Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

‘It’s a mystery!’A case study of implementing forensic science in preschoolas scientific inquiryChristine HowittThe University of Western AustraliaSimon LewisCurtin UniversityEmily UpsonHighgate Primary SchoolChildren have immense curiosity, a thirst for knowledge and a questioningattitude. They are innate scientists. The challenge for early childhood educators is tofuel this curiosity through the provision of appropriate learning experiences and anengaging environment within early learning centres. This paper presents a detailedcase study of how a pre-service teacher implemented forensic science as a formof scientific inquiry, in a preschool classroom for four-year-old children. Using thetheme of We’re going on a (forensic) bear hunt!, a series of integrated and engagingexperiences was delivered that allowed the children to solve the class mystery of wholeft behind the (bear) footprints. This paper describes the concept, process and skillsof scientific inquiry, outlines the basic principle of forensic science, provides a detaileddescription of the children’s learning experiences, and interprets these experiencesin relation to developing children’s scientific inquiry skills: exploring and predicting,observing and recording, using equipment, using observation as evidence, andrepresenting and communicating. It also illustrates how young children can readilyengage in inquiry-based learning; educators, however, must provide the opportunitiesand support to stimulate this learning. In summary, the paper argues that a complextopic such as forensic science can be successfully implemented with young children,highlighting the competence of these children.IntroductionBecause of their immense curiosity, thirst for knowledgeand questioning attitude, young children are innatescientists (Howitt, Morris & Colvill, 2007). Sciencebecomes a part of children’s everyday experiencesin their attempt to make sense of their own personalworld. This same scientific curiosity should be presentin the early childhood centre or classroom. The roleof the early childhood professional is to nurture thiscuriosity by providing opportunities, in a safe and caringenvironment, for young children to explore, question,observe, discover and share their wonder of the world(Howitt et al., 2007).Science, however, is a subject that teachers tendto avoid in the classroom (Harlen & Holroyd, 1997;Watters & Ginns, 2000). Various reasons have beengiven for this, including early childhood professionals’limited scientific knowledge and lack of confidenceand competence to teach science (Appleton, 2006:Harlen & Holroyd, 1997), their lack of understandingof what science looks like at the early childhood leveland where science occurs in everyday situations, andtheir inability to extend or capitalise on young children’sthinking (Fleer, 2009b; Fleer & March, 2008). The lackof support for the place of science in early childhoodeducation (with the emphasis instead focusing onliteracy and numeracy), along with the lack of resourcesfor supporting science education, have also contributedto the limited implementation of science within earlychildhood education (Eshach & Fried, 2005; Fleer& March, 2008; Peterson & French, 2008). Fleer(2009a) considered teachers’ philosophical beliefs andassumptions about how children learn science to be afurther limiting factor in the delivery of science in earlychildhood settings. These issues are considered to beeven more of a concern for pre-service teachers as theyinteract during practicum with experienced teachersVo l u m e 3 6 N u m b e r 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 011 45