Science Literacy in Primary Schools and Pre-Schools (2006)

Science is more than a compilation of facts and figures, although one would not know that from observing classroom lessons in science in elementary schools in many parts of the world. In fact, there are those who argue that science is not appropriate subject content for the early grades of elementary school. There are many schools in which science is simply not present in the earliest grades. Even where science is taught in the earliest grades, it is often a caricature of science that is p- sented to the children. This book offers a vigorous, reasoned argument against the perspective that s- ence doesn't belong in the early grades. It goes beyond that in offering a view of s- ence that is both appropriate to the early grades and faithful to the nature of the scientific enterprise. Dr. Eshach is not a voice in the chorus that claims young ch- dren's developmental lack of readiness for such study. He believes, as do I, that in order to learn science one must do science. At the heart of the doing of science is the act of exploration and theory formation. To do science, we must explore the ways in which the world around us looks, sounds, smells, feels, and behaves.