Naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von Vorschulkindern: Effekte von Struktur- und Prozessmerkmalen des Elternhauses und der Kindertagesstätte auf die naturwissenschaftliche Kompetenz von 4- bis 6-Jährigen

In this study we examined the effects of factors of home and institutional learning environments on the scientific literacy of young children. Therefore, a multilevel path model was estimated using data from starting cohort 2 of 4 to 6-year-old children (N = 2931) from the National Educational Panel Study, which took into account direct and indirect effects of relevant structural and process-based features. There were direct effects from the language at home, number of siblings and number of books. We also found that the receptive German vocabulary had the strongest effect on the preschoolers’ scientific literacy. Furthermore, the German vocabulary also was a mediator for social and migration-related disparities. Thus, having a migration background or speaking a non-german language at home had a negative effect on scientific literacy through a lack of German vocabulary. Regarding the features of the preschools, a scientific focus had a direct, positive effect on the average scientific literacy. Thus, visiting a preschool with a scientific focus can support young children’s acquisition of scientific literacy.