Thermal Concepts and Phenomena in Early Chidhood Science Education: A Literature Review

Abstract

In the current study, an attempt is made to bring together and synthesize research data on the way early childhood children approach thermal phenomena and concepts. In this pool of data, the mental representations of young children, the barriers to the conceptualization of these phenomena and the effectiveness of specialized teaching interventions are highlighted and discussed. Going through a series of empirical studies the paper focuses on critical aspects of thermal phenomena and concepts such as thermal conductivity in solid and liquid materials, expansion and contraction of metals, thermal insulation, use of a thermometer etc. A considerable part of these studies prominently deals with the changes in the state of materials and in particular water and the water cycle in the natural environment. The literature review presented here provides a detailed overview and a classification of these studies as well as highlights the need to foreground the systemic character of phenomena and the unifying character of the concepts when approaching or researching about thermal phenomena in early childhood educational settings.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0028/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The connections children develop between science and mathematics: An example of temperature measurement in the kindergarten

“…This small-scale research study shows that children have developed representations that are compatible with scientifically accepted knowledge, but it is left open that a systematic didactic exploratory approach over time can help children co-construct concepts related to temperature (Ioannou et al, 2023;Kampeza et al, 2016). In the present study, it was observed that children, through free exploration, developed reasoning in their attempt to approach the concept of temperature.…”

Does Air Exist in Vases? Mental Representations of Children 4-6 Years Old

“…Among these, the issue of early approach to the natural world and the initiation of children aged 3-8 years into the phenomena and concepts that are thoroughly examined in science at higher education grades emerged as an important field of research. Along this framework, research with multiple orientations and dimensions is carried out with an aim to cover diverse thematic areas such as the difficulties of young children's thinking (Christidou & Hatzinikita, 2006;Convertini, 2021;Ioannou et al, 2023;López-Banet et al, 2022;Vidal Carulla & Adbo, 2020), the basic studies and continuing education of teachers (Corni et al, 2019;Draganoudi et al, 2023) the curricula and appropriate educational materials as well as the use of digital technologies (Kalogiannakis & Papadakis, 2019;Kalogiannakis et al, 2018), the non-formal education institutions (Kornelaki & Plakitsi, 2018;Parissi et al, 2019;Salvatierra & Cabello, 2022), the exploration of science education in the wilderness of special education spectrum (Kaliampos, 2021;Katsidima et al, 2023), etc. The set of these dimensions has gradually synthesized a particular scientific field that is internationally recognized as Early Childhood Science Education (Akerson, 2019;Flores-Camacho et al, 2023;Ravanis, 2022;Siry et al, 2023).…”