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Role of Parents and Caregivers in Supporting Science Learning for Young Children

This Knowledge Base article was written collaboratively with contributions from Scott Pattison and Elsa Bailey. This article was migrated from an older version of InformalScience.org. The datestamp does not reflect the actual publication date.

Overview 

Parents and other primary caregivers are among the most influential factors in young children’s learning and development (Institute of Medicine & National Research Council, 2012; National Research Council, 2000; Weiss, H., Little, P., Bouffard, S., Deschenes, S., & Malone, H., 2009). According to the National Research Council (National Research Council, 2000):“Decades of research confirm that parents and families account for the majority of variation in child development outcomes, even for families in which children spend the bulk of the day in preschool or daycare.”

Through conversations and interactions in everyday settings and designed environments such as children’s museums and science centers, young children regularly learn about and engage with science with their parents and other family members during conversations and interactions in everyday settings and designed informal learning environments, such as children’s museums and science centers (Callanan & Jipson, 2001; Callanan & Oakes, 1992; Callanan, Siegel, & Luce, 2007; Crowley, Callanan, Jipson, et al., 2001; Duschl, Schweingruber, Shouse, & National Research Council, 2007; Fender & Crowley, 2007; National Research Council, 2009; Rigney & Callanan, 2011; Valle & Callanan, 2006).

Findings from Research and Evaluation 

Understanding the role that parents play in supporting science learning for young children is an active and ongoing area of research. Broadly, parents are believed to support science learning both directly, by scaffolding learning and modeling, and by supporting interest during science-related interactions (Alexander, Johnson, & Leibham, 2013; Barron, Martin, Takeuchi, & Fithian, 2009; Crowley, Callanan, Jipson, et al., 2001; Fender & Crowley, 2007; Frenzel, Pekrun, Dicke, & Goetz, 2012; Leibham, Alexander, Johnson, Neitzel, & Reis-Henrie, 2005; Tenenbaum & Leaper, 2003; Valle & Callanan, 2006), and indirectly, by providing science learning experiences and resources (Alexander, Johnson, & Kelley, 2012; National Research Council, 2009). Several important areas of study include:

  • Children’s questions (e.g., Callanan & Oakes, 1992; Chouinard, Harris, & Maratsos, 2007; DeLoache, Simcock, & Macari, 2007; Kelemen, Callanan, Casler, & Pérez-Granados, 2005)
  • Parent explanations (e.g., Callanan & Braswell, 2006; Crowley, Callanan, Jipson, et al., 2001; Crowley & Jacobs, 2002; Fender & Crowley, 2007)
  • Linguistic cues (e.g., Callanan et al., 2007; Rigney & Callanan, 2011)
  • Interest support (e.g., Alexander et al., 2012; Pattison, 2014; Renninger, 2007)
  • Gender (e.g., Alexander et al., 2012; Crowley, Callanan, Tenenbaum, & Allen, 2001)

Informal science education programs and exhibits designed to support science learning for young children must carefully consider and support the role of parents and primary caregivers in this learning process. Educators should also be aware that cultural assumptions and expectations related to parenting can shape how informal science education institutions and professionals perceive the role of parents and how parents and caregivers from different communities behave in different settings (Ceballo, Huerta, & Epstein-Ngo, 2010; Garibay, 2009; National Research Council, 2000, 2009; Tenenbaum & Callanan, 2008).

References 

Alexander, J. M., Johnson, K. E., & Kelley, K. (2012). Longitudinal analysis of the relations between opportunities to learn about science and the development of interests related to science. Science Education, 96(5), 763–786. http://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21018

Alexander, J. M., Johnson, K. E., & Leibham, M. E. (2013). Emerging individual interest related to science in young children.

Barron, B., Martin, C. K., Takeuchi, L., & Fithian, R. (2009). Parents as learning partners in the development of technological fluency. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(2), 55–77. http://doi.org/10.1162/ijlm.2009.0021

Callanan, M. A., & Braswell, G. (2006). Parent-child conversations about science and literacy: Links between formal and informal learning. In Z. Bekerman, N. C. Burbules, & D. Silberman-Keller (Eds.), Learning in places: The informal education reader (pp. 123–137). New York: Peter Lang.

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Crowley, K. D., Callanan, M. A., Jipson, J. L., Galco, J., Topping, K., & Shrager, J. (2001). Shared scientific thinking in everyday parent-child activity. Science Education, 85(6), 712–732. http://doi.org/10.1002/sce.1035

Crowley, K. D., Callanan, M. A., Tenenbaum, H. R., & Allen, E. (2001). Parents explain more often to boys than to girls during shared scientific thinking. Psychological Science, 12(3), 258–261. http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00347

Crowley, K. D., & Jacobs, M. (2002). Building islands of expertise in everyday family activity. In G. Leinhardt, K. Crowley, & K. Knutson (Eds.), Learning conversations in museums (pp. 333–356). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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