PRACTICING SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND STEAM ACTIVITIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Abstract

STEAM education is recognized as an efficient practice of holistic education, which is already relevant at the stage of early childhood education. STEAM research focuses on the search for models of interdisciplinary integration and the justification of innovative educational approaches. The aim of this paper is to reveal the relationship between practicing social-emotional and cognitive teaching strategies and STEAM activities in early childhood education. The conducted quantitative study reveals that the population of early childhood teachers is heterogeneous in terms of practicing teaching strategies and STEAM activities. Early childhood teachers, who use social-emotional and cognitive teaching strategies with equal frequency, also often use integrated STEAM activities in young children education. Other teachers prioritise social-emotional teaching strategies and pay less attention to cognitive teaching strategies, although the latter have a slightly stronger link to the development of STEAM practices. Teachers who are less likely to use cognitive strategies to teach young children tend to use STEAM activities less frequently.