The need for a scientifically-literate American population has gained great prominence on the educational landscape of priorities over the past decade; young children will be increasingly exposed to the STEM fields and encouraged to excel in these areas. Professional development is key to assuring that early childhood teachers provide children…

Young children are able to benefit from early science teaching but many preschool teachers have not had opportunities to deepen their own understanding of science or to develop their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in relation to specific science topics and concepts. This study presents the results of efficacy research on Foundations of…

The authors are responding to the critical need for empirical evidence on effective strategies to improve preschool science instruction in preschool. By focusing on the Head Start community, "Foundations of Science Literacy (FSL)" is a credit-bearing professional development course that directly addresses the achievement gap in early…