Preschool children’s conception of water, molecule and chemistry before and after participating in a playfully dramatized early childhood education activity

The study investigates how 6-year-old children understand the concept of water, molecules and chemistry. The study focuses on conceptual understanding before and after children have participated in a playful, dramatised training activity in kindergarten. The research question is: How do children understand the concepts of water, molecules and chemistry before and after participation in a playful dramatisation of chemical concepts and processes?

The results show that some children understood the abstract and scientific concepts of water and molecules. Other children understood and talked about the phenomena in a concrete and experience-based manner, where, for example, they did not understand the metaphorical meaning of the concept of molecules (among other things, they could describe the water molecule as being soft and blue). The researchers believe that a play-based and dramatising way of teaching chemistry can reinforce children’s positive attitudes towards the subject, but such didactics can also lead to misunderstandings. They believe that a tension exists between explaining chemistry in a way that is consistent with scientific truths and making the subject understandable to the children.

The empirical data material consists of interviews with 22 children, all of whom attended pre-school classes. 22 children were interviewed individually about their conceptual understanding of water before the chemistry activity, and 11 children were interviewed again after the activity.

Åkerblom, A., Součková, D. & Pramling, N. (2019). «Preschool children’s conception of water, molecule and chemistry before and after participating in a playfully dramatized early childhood education activity”. Cultural Studies of Science Education, (14):879-895.