Search

In early childhood education, the integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) are advocated as contemporary educational goals. However, integration of STEAM is not defined in the early childhood context. We claim to 'integrate' and 'devise integration pedagogies', but there is still no clear-cut message on what integration means and how to do it. This paper presents an integrative literature review to conceptualize the integration of STEAM practices in early childhood education. The review highlighted key factors and challenges relating to STEAM integration. The paper concludes with the development of the integrating and navigating STEAM (inSTEAM) conceptual framework derived from the concepts, empirical research, and theories explored in the integrative review of the 17 articles.

Historically, the professional structure of higher education has provided restricted employment, career, and leadership opportunities for women. This is exacerbated where there is an intersection between gender and race, culture, religion, or age. Women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership positions across a range of disciplines, and this lack of representation of women within the professional structure of higher education itself acts as a barrier for more women reaching senior levels within institutions. More women are needed in higher positions to increase representation and visibility, and to encourage and mentor others to then aspire to follow a similar path. This critical review examines gender equity across the major career benchmarks of the academy in light of the impact of the personal contexts of women, systemic processes, and cultural barriers that hinder career progression. Research-based systemic solutions that work towards improved gender equity for women are discussed. The findings from this critical review highlight the need for global systemic change in higher education to create ethical equities in the employment, career, and leadership opportunities for women.

This paper presents findings from an on-going international study of Early Childhood (EC) teachers' and children's use of Internet of Toys (IoToys) to understand possibilities for developing children's cognitive capacities (e.g., creativity, inquiry, engineering design thinking). The study employed a Design Based Research (DBR) method, where teachers intentionally plan and deliver technologically constructed Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) experiences for preschoolers. Using Australia as a case study, data collection involved participant observation of three teachers' and 17 children's technology constructed play experiences with robotic toys, littleBits electronic magnetic blocks, alongside pre and post semi-structured interviews with teachers and children's photo voice sessions were video recorded. Analysing the findings using embodied cognition theory showed that the teachers, although novice in their own technological pedagogical knowledge engaged children's play with the robotic toys, and co-learn with the children. Integration of STEM-focused playful experiences supported children's scientific inquiry, design thinking and creativity as well as vocabulary targeted at interdisciplinary STEM concepts. With the ever increasing focus on developing children's 21st century skills, this study recommends engineering habits of mind, creativity and inquiry dispositions should now be taken into account in teaching and learning situations with young children and to develop STEM engagement.

This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities, teacher's role and assessment. The curriculum analysis framework developed by Van den Akker (2003) was used as a methodological framework for the curricula analysis. Based on the theory-driven content analyses, findings show that both countries have several components of constructivist curriculum, but not always clearly focused on science education. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) integrates children's science learning within their five specific learning outcomes, whereas the Finnish national core curriculum for early childhood education and care has no defined learning outcomes in general. The Finnish curriculum more clearly than EYLF encompasses science and environmental education as a learning domain, within which children participate in targeted scientific activities to gain procedural knowledge in specific environmental-related concepts. More focus should be turned to the teachers' role and assessment, which are not determined in science context in both countries. This international comparative study calls for the need of a considered EC curriculum framework that more explicitly has science domains with specifically defined rationale, aims, content areas, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The implications lie in providing early childhood educators with tangible and theoretically solid curriculum framework and resources in order to foster scientific thinking in young children.

This paper discusses how multimodal creative inquiry might be conceptualised and implemented for children's meaning-making in science. We consider Halliday's (1978) and Vygotsky's (1987, 2016) theoretical ideas for showing how the most important characteristics of social semiotics are connected to imagination, play-based and creative inquiry for children's science meaning-making. Qualitative data was analysed from two preschool classroom video observations of 40 children's playful interactions with technologies, such as robotic toys, semiotic artefacts, two teachers' reflective journal documentation and children's artefacts. Findings show children participate and discuss elements of scientific concepts in inquiry-based dialogues and make sense of science concepts whilst becoming creators of multimodal representations arising from their interests and curiosity. The semiotic resources that operate through technologies such as apps provide a medium for creative inquiry affording communication spaces and multimodal (visual, haptic [digital touch], text) meaning-making around everyday science phenomena. Practical implications lie in upskilling educators' integration of semiotic resources such as robotic toys and deploying a multimodal creative inquiry approach for reconfiguring children's science learning opportunities in early childhood educational practices.

