Head Start on Engineering: Supporting Engineering Interest Development in Early Childhood

女性和来自传统上得不到充分服务的种族和族裔群体的个人在工程参与和成就方面的差距一直存在。教育工作者和政策制定者还没有充分考虑到大学和学校改革背景之外的方法，包括支持幼儿兴趣发展的方法。这个AISL路径项目将重点关注工程，这已经成为STEM教育领域的一个关键话题，也是教育标准和政策的一个突出方面。建立在强大的实证和理论基础上，它将为未来的研究工作奠定基础，以推进该领域对早期儿童工程相关兴趣发展的有限理解，特别是通过亲子互动；创造研究工具，以研究幼儿对工程相关的兴趣；并确定支持长期工程兴趣路径的有效策略。“工程领先”由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）计划资助，该计划旨在推进非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括提供多种途径，扩大STEM学习经验的获取和参与，推进非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及发展参与者对深度学习的理解。通过以资产为基础的方法，以及与家庭和社区组织的真正接触，“工程先行”项目将试点研究和项目活动，这些活动对低收入家庭的限制很敏感，并以这些社区的知识资源和资金为基础。它将测试和完善儿童早期兴趣发展的创新理论模型。试点研究的总体设计将采用混合方法和短期纵向，在项目实施之前、期间和之后从参与家庭中收集数据。定量测量将允许在群体和家庭内部进行一致的比较，而定性数据将有助于探索理论框架中假设的复杂因素和过程，并与计划实施相关。这项工作将使团队有时间解决悬而未决的问题，以及如何将修订后的理论模型的关键方面可行地操作，为项目下一阶段更广泛的纵向和实验调查做准备。理解和尊重父母的信仰、知识和经历是这个项目的核心。在开发和实施项目和研究活动时，团队将采用文化响应和基于资产的观点。Pathways项目是学习创新研究所（Institute for Learning Innovation，简称ILI）的合作项目，ILI是一家致力于通过研究、实践和政策举措推动所有社区终身自由选择学习的非营利组织；胡德山社区学院先导计划；俄勒冈科学与工业博物馆（OMSI），一个全国知名的科学博物馆；以及圣母大学STEM教育中心。该项目涉及有四岁孩子的家庭，这些孩子参加了启智计划。教育者、社区组织和研究人员之间的合作，以及研究和项目开发的综合方法，将确保研究结果转化为实际有效的教育策略，并确保未来的研究工作充分立足于实践者和学习者的现实。

Disparities in engineering participation and achievement by women and individuals from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic groups have been persistent. Approaches outside the context of university and school reform, including approaches to supporting interest development in early childhood, have not been fully considered by educators and policymakers. This AISL Pathways project will focus on engineering, which has emerged as a critical topic in the STEM education field and a prominent aspect of educational standards and policies. Building on a strong empirical and theoretical base, it will lay the foundation for future research efforts to advance the field's limited understanding of early childhood engineering-related interest development, especially through parent-child interactions; create research tools for studying engineering-related interest in young children; and identify effective strategies for supporting long-term engineering interest pathways. "Head Start on Engineering" is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.Through an asset-based approach and authentic engagement with families and community organizations, Head Start on Engineering will pilot research and program activities that are sensitive to the constraints of low-income families and build on the resources and funds of knowledge within these communities. It will test and refine an innovative, theoretical model of early childhood interest development. The overall design of the pilot study will be mixed-method and short-term longitudinal, with data collected before, during, and after program implementation from participating families. Quantitative measures will allow for consistent comparisons across groups and within families, while qualitative data will help explore complex factors and processes hypothesized in the theoretical framework and related to program implementation. This work will allow the team time to address unanswered questions and issues around how to feasibly operationalize key aspects of the revised theoretical model in preparation for more extensive, longitudinal and experimental investigations as part of the next phase of the project. Understanding and honoring parents' beliefs, knowledge, and experiences is central to this project. In developing and implementing both the programs and research activities, the team will adopt culturally responsive and asset-based perspectives.The Pathways project is a collaboration between the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of lifelong, free-choice learning for all communities through research, practice, and policy initiatives; Mt. Hood Community College Head Start program; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), a nationally renowned science museum; and the Center for STEM Education at the University of Notre Dame. The project involves families with four-year-old children who attend the Head Start program. The collaboration between educators, community organizations, and researchers and the integrated approach to research and program development will ensure that study findings translate to practical and effective education strategies and that future research efforts are well-grounded in the realities of practitioners and learners.