DCU research shows some parents lack the confidence to take part in science activities with their children

A parent’s confidence in their ability to take part in science games and activities with their children can have an influence on opportunities for science learning in early childhood according to new research by Dublin City University. Opportunities for science learning are critical for supporting interest in the subject as children progress through primary school. 

It is widely acknowledged that parents play a key role in influencing their child’s early education. Findings have shown that children begin school with a strong interest in science and that young children have the capacity for science inquiry but that they require the guidance to help them put the learnings into context. 

This latest study by DCU found that half of the parents reported low confidence in doing science activities and those parents were less likely to take part in science activities with their young children. These activities included reading about science, playing science games and exploring science in the outdoors and everyday activities. 

Speaking about the findings study lead and Assistant Professor in the Psychology of Early Childhood at DCU’s Institute of Education, Dr Sinéad McNally said, “reduced confidence among parents in doing science with their young children was associated with fewer opportunities for science learning. 

This is an important finding as it highlights that we need to support parents in gaining confidence around doing science if we want to increase young children’s early engagement in science learning.” 

The DCU study, “We practise every day’: Parents’ attitudes towards early science learning and education among a sample of urban families in Ireland” used a small sample survey of 85 parents from three urban primary schools and feeder preschools. The study is part of a larger educational initiative at DCU on early childhood science funded by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme.

Asking parents about how often they engaged in a variety of science activities, the researchers found that visiting a science-related venue and science-based games were the least popular while most parents explored nature with their children, built things or watched science programmes together.  

All of the parents felt strongly that science was a very important subject and over 70% said that science learning should begin by the age of four indicating parental recognition of the importance of science in early childhood education.

“Given the ongoing context of the pandemic, it is positive that the most popular activity reported by parents was exploring science in the outdoors – this is a great option during a time when access to science venues is limited or not possible. 

Educational initiatives that support parental knowledge in exploring science outdoors and in everyday activities would particularly help parents build their confidence in engaging young children in scientific learning in the foreseeable future,” added Dr McNally.

Dr Therese Gilligan study author said, 

“Science for children can start with wondering why something floats or how fast birds can fly. Our message to parents is that it is okay not to have the answers, encouraging your child’s interest and looking into things together will give them a great start.”

For policy makers and practitioners in early childhood education, the findings highlight the importance of engaging with parents as co-educators in early science learning, and of supporting access to opportunities for early science activities and learning for young children and their families.

Dr Eilish McLoughlin, Associate Professor in the School of Physical Sciences and Director of CASTeL (Centre for Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning) study author said, 

“STEM education policies increasingly focus on early childhood education and supporting science learning with our youngest learners. We believe that early engagement and participation in science learning is even more important for girls as we know that girls are less likely to take up STEM subjects at second level and in future careers. Our findings highlight a key need to build parents' confidence to support early engagement in STEM education.”
 

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‘We practise every day’: Parents’ attitudes towards early science learning and
education among a sample of urban families in Ireland; Therese Gilligan, Judy Lovett, Clíona Murphy, Sinéad McNally, Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Eilish McLoughlin, Odilla Finlayson, Faculty of Science and Health, Dublin City University, Kathleen Corriveauc, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University.

The study is part of an initiative at DCU on early childhood science funded by the Science Foundation Ireland Discover Programme.

The full paper is available to read here