Research Report: Early Childhood Teachers' STEM Education Attitudes

This report investigates early childhood teachers' attitudes towards STEM education, focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including kindergarten teachers. The research question examines the teaching methods, impact on children, and the relationship between teachers' STEM knowledge and their teaching practices. The report explores primary data collection methods, specifically the interview and questionnaire methods. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of each method, including depth of information, flexibility, cost, bias, and response rates. The questionnaire method, or survey method, is highlighted as a popular choice for large-scale research. The report provides a comprehensive overview of data collection techniques and their relevance in understanding teachers' perspectives on STEM education within early childhood settings, citing relevant literature such as Bybee (2013), May (2013), and Tippett & Milford (2017).

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH METHODS
EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH METHODS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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What are early childhood teachers’ attitudes towards STEM education?
The research question thus proposed examine the attitudes that early childhood teachers
hold towards the education of STEM that is, Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (Bybee, 2013). This would also include kindergarten teachers as early childhood
education plays a crucial role in the educational development of children by focusing on their
growing cognitive system (May, 2013). The topic also elucidates the teaching methods
undertaken, the impact of such education on the children and the relationship between the
knowledge of STEM possessed by the teachers and the teaching practices applied, especially in
the context of kindergarten and early childhood education (Tippet & Milford, 2017).
There are several methods of collecting data for such research. It is always more suitable
to collect primary data, which is data collected through direct interaction with the participants.
The following parts would discuss the various methods of primary data collection.
1. The first method is the interview method. This process of data collection involves the
interviewer supplying oral or verbal stimuli to the interviewee or respondent (Fontana &
Prokos, 2016). The stimuli are questions aimed at acquiring information required
specifically for the research. The process involves predetermined questions, standardized
techniques of recording, and a rigid structure of procedure (Fontana & Prokos, 2016).
The advantages of such a procedure are
a) There is availability of information at a greater depth.
b) There is flexibility in structuring and restructuring of the questionnaire.
c) There is low chance of non responses, which is comparatively higher in other
processes, such as survey.
d) There is opportunity to collect more personal information.

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e) There is also opportunity for collecting supplementary information related to the
respondent which might be useful when interpreting and analyzing the results.
The disadvantages of this process are,
a) It is a more expensive process of data collection
b) There is a chance that the respondent might give a biased response or information.
c) There might be individuals who might not be approachable for various reasons.
Therefore the data collected might not be adequate.
d) The time consumed is comparatively much higher than other methods.
e) There are high chances of systematic errors.
f) If more than one person is related to the data collection process, the individual
supervising must endure the processes of selecting, training and supervising his
subordinates.
2. The second method would be the questionnaire method or the survey method. This is
where questionnaires are mailed to the respondents who are expected to answer the
questions based on their own understanding (Choy, 2014). This is the most popular
method utilized when it comes to large scale research.
The advantages of this method are,
a) The process is low cost as it does not require the researcher to travel. The respondents
could be from a remote geographical location and can still participate in the study.
b) The answers are comparatively free from bias.
c) The respondents have sufficient time to think before answering the questions in the
questionnaire.

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d) Even the individuals who could have been unavailable for personal interview could
participate in the study as they can answer the questionnaire at their own time.
e) It is possible to collect a larger sample size of data. Therefore, the analysis of the data
would give more accurate and reliable results.
The disadvantages of this process are,
a) There is a chance of the questionnaires not being answered to. The rate of
questionnaires filled and duly returned could be low.
b) This process can only be used if the respondent is literate and cooperative.
c) There is a lack of flexibility in the questions as the researcher does not have the
opportunity to change the questions once the questionnaire has been distributed.
d) It is difficult to decipher if the expected respondent answered the questions or if it
was someone else.
e) This is one of the slower methods of data collection, considering the time taken in
distributing, filling and returning the questionnaires.

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References
Bybee, R. W. (2013). The case for STEM education: Challenges and opportunities.
NSTA press.
Choy, L. T. (2014). The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison
and complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR
Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(4), 99-104.
Fontana, A., & Prokos, A. H. (2016). The interview: From formal to postmodern.
Routledge.
May, H. (2013). The discovery of early childhood. Wellington: NZCER Press.
Tippett, C. D., & Milford, T. M. (2017). Findings from a pre-kindergarten classroom:
Making the case for STEM in early childhood education. International Journal of
Science and Mathematics Education, 15(1), 67-86.