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Date Published:
15/04/2025
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Views PDF: 86
Section
Social Sciences and Humanities Issue (Vietnamese)
How to Cite
Tran, V. N. (2025). Developing creativity in preschool children through science education: A systematic review. Dong Thap University Journal of Science, 14(6), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.52714/dthu.14.6.2025.1517
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Developing creativity in preschool children through science education: A systematic review
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article reviews developing creativity in preschool children through science education. Fifteen relevant studies published between 2009 and 2024 were selected and analyzed to identify methods for developing children's creativity in science education, their effectiveness, influencing factors, and challenges. The review results show diversity in approaches, including inquiry-based learning, STEAM activities, play-based learning, and nature-based science activities. All methods demonstrated positive outcomes, although assessment techniques varied. Factors influencing effectiveness include teacher training, learning environment, parental involvement, and technology access. Challenges include time constraints, language barriers, and difficulties in assessing creativity. Based on these findings, we propose the NECiSE conceptual framework to provide a comprehensive tool for researchers, educators, and policymakers in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs that nurture creativity in preschool children through science education.
Keywords
Early childhood education, review, creativity, STEAM, science education.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
References
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Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2004). Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology, 42(1), 7-97.
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Yalçın, V., & Erden, Ş. (2021). The Effect of STEM Activities Prepared According to the Design Thinking Model on Preschool Children's Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41, 100864. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TSC.2021.100864.
Zhou, W., & Yang, W. (2024). Story-Based STEM Design Challenges in Early Childhood Education: Child Engagement and Pedagogical Strategies. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-16.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Chen, C. H., & Wang, K. C. (2019). Enhancing preschoolers' creative thinking through STEAM activities. In Proceedings of the 2019 7th International Conference on Information and Education Technology (pp. 251-255).
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Craft, A. (2015). Possibility Thinking: From What Is to What Might Be. In R. Wegerif, L. Li, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking (pp. 169-183). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315797021-17
Cremin, T., Glauert, E., Craft, A., Compton, A., & Stylianidou, F. (2015). Creative little scientists: Exploring pedagogical synergies between inquiry-based and creative approaches in early years science. Education 3-13, 43(4), 404-419.
Erol, A., Erol, M., & Başaran, M. (2022). The effect of STEAM education with tales on problem solving and creativity skills. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 31, 243 - 258. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2022.2081347.
Fleer, M. (2013). Affective imagination in science education: Determining the emotional nature of scientific and technological learning of young children. Research in Science Education, 43(5), 2085-2106.
Fleer, M. (2015). Science for children. Cambridge University Press.
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. McGraw-Hill.
Hoffmann, J., Ivcevic, Z., & Brackett, M. (2019). Creativity in the age of technology: Measuring the digital creativity of millennials. Creativity Research Journal, 31(2), 149-158.
Hong, Q. N., Fàbregues, S., Bartlett, G., Boardman, F., Cargo, M., Dagenais, P., Gagnon, M. P., Griffiths, F., Nicolau, B., O'Cathain, A., Rousseau, M. C., Vedel, I., & Pluye, P. (2018). The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 for information professionals and researchers. Education for Information, 34(4), 285-291.
Huang, P. S., Peng, S. L., Chen, H. C., Tseng, L. C., & Hsu, L. C. (2020). The relative influences of domain knowledge and domain-general divergent thinking on scientific creativity and mathematical creativity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 35, 100631.
Kay, L., & Buxton, A. (2023). Makerspaces and the Characteristics of Effective Learning in the early years. Journal of Early Childhood Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718x231210633.
Kewalramani, S., & Veresov, N. (2022). Multimodal creative inquiry: Theorising a new approach for children’s Science meaning-making in Early Childhood Education. Research in Science Education, 1-21.
Kiewra, C., & Veselack, E. (2016). Playing with Nature: Supporting Preschoolers' Creativity in Natural Outdoor Classrooms. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 4(1), 70-95.
Kim, H.J.; Song, M.S (2017). Development of a teaching model for STEAM using R-learning educational robot to promote young children’s creative problem-solving ability. Adv. Sci. Lett., 23, 10447–10452.
Larimore, R. A. (2020). Preschool science education: A vision for the future. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(6), 703-714.
Leggett, N. (2017). Early childhood creativity: Challenging educators in their role to intentionally develop creative thinking in children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(6), 845-853.
Marsh, J., Wood, E., Chesworth, L., Nisha, B., Nutbrown, B., & Olney, B. (2019). Makerspaces in early childhood education: Principles of pedagogy and practice. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 26, 221 - 233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2019.1655651.
OECD. (2020). Early learning and child well-being: A study of five-year-olds in England, Estonia, and the United States. OECD Publishing.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. International Universities Press.
Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M., Britten, N., Roen, K., & Duffy, S. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. A product from the ESRC methods programme. Lancaster University.
Ritter, S. M., & Mostert, N. (2017). Enhancement of creative thinking skills using a cognitive-based creativity training. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 1(3), 243-253.
Runco, M. A. (2014). Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice. Elsevier.
Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92-96.
Siew, N. M., & Chin, M. K. (2018). Design, development and evaluation of a problem-based with cooperative module on scientific creativity of pre-schoolers. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 17(2), 215-228.
Stylianidou, F., Glauert, E., Rossis, D., Compton, A., Cremin, T., Craft, A., & Havu-Nuutinen, S. (2018). Fostering inquiry and creativity in early years STEM education: Policy recommendations from the Creative Little Scientists Project. European Journal of STEM Education, 3(3), 15.
Tee, Y. J. (2022). The effects of creative play-based integrated STEAM on preschoolers' creativity. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(4), 665-675.
Trundle, K. C., & Saçkes, M. (2015). Research in early childhood science education. Springer.
Üret, A., & Ceylan, R. (2021). Exploring the effectiveness of STEM education on the creativity of 5-year-old kindergarten children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 29, 842 - 855. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2021.1913204.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2004). Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology, 42(1), 7-97.
World Economic Forum. (2020). The future of jobs report 2020. World Economic Forum.
Yalçın, V., & Erden, Ş. (2021). The Effect of STEM Activities Prepared According to the Design Thinking Model on Preschool Children's Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41, 100864. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TSC.2021.100864.
Zhou, W., & Yang, W. (2024). Story-Based STEM Design Challenges in Early Childhood Education: Child Engagement and Pedagogical Strategies. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-16.
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