Science education in early childhood : a snapshot of Australian settings

In Australia, reform is occurring in the area of early childhood. It is in this time of reform, that a research project was instigated which studied the amount of science being undertaken in early childhood settings as well as how it was implemented. This highlighted some interesting differences across settings. This presentation will describe case studies of four pre-school settings and some of the activities undertaken by the children - both as part of the formal program and through incidental play. It will consider these through a socio-cultural framework, noting how teachers used their understandings of play and play theory, to enhance children’s understandings.