A Head Start in Science: Parent-child interactions and children’s science process skills

Authors

Ariel Kachuro, Binghamton University--SUNY
Dennis Cregin, Binghamton University--SUNY
Arlicia Gross, Binghamton University--SUNY
Samantha Herlands, Binghamton University--SUNY
Julia Kolodny, Binghamton University--SUNY
Briana Squires, Binghamton University--SUNY
Danielle Wolfe, Binghamton University--SUNY
Kayla Yim, Binghamton University--SUNY
Samantha Ziesel, Binghamton University--SUNY

Publication Date

2020

Document Type

Book

Description

Supporting early STEM learning in children is important in formal and informal settings, especially for underrepresented families. Head Start partnered with the Sciencenter to engage parents and children in STEM related activities once a month during free Family Engagement Night. It was hypothesized that children’s school readiness was related to the amount of science-process language used between parents and children. Children’s school readiness scores were evaluated throughout the academic year. Science process language was categorized into observations, predictions, categorization, math and measurements, and spatial. It was found that school readiness scores were correlated with math related conversation but not science and technology, rs> .53, ps< .05. Gender differences were also found in overall STEM related conversation, F(1,21)=13.27, p< .05, ��2=.43. Future studies will evaluate the significance between gender differences on STEM related assessments and parent-child interactions during Family Engagement Night.

Files

Recommended Citation

Kachuro, Ariel; Cregin, Dennis; Gross, Arlicia; Herlands, Samantha; Kolodny, Julia; Squires, Briana; Wolfe, Danielle; Yim, Kayla; and Ziesel, Samantha, "A Head Start in Science: Parent-child interactions and children’s science process skills" (2020). Research Days Posters 2020. 38.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_spring2020/38