IPN’s Dr. Jana Kähler in radio feature on the significance of young children’s scientific learning experiences

Dr. Jana Kähler, a researcher at the IPN, is lead author of a paper, published in the journal Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, that uses data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) to detail the extent to which children’s early experiences of science influence their learning later on at school. Jana has now featured in a radio report by the German public service broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk that explored examples of how children in a daycare facility learn about phenomena from physics and biology through play.

Jana’s paper explains how children who enter elementary school with a head start in science skills maintain this lead even when they reach third grade – it’s a gap that regular lessons in school can’t close. Early acquisition of scientific competencies seems a surprisingly powerful factor, with parents’ level of education proving less influential.

Listen to the feature at https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen...