Towards an ethos of early childhood science education

This response argues that the choices a teacher makes about how to teach in the early childhood science classroom invite a similar ethos concerning teaching as Susan Kirch describes for science-namely skepticism and open-mindedness. The early childhood teacher is continually asserting the validity of an assumed value system and equally often calling it into question or having it called into question by the situated and particular qualities of her classroom, the community she works in, as well as the demands of the subject matter she is teaching. The demands of the early childhood classroom are extremely complex and challenge the teacher's choices.