Preschool Teachers' Attitudes Towards the Implementation of Science and Technology Studies in Preschool.

TEACHER attitudes; PRESCHOOL teachers; CAREER development; PRESCHOOLS; PRESCHOOL children; TEACHER development

This study examines the attitudes of Israeli preschool teachers towards the teaching of science and technology (S&T) in preschools in general, and towards the Israeli Ministry of Education's S&T program in particular. It assesses the connection between the teachers' attitudes and their implementation of the program and examines the difficulties they expressed and improvements they suggested regarding the implementation of the S&T program in their classes. Ninety preschool teachers responded to a questionnaire assessing their attitudes regarding teaching S&T to preschool children. Eight of these teachers were interviewed regarding the content, methods, and application of the S&T program in their preschools. The results show that most of the teachers are engaged in teaching scientific content in the preschool, despite time constraints. All the teachers expressed positive attitudes towards teaching S&T in preschool, attributed great importance to it, and said it is appropriate for children of that age. However, they admitted that they do not fully apply the official S&T teaching program in their classes. Further, they teach mainly according to their personal knowledge, rather than the professional program. Many said they lack sufficient knowledge and are not fully familiar with the S&T program. They stated that professional development could improve utilization of time and resources, increase cooperation with other educators, and promote positive attitudes towards teaching S&T in preschool. The main implication of this research is that a nationwide, professional training program for preschool teachers must be introduced along with the new S&T curriculum. Such training should provide teachers with in-depth knowledge of the program's content, and methods for implementing it, and provide them with personal guidance to enable them to teach S&T with minimal difficulties or concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)