유아 과학교육 목표로서의 과학적 사고에 대한 재조명 = Reflecting on Scientific Thinking as the Goal of Early Science Education

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This article provides an introduction to the body of research on the development of scientific thinking and clarifies the meaning of scientific thinking as the goal of early childhood science education. Science curricular in early childhood education frequently emphasize the inquiry-oriented method with its focus on the processes of observation, classification, comparison. This article identifies the problematic aspects of this approach to early childhood science education. Research in cognitive and developmental psychology was reviewed to identify the developmental origins of scientific thinking. This review of the literature supports the notion that the rudiments of scientific thinking skills have been observed in young children. Furthermore, it suggests that a constructivist approach to a science curricular which focuses on scientific thinking should provide young children with a variety of opportunities to coordinate theory and evidence.