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This article focuses on the need for increased attention to content issues and working methods for science teaching in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Science education research emphasises the importance of not only focusing on specific phenomena, but also on the Nature of Science (NOS). NOS teaching deals with questions about what science is, how scientific knowledge is developed and in what ways humans are involved in these processes. An inclusion of such issues is important if common stereotypical images of science and scientists are to be challenged. Previous research has suggested that NOS can be taught through book talks connected to trade books. However, there is a lack of empirical studies at the ECE level supporting this suggestion. Thus, this article reports from the first part of a project in which researchers and teachers explored book talks as a possibility to introduce NOS in early years science (children between 1 and 5 years old). Data consists of book talks (N=48) around two picture trade books led by five preschool teachers preceded by a teacher-researcher workshop on NOS and NOS teaching. The results show that discussions on a variety of NOS issues is possible in an ECE context. These results are discussed in relation to previous literature on both NOS teaching and science in the early years.

Tests convey messages about what to teach and how to assess. Both of these dimensions may either broaden or become more uniform and narrow as a consequence of high-stakes testing. This study aimed to investigate how Swedish science teachers were influenced by national, high-stakes testing in science, specifically focusing on instances where teachers' pedagogical practices were broadened and/or narrowed. The research design is qualitative thematic analysis of focus group data, from group discussions with Swedish science teachers. The total sample consists of six teachers, who participated in 12 focus group discussion during three consecutive years. Findings suggest that the national tests influence teachers' pedagogical practice by being used as a substitute for the national curriculum. Since the teachers do not want their students to fail the tests, they implement new content that is introduced by the tests and thereby broaden their existing practice. However, when this new content is not seen as a legitimate part of teachers' established teaching traditions, the interpretation and implementation of this content may replicate the operationalisations made by the test developers, even though these operationalisations are restricted by demands for standardisation and reliable scoring. Consequently, the tests simultaneously broaden and narrow teachers' pedagogical practices.