This paper presents findings from an on-going international study (Australia and Finland) of preschool teachers' beliefs and pedagogical practices in the integration of technology to engage young children in learning science. Scarcely used in early childhood education research, this study is framed using Mishra and Koehler's (2006) Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) theory. Case studies presented in this paper are undertaken with data collected from three preschools in Australia. Participant observation of teachers' (N = 7) and children's play experiences, and semi-structured interviews, revealed that teachers occasionally used iPads and some apps within their intentionally constructed science investigations, both for teacher-initiated research and for communicating with parents via children's journals. Teachers were not adverse to, but rather accepting of embedding technology as a pedagogical affordance and keen on planning for multimodal science-based experiences. The findings of this study imply the need for a pedagogical shift, wherein teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge improves in how and when to sensibly integrate technology for children's engagement in scientific inquiry, rather than relying on hands-on experiences alone. Implications lie in more closely aligning teachers' TPK and related practices with science content knowledge by co-researching together with children and foregrounding both teachers' and children's perspectives.

Parents' beliefs, values and associated everyday practices can play an influential role in their children's educational environment. This paper reports on a subsection of data from a larger qualitative study on how immigrant parents' cultural beliefs, values and everyday practices contributed to shaping their young children's early engagement in science learning. Parents in the study were asked to reflect upon their past familial experiences before migrating to Australia. Drawing on Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory, the parental role is considered as being the 'more knowledgeable other' in the child's everyday home environment, whereby interactions with children are rooted in parents' beliefs, sociocultural values and future aspirations for their children's science career pursuits. By conducting semi-structured interviews with 11 immigrant parents, this study maps the conditions and science engagement opportunities that inspire children to study science in the future. The results focus on how everyday interactions and activities that parents indulge in with their children at an early age through to primary schooling are foregrounded in parents' own cultural beliefs and values. Parental aspirations for their children to study science at school consciously or unconsciously develop children's science aptitude. This study contributes to the theoretical knowledge and calls for parent--school collaboration practices in early childhood science education to understand the familial sociocultural practices of immigrant children.

A novel way to support change and development in a country's education system is to send teachers abroad on a professional learning program, so that they become immersed in a different culture, language and education system. The focus of this study was to investigate the supports and tensions created during a professional learning and leadership development program, in which teachers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (n = 45) lived in Australia for one year. A multiple case study approach was used to report on the analysis of individual interviews with the KSA teachers (n = 5) and their capstone projects. Drawing on the 2019 study of McChesney and Aldridge,, we report on findings related to the teachers' evolving Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) integration and leadership skills. Findings indicated that there were both tensions and supports for the KSA teachers. Tensions existed as the teachers were developing their English language proficiency and learned more pedagogical ideas about the integration of STEM into the curriculum. Furthermore, the KSA teachers benefitted from mentor teachers' support in schools and modelling of leadership practices with respect to planning and through completion of a capstone project. Implications concerning an international immersion program are discussed.

This study examines whether the Internet of Toys (IoToys) (de)limits children's make-believe play and whether the functionality and manipulatives offered by the IoToys serve as motivational pleasure (tactile, virtual and visual) for children to engage in make-believe play. Combining Piagetian and Vygotskian ideas of play as a unity of cognition and social context, we consider IoToys as a motivational conduit for children's symbolic actions that leads to make-believe play. Qualitative methodology was employed using observations of young children at home when interacting with IoToys (total n = 10 families) from England (n = 5 families) and Australia (n = 5 families). Data showed that children's interaction does not limit the development of their make-believe play as they engage in imitation schemata and create imaginative situations within and beyond the intended pre-programmed functions of the IoToy. To conclude, it is argued that instead of differentiating virtual and physical play, we should (re)think play with multimodal playscape lenses.

