Scientific literacy series - Chapter 3: Theory and concepts to understand the development of scientific literacy
I understand that many people might not be interested in reading about the theoretical aspects of children’s development, because theory is not something that can provide an instant idea or solution; it focuses on children’s holistic development.
I am also aware that many people might want to avoid technical jargon and terms to explore something. This perception of theoretical understanding is entirely normal, as many people prefer to focus on strategies or examples to easily understand the main topic and apply it in everyday scenarios.
Why is theoretical understanding, in a simple way, important?
However, having some ideas about theoretical orientation might be important because theory provides a framework for interpreting children’s behaviours, predicting future development, and guiding interventions. Besides, a theoretical understanding could help explain children’s holistic cognitive, social, and emotional development.
I am writing this children’s scientific literacy development series to provide a comprehensive understanding for parents, educators, and others interested. I already discussed the concept and importance of scientific literacy development in the early years, as well as the existing knowledge gaps.
In this chapter, I want to discuss what theory we can use to explore this development for children. There are several theories, such as the behavioural theory by Watson and Skinner, the cognitive theory by Piaget, the social learning theory by Bandura and the cultural-historical theory by Vygotsky, which particularly emphasise children’s development, but I want to focus on the cultural-historical theory by Vygotsky in exploring children’s scientific literacy development in the early years.
The question is: why should I focus on cultural-historical theory? The main reason is that, during my PhD, I used this theory because several of its concepts align well with the exploration of children’s scientific literacy. Not only that, these concepts are interrelated, which could provide a holistic understanding of children’s scientific literacy by leveraging their interconnections.
In this chapter, I will discuss three concepts: Zone of Proximal Development, Mediation, and Everyday Concept and Scientific Concept. Finally, I will connect these to children’s scientific literacy development through play.
Zone of Proximal Development
Children develop their understanding through play and the support of adults; however, they develop some initial understanding that they can extend with the support of an adult, such as a parent or educator. With adults’ support, children can develop several higher mental functions, such as problem-solving, reasoning, and language skills, and, over time, become independent learners. So, adults’ support helps children become competent to move to the next stage. Initially, children can do many things for which they are cognitively prepared, but through interaction with adults, they develop a complex understanding. Educators or parents can create an environment where children can learn through collaborative work, discussion, modelling, and the use of tools. This process is called the Zone of Proximal Development.
For instance, children initially understand how their shadows are created by the sun. However, they may not fully understand how day and night come one after another. Based on children’s initial understanding, parents or educators can show some examples using a globe and a candle in a dark room. Children may not understand everything initially; however, this process may help them to extend their thinking. In this way, adults can foster and enhance children’s conceptual understanding.
Mediation
Children’s development is associated with their social interaction with parents, educators and other adults. Adults help children in extending their learning through scaffolding. In this process, parents, educators or adults act as human mediators. Adults mediate children’s learning activities by providing several supports, such as organising materials, explaining phenomena, or introducing new concepts. In that way, they support children in gaining knowledge and deepening their understanding of how they can relate several activities. For instance, when educators guide children in colour play, it is not just colour play, because through this activity, educators convey the idea that combining two colours results in a different colour. In this way, children can understand the cause-and-effect relationship and develop their complex higher-order thinking skills.
This mediation is important because, through this process, children can connect several concepts. This is also important because children can easily and quickly understand scientific phenomena, which, in turn, sustains their learning. However, it is also important that educators or parents be intentional about what they are providing and what they plan for concept development.
Everyday Concept and Scientific Concept
Children can learn easily and quickly when learning is linked to their daily experiences. This is called the development of everyday concepts. Children gain everyday concepts through play by interacting with others and understanding their surroundings. On the other hand, children develop scientific concepts through play, learning from adults, and hands-on exploration. Through play, children create new meanings of the play activities. For instance, if children play with shadows, it eventually develops their understanding of light and darkness.
Therefore, the development of everyday concepts supports children in developing their scientific concepts from everyday activities, allows them to create their own reflections, and helps them move their understanding from concrete to abstract. On the other hand, the development of scientific concepts fosters structured activities in children, helps them increase their generalisation capabilities, and supports moving from abstract to concrete forms. In this way, both everyday and scientific concepts support children’s holistic development.
Interconnection
Not only these three, Vygotsky discussed a number of concepts in his writing; however, to explore the process of children’s scientific literacy, these concepts can help a person understand how children eventually develop their complex ideas and understanding. On the one hand, adults can support them through scaffolding to extend children’s initial concept; on the other hand, adults can create a supportive environment for children so that they can make an association between their learning and real application. In the whole process, adults act as social mediators.
As part of children’s development, scientific literacy can help them move beyond initial exploration, as this process can foster several complex and higher-level learning skills. It might be possible to use other theoretical orientations; however, using the cultural-historical lens could provide a comprehensive understanding of this development.