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Play and STEM Education in the Early Years pp 439–457Cite as

Diverse STEM Interest Development Pathways in Early Childhood

Abstract

As educators and researchers focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, we often adopt a relatively narrow view of the STEM domains, based primarily on how these topics are defined and taught in school. The concept of play, however, invites us to broaden this perspective and explore the diverse and interdisciplinary ways that children and their families engage with STEM in their everyday lives. Over the last several years, the Head Start on Engineering (HSE) initiative, based in Portland, Oregon, USA, has been developing a family-based program to engage preschool-age children (3–5 years old) and their families from low-income communities in the engineering design process and simultaneously study how these experiences support long-term family interests related to engineering. In this chapter, we describe findings from a retrospective interview study with parents one to two years after they participated in HSE. Through qualitative analysis of the interviews, three distinct interest pathways emerged: (a) engineering focused, (b) prior interest focused, and (c) family values focused. The findings problematize traditional approaches to studying STEM-related interests and highlight the importance of understanding the complex ways families make sense of and engage with STEM through play and other informal learning experiences.

Keywords

  • Engineering
  • STEM
  • Interest development
  • Early childhood
  • Family learning

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Fig. 21.1
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Fig. 21.3

Notes

  1. 1.

    All names used in this chapter are pseudonyms.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Head Start families and staff members who participated in and supported this work. Special thanks to Cynthia Smith and Melissa Hendricks from Mt. Hood Community College Head Start for collaborating on family recruitment and providing thoughtful guidance and critique throughout the research process. This project was supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation (SRG #201900059) and builds on work funded by the National Science Foundation (DRL-1906409, DRL-1515628).

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  1. TERC, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Scott Pattison & Smirla Ramos Montañez

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  1. Scott Pattison
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Correspondence to Scott Pattison .

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  1. UCL Institute of Education, London, UK

    Dr. Sue Dale Tunnicliffe

  2. University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA

    Prof. Dr. Teresa J. Kennedy

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Pattison, S., Ramos Montañez, S. (2022). Diverse STEM Interest Development Pathways in Early Childhood. In: Tunnicliffe, S.D., Kennedy, T.J. (eds) Play and STEM Education in the Early Years. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99830-1_21

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