In 2015 and 2017, we observed four pre-school centres, researching science, maths and technology pedagogy and how opportunities presented themselves for learning in outdoor settings. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate STEM practises in the early years, practices that are informed by play-based education pedagogies, to understand approaches to STEM education. The research adopted a mixed methods approach which, in addition to our observations, included a pilot survey and educator interviews. These data are brought together to examine practices of STEM education in pre-schools. We were able to view pre-school centres as places that provide varied, rich experiences for children to develop understandings of STEM. Importantly, we observed that children's STEM experiences enhance their self-belief in their ability to learn STEM, and these early years' opportunities trigger STEM appreciation and its value to everyday life. We were able to conclude from the research results that integrated STEM, particularly science and mathematics, arise through children's play and themes arising from their interests. The findings importantly highlight how different practices and pedagogies are used to support STEM learning.

For over 50 years, the forest school approach to nature learning has gathered momentum in the UK and across parts of Europe including Scandinavia (Knight, 2016). In other contexts such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia, nature-based early childhood education and care settings, influenced by European forest school approaches, have begun to gain popularity. Opportunities for STEM education occur in nature-based settings, such as forest schools and nature kindergartens, yet this area has only garnered limited research attention to date. One such example of a nature kindergarten which emerged in the 2010s is Australian ‘bush kinder’ where 4- to 5-year-old preschool children experience and learn from nature. This paper arrives at an innovative conceptualisation of STEM teaching and learning in bush kinders. Through analysing research in early years STEM education, teacher pedagogy and early childhood learning, I propose a teaching and learning process that is replicable for similar nature-based early childhood education and care settings. Drawing on vignettes from ethnographic fieldwork data, the conceptualisation of an integrated approach to STEM teaching in bush kinders is illustrated. To frame the approach to STEM teaching, this analysis builds on the notions that STEM teaching and learning can take the form of a five-phased cyclical process. It is this process that contributes to the conceptualisation of STEM teaching and learning in early childhood education.

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Bush kindergartens are a new practice in the Australian early childhood learning context and one that is rapidly becoming part of the kindergarten experience. Children leaving the confines of the bounded space of a kindergarten has been practised through excursions to outdoor places like zoos but the notion of conducting regular, ongoing kindergarten sessions away from the traditional kindergarten setting is one which is gaining momentum in Australian early childhood education, with possible impacts on future policy. In late 2014, a pilot programme titled ‘Sandy Shores Kids Go Bush’ was established across bush kindergartens in a region on the coastal fringe of south-eastern Australia using five existing sites. Each of these sites has differing characteristics impacting upon the experience of children attending the bush kinder programme. This paper reviews the settings of three different interpretations of ‘bush kinder’ and considers how the learning experience associated with bush kinder varies according to ‘place’ and how bush kinder has impact on both local and broader education policy.

Early childhood education is crucial for the development of young children’s understanding of the natural world. Children have a role in sustaining a viable environmental and social future. This research interrogated key ideas concerning STEM education for sustainable development, drawing on seminal research and a range of government policy documents to formulate a futures-oriented approach to supporting children to build understandings in early childhood sustainability. Through the use of ethnography, a research methodology that uses both participation and observation of research participants, it became apparent that young children’s play-based learning enabled agentic responses in aligning with early understanding of STEM and sustainability. Using accepted descriptors of international Sustainable Development Goals within an early childhood research study, the research highlights how the development of interactive, learner-centred STEM teaching not only enables investigative, action-adapted learning, but also fosters independent learners who are responsive to their natural environment. The implication of this research is that further development of children’s environmental agency is suggested by the authors. The introduction of a whole-of-kindergarten approach that focuses on the systemic development of quality STEM education is posited as an avenue for educators to build young children’s understandings of sustainable development.

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