Abstract
STEM literacy is a desired principal outcome of STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. With the increasing popularity of Early STEM learning, it is believed that STEM literacy could be developed in the early years. However, relatively few studies have examined STEM literacy in young children. This study utilized the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to elicit the opinions of a panel of experts with diverse backgrounds and to construct a framework of STEM literacy for kindergarten children. The findings of the study illustrate what young children could achieve from high-quality early STEM experiences. This would help to promote curriculum development, performance assessment, and best practices in early STEM education.
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge the generous help of all the participants in the Delphi survey, whose expertise and perspectives were instrumental in the success of this work.
Funding
This research was supported by a grant from the Sunglory Educational Institute awarded to the first author (Grant number: SEI-QXZ-2022-20).
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Conceptualization: [Feng-Kuang Chiang]; Methodology: [Feng-Kuang Chiang], [Zhenhua Wu]; Formal analysis and investigation: [Zhenhua Wu]; Writing - original draft preparation: [Zhenhua Wu]; Writing - review and editing: [Zhenhua Wu], [Feng-Kuang Chiang], [Yu- Kuang Liu], [Li’an Huang]; Funding acquisition: [Zhenhua Wu]; Resources: [Li’an Huang], [Feng-Kuang Chiang]; Supervision: [Feng-Kuang Chiang],
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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approval was granted from the department of social science management of Shanghai Normal University as part of the “intelligent education” innovative team research projects.
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Wu, Z., Huang, L., Liu, Y.K. et al. Developing a Framework of STEM Literacy for Kindergarten Children. Res Sci Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-024-10157-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-024-10157-6