“What parts of the plants do we eat, is this STEM?” – A study of Chinese kindergarten teachers' STEM professional development

Abstract

The emerging value of STEM in society puts demands on Chinese kindergarten teachers to involve STEM teaching in play-based settings. As reported in the literature, societal expectations regarding kindergarten STEM education pose challenges for teachers, who often do not feel adequately prepared in STEM knowledge. This lack of preparation may indicate a lack of confidence and competence in STEM teaching among teachers. To study Chinese kindergarten teachers' confidence and competence in STEM teaching, we conducted an educational experiment where researchers and teachers collaborated on this problem. Our study identified that teachers experienced two micro-crises in STEM teaching. The first was “what to teach” and the second was “how to teach”. The findings highlighted that the primary challenges faced by the focused teachers were because a lack of STEM teaching experience, rather than lack of STEM knowledge as argued in the literature. The educational experiment created a social situation that supports teachers' STEM teaching experience in play. Through the educational experiment, STEM teaching becomes personally meaningful for teachers, which contributes to promoting their confidence and competence in STEM education.