.

Silvia, P. J. (2005). What is interesting? Exploring the appraisal structure of interest. Emotion, 5(1),

89-102.

Silvia, P. J. (2008). Interest — The curious emotion. Current Directions in Psychological Science,

17(1), 57-60.

Simpson, R. D., & Oliver, J. S. (1990). A summary of major influences on attitude toward and

achievement in science among adolescent students. Science Education, 74(1), 1-18.

Steckler, A., McLeroy, K. R., Goodman, R. M., Bird, S. T., & McCormick, L. (1992). Toward

integrating qualitative and quantitative methods: an introduction. Health Education Quarterly,

19(1), 1-8.

Sutton, L. C., Watson, S. B., Parke, H., & Thomson, W. S. (1993). Factors that influence the decision

of preservice elementary teachers to concentrate in science. Journal of Science Teacher Education,

4(4), 109-114.

Thompson, C. L., & Shrigley, R. L. (1986). What Research Says: Revising the science attitudes scale.

School Science and Mathematics, 86(4), 331-343.

Tilgner, P. J. (1990). Avoiding science in the elementary school. Science Education, 74(4),421-431

Tosun, T. (2000). The beliefs of preservice elementary teachers toward science and science teaching.

School Science and Mathematics, 100(7), 374-379.

Turner, S., & Ireson, G. (2010). Fifteen pupils’ positive approach to primary school science: when

does it decline? Educational Studies, 36(2), 119-141.

Welch, W. W., Walberg, H. J., & Fraser, B. J. (1986). Predicting elementary science learning using

national assessment data. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 23(8), 699-706.

35
Appendix 1: The Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire

Part 1:
Personal details (Name, Seniority, Education etc.)
Pre-school Details (Location, Number of children, Children’s ages etc.)

- What are the scientific contents that you have taught during the last years?
- Describe in details teaching methods and the courses of action you take in order to teach scientific
contents.
- Describe in details the learning environment in your class and what kind of equipment there is.
- Who are the participants/partners in your classroom educational environment?
- What is the average frequency of scientific activities in your pre-school classroom during the year?

Part 2: Attitudes toward teaching science in pre-school

The factor structure of the Teacher's Attitudes Questionnaire:

Factor A: Attitude toward teaching science in pre-school

Statement no. Statement
1 Engagement with scientific topics should begin in pre-school
2 Pre-school children have the ability to engage in inquiry based
activities
Factor B: Attitude toward personal scientific knowledge
Statement no. Statement
4 I feel confident about my knowledge of sciences
6 I need more knowledge in scientific topics
8 I feel confident teaching topics from the domain of mathematics
13 I feel confident regarding my knowledge in the field of technology
Factor C: Methods of carrying out activities
Statement no. Statement
3 I integrate many activities from the domain of science in the pre-
school program
5 I frequently search for information and activities for school on the
Internet
7 I integrate many activities from the domain of mathematics in the
pre-school program
12 I integrate many activities from the field of technology in the pre-
school program
14 I engage in environmental education and protecting the environment
in pre-school
17 I am satisfied with the organization and design of the space in my
pre-school
18 I am satisfied with the organization of the yard in my pre-school

Appendix 2: The Teacher's Conceptions about Curiosity Questionnaire

36
 1. From your experience, how does a child express his/her curiosity and interest in what you do or
explain (behaviorally and literally)?

2. From your experience, how does a child draw your attention (behaviorally and literally) when
he/she express curiosity and interest in something he/she find/initiates?

3. How would you describe a child with “scientific curiosity”? What are the personality traits and
behaviors that characterize him/her? Please give examples

4. From your experience, which scientific topics/contents lead to the most significant amazement
and interest among most children in your class? And among the more "curious" children? Please
describe how it is realized in class.

6. From your experience, which courses of action (instructional, behavioral, literal, etc.) should
teachers take in order to arouse interest and curiosity among most of the children in class?

37

View publication stats