Article
Version 2
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
STEM in English for Early Childhood Ecological Awareness in China
Version 1
: Received: 18 January 2019 / Approved: 22 January 2019 / Online: 22 January 2019 (11:43:34 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 26 February 2019 / Approved: 27 February 2019 / Online: 27 February 2019 (08:42:09 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 26 February 2019 / Approved: 27 February 2019 / Online: 27 February 2019 (08:42:09 CET)
How to cite: Zhao, W. STEM in English for Early Childhood Ecological Awareness in China. Preprints 2019, 2019010219. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201901.0219.v2 Zhao, W. STEM in English for Early Childhood Ecological Awareness in China. Preprints 2019, 2019010219. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints201901.0219.v2
Abstract
Changes in curricula, publication policy and information technology, notably in China have led to concentrations in the role of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in early childhood and applauded to proliferations of imported up-to-date reading materials and mobile apps in English. This paper proposes a longitude study of a Chinese toddler learning STEM by reading picture books and playing with tablet and suggests new horizons in parenting and in STEM education during children's early years. The present study carried out from 2016, when the participant reached one year old, eligible to learn to speak and to concentrate on the picture books read by parents who had filled a language background questionnaire with information on themselves and the participant. Tablet playing brought about for the two-year-old toddler and collections of STEM books in English was added for the second year. Data collection lasted for two years with an iLab video camera, capturing utterances and motions for five minutes per week transcribed by VoiceScript software. Tests were given quarterly at private home by tapping in mobile app "Bilingual Child Learning" which consists of 20 basic STEM themes before scores were collected. Findings indicate that (1) it is accessible for children of very early years to be engaged in English STEM resources, (2) kids' limited English dominance does not impede learning STEM, (3) and to think in English in early STEM contributes to children's English.
Keywords
STEM for sustainability; early childhood education; English picture books, Chinese toddlers
Subject
Social Sciences, Education
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comments (0)
We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.
Leave a public commentSend a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
