Date of Award
2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Sara Sweetman
Abstract
The National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media in the Early Childhood Programs (2012) calls for early childhood educators to intentionally and appropriately integrate technology into their teaching practice. Intentional and appropriate integration not only requires educators to find reputable resources but also necessitates new pedagogical approaches to teaching media literacy. Digital tools have the potential to enhance the educational experiences for students and provide opportunities for our youngest learners to feel empowered and develop agency in their communities. Early childhood educators lack professional learning opportunities that support the intentional and appropriate integration of technology into their daily teaching practices. In an ever-changing technological landscape, teacher preparatory programs, professional development providers and curriculum developers must rethink the supports early childhood educators require to meet the expectations placed upon them. Chapter 2: Intentional integration of technology in early childhood; Improving professional learning opportunities for early childhood educators, presents a qualitative study which analyzed early childhood educators’ beliefs about integration of information and communication technology; their reported teaching practices; and perceived barriers to intentional integration of technology using reflexive thematic analysis. Results show that teachers' beliefs correlate to the level at which they integrate technology and the perceived barriers to using technology in the early childhood classroom. Few teachers use technology to its full potential in ways that give children voice and agency. Little to no professional development has been provided for early childhood educators to improve their practice.
The reported benefits of outdoor teaching and learning are overwhelmingly positive, however, the practice of using the outdoors as a space for learning about STEM disciplines in early childhood is uncommon. STEM education allows our young children to wonder and learn about their world, work as scientists and engineers, and develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Children need the opportunity to develop relationships with nature to become change agents that care for and protect the environment and learn to advocate for the communities in which they live. Systemic changes are necessary to scale and sustain quality STEM outdoor teaching and learning. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) guided the design and analysis of the mixed-methods study presented in Chapter 3: Taking STEM outdoors; Equitable access to outdoor teaching and learning in early childhood education. The paper discusses the history of outdoor education, the current landscape of teacher beliefs, reported behaviors and perceived barriers to outdoor teaching and learning using data from the mixed-methods study, and recommendations for future action and research.
The integration of information and communication technologies and outdoor teaching and learning is not only plausible but can transform early childhood science, technology, engineering, math (EC-STEM) education with positive outcomes for young children and the communities in which they live. Information and communication technology and outdoor teaching and learning are often viewed as conflicting with one another, although both are seen as vital in STEM. Early childhood educators are responsible for teaching STEM although they lack the support and time necessary to build their practice. The aim of Chapter 4: A conceptual framework for integrating technology and outdoor STEM education; A systemic approach to equitable early childhood education, is to introduce a conceptual EC-STEM framework that takes a systemic approach to equitable, transformative education and provides accessible and pragmatic solutions that engage more young children in everyday, high-quality STEM experiences. Recommendations that leverage early childhood educators’ belief systems to transform instruction using integrated information and communication technology and outdoor teaching and learning along with essential systemic considerations are discussed.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Houle, Kelly, "EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS’ VALUES, BEHAVIORS, AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS OF STEM EDUCATION" (2024). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1689.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1689