Developing Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate Early STEM Learning Experiences

This book informs best practice for enhancing young children's STEM learning experiences in formal settings such as preschool environments and less formal settings such as home environments. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Early Education and Development.

Dr Philip Hui Li is the Chair Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Education University of Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD from the University of Hong Kong in 2000. He is the associate editor of Early Education and Development, Early Child Development and Care, and Frontiers in Psychology. Dr Anne Forbes is Senior Lecturer in STEM Education in the Macquarie School of Education, Australia, where she teaches in a range of units in pre-service teacher education and conducts accredited in-service teacher professional learning to enthuse, inform and inspire learning and teaching through science education. Anne has been involved in writing textbooks including the award-winning text STEM Education in the primary School: A teacher's toolkit (2021) and Primary Science Education: A teacher's toolkit (2023). Dr Weipeng Yang is Assistant Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. He specializes in early childhood curriculum, STEAM education and computational thinking. He is an Editor of the Journal of Research in Childhood Education and a Steering Group Member and SIG Convenor at BERA, UK.

1. Introduction: Developing Culturally and Developmentally Appropriate Early STEM Learning Experiences 2. "Once Upon A Star": A Science Education Program Based on Personification Storytelling in Promoting Preschool Children's Understanding of Astronomy Concepts 3. Teacher's Role in Fostering Preschoolers' Computational Thinking: An Exploratory Case Study 4.Engineering Play, Mathematics, and Spatial Skills in Children with and without Disabilities 5.Mathematics Learning Opportunities in Preschool: Where Does the Classroom Library Fit In? 6. Exploring the Relationships between Scientific Epistemic Beliefs, Science Teaching Beliefs and Science-Specific PCK among Pre-Service Kindergarten Teachers in China 7. Evaluation of an Online Early Mathematics Professional Development Program for Early Childhood Teachers 8. The Influence of Parental Educational Involvement in Early Childhood on 4th Grade Students' Mathematics Achievement 9. Family Cohesion Facilitates Learning-Related Behaviors and Math Competency at the Transition to Elementary School 10. STEM for Inclusive Excellence and Equity 11. An Analysis of the Nature of Young Students' STEM Learning in 3D Technology-Enhanced Makerspaces