This study explores the use of interactive Artificial Intelligence (AI)-interfaced robotic toys within early childhood (EC) settings to develop children's inquiry literacy. Arguments about the appropriate role of AI in EC education have received much attention when examining the potential of the integration of technology into children's play and learning. Using Vygotsky's mediation theory (1978) and employing a design-based research methodology, teachers intentionally used AI robotic toys to engage children (4-5 years old) during play experiences. The data from both teachers' and children's interviews, observations and artefact analysis revealed how children creatively collaborated with their peers to create a sustainable city for their robot and 'his' family to live happily. Children's play with the AI robot fostered inquiry literacies -- namely creative inquiry, emotional inquiry and collaborative inquiry. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to shape children's inquiry literacies. Implications lie in upskilling EC teachers to provide opportunities to play with AI-interfaced robotic toys to foster children's inquiry literacy development process.

This study draws upon Vygotskian mediation and internalisation constructs to investigate how parental beliefs, values, expectations and familial acculturation processes can shape immigrant children's secondary schooling subject choices within an Australian context. Using a case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 parents and their 12 children from three Australian secondary schools. Findings revealed that parents' beliefs, values for education, their own past educational and career aspirations inclusive of perceived acculturation barriers guided children's career pathway decisions. The paper discusses the significance of optimising immigrant parents' role within the platform of home-school partnership.

This paper presents findings from an on-going international study of early childhood educators' and children's use of new digital technologies, such as the Internet of Toys (IoToys) and the pedagogic interactions which occur when these artefacts are integrated into classrooms. Based on qualitative methodology, data have been collected in four countries: Australia, Norway, Scotland and England. Data collection includes observations of interactions with IoToys (written and video), multimedia messages (digital images, videos), short written reflections and consultations with the children. Findings across all countries show that IoToys offers a platform for interactions to become multidirectional, multidimensional and multimodal. Examining the interactions in the ecology of the playroom, this study calls for pedagogy involving IoToys to provide a platform for children's rich symbiotic explorations, creativity, collaboration and problem solving.

Research-informed immersive professional learning in schools is another avenue for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to develop their understanding and reflection about theories, methods, and practices of teaching and learning. From a collaborative research project that aimed at developing the intercultural capabilities of Prep level students in a primary school, in this paper, as teacher educators, we examine the views of four PSTs involved in this project. The findings draw upon the opportunities and affordances PSTs identified from this in-school "immersive" and situated teaching experience in; bridging the incongruences of the theory/practice divide; reflecting on their teaching practices; and in improving their teacher efficacy, agency, and relational agency. From a reflexive stance, as teacher educators, we further discuss the implications of this collaborative research with PSTs in closing the gap of the theory/practice divide between university-based learning and teaching practices in schools. We also discuss the mentioned affordances as emphasised by the PSTs towards the improvement of their teacher efficacy, agency, and relational agency. The paper concludes on further strengthening of university-school collaborative research partnerships. It highlights research-informed projects to offer PSTs opportunities for situated teaching experiences from guided mentorship as another avenue for "immersive" professional learning in schools.

This article explored the variability of parental educational mind-sets among Australian parents toward the accessible educational and learning capitals that may affect their children's educational achievement. The participants (N = 1,917) responded to the Family Educational and Learning Capitals Questionnaire as well as their ethnic identity. Parents also reported their children's numeracy scores in a standardized test of achievement. Six major groups were adequate for statistical analysis, including Australians, British, Chinese, Indian, Other Asian, and Other European. A multiple comparison analysis was performed on the responses by parents from the six ethnic groups to examine the differences in parent responses to access to capitals. Controlled for ethnic groups, stepwise regression analysis showed which capitals predicted numeracy achievement of their children. The results indicated that within this sample of Australian parents, there is variability across different ethnic groups in what is considered important in their children's educational achievement and this variability is associated with differences in numeracy outcomes.