**1. Introduction**

How do young scientists develop? What draws some people into science or engineering long before they realize there is something called a "career?" Why are some people, regardless of gender, attracted to science careers and some not? What stereotypes, both explicit and implicit, exist that contribute to one's ideas and perceptions about scientists? These are some of the questions to be explored in this chapter.

It is important to note that the intention of this chapter is to recognize that all children in early childhood are natural scientists. Two well-accepted ideas about how young children embrace science and interact with the environment come from Reggio Emilia and Maria Montessori. Both approaches support the child as their own scientist, and exploration is key in each of these approaches. The Reggio Emilia

approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and early education that is student centered and uses self-directed, in relationship-driven environments. The Montessori method views the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. Regardless which curricula focus, the environment is the third teacher and science is taught in that environment. Thus, children assume the role of scientists naturally.

In the book, *The Last Child in The Woods*, the author, Richard Louv, even cautions against the opposite experience, "If education and other forces intentionally and unintentionally, continue to push the young away from direct experience in nature, the cost to science itself will be high. Most scientists today began their careers as children, chasing bugs and snakes, collecting spiders, and feeling awe in the presence of nature. Since such untidy activities are fast disappearing, how, then, will our future scientists learn about nature?"

However, we know that it is not practical that all children develop into scientists, but rather it is to not turn children off to science careers precisely when they are the most open to it. It appears that the more children go through formalized science in schools, the less they like and enjoy science and think about themselves in science careers. Therefore, the formative early childhood years become even more precious when it comes to lifelong aspirations. For example, we know that girls especially self-select out of math and science careers by age 10, which means what happens in early childhood years is extremely important [1]. While it is generally accepted that adolescents need to begin to think and plan for career choices, this suggests that even long before children are able to express or verbalize which careers may be interesting to them, they are processing information about their possible future.

As young children gather lots of information from parents, media, books, and schools, they collect, reject, and store ideas about scientists conceptually. For these reasons, asking children to Draw-A-Scientist has become an accepted method to provide a glimpse into how children represent and identify with those in the science fields. This chapter looks broadly at the critical aspects involved in on the different phases of one's academic life in order to observe how early childhood students take a variety of experiences with scientists and internalize them into their own science identities. Some of the central experiences discussed are perceptions of scientists at crucial developmental times in relation to formal schooling. For example, the biographies of Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin suggested that the very foundations of modern industry and design grew first in the waters and woods and farmlands of childhood [2]. This chapter will now discuss how to recognize stereotypes in science, what stereotypes mean, and how to combat these stereotypes.

#### **2. How to recognize stereotypes about scientists in young children**

Stereotypes are what people think something is like with limited information. Unless one is presented with more information, they may never broaden or change an original idea or conception. They remain unfixed. Stereotypes can manifest in numerous different ways. Sometimes it is very obvious. In science, it can be as simple as hearing a parent say, "I was not good at science," or "science is for boys." At the early childhood age, it can be as simple as a child saying, "I want to dress as a mad scientist for Halloween." Other times, it is more subtle, like the desire not to be like "the smart kids."

Sometimes children act a particular way, to reinforce a stereotype or to get a particular reaction from a parent or not. Young children use a variety of experiences to test out their identities in science and "check" with the adults in their lives for

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*Developing Young Scientists: The Importance of Addressing Stereotypes in Early Childhood…*

some sort of response, both positively and negatively. The teachers who unknowingly call on boys versus girls when asking science questions can reinforce a science stereotype. Parents' expectations, society's expectations, the media, and a teacher's response are all the beginning of children testing out others' ideas about their own science identity in early childhood. They will ultimately use these experiences to contribute to their identity in science in and outside the classroom and eventually a career. This suggests that what early childhood educators do is extremely important

The kinds of books teachers introduce and their assumptions must be explicitly challenged in early childhood classrooms. The kinds of television shows parents introduce must accompany some conversation about the scientists portrayed. Young children need to question and think through their ideas in order to broaden their idea about scientists. Children's interests in science are formed by age 14, and

Science capital, as described by [6], is the academic, social, and cultural aspects of a student's life and how they may relate to a child's science aspirations. The role of family should not be overlooked in terms of influence on the child; [6] found that parental attitudes to science play an important role in shaping children's science aspirations. The survey data suggest that while a family's social structure location is important, family attitudes to science and their encouragement and fostering or not

Therefore, scientists and engineers are "who we are" and "what we do" or who we are and what we do not do. These stereotypes may form early on in life, and they may seem so acceptable because they come from our family of origin and we cannot recognize them. Young children need to be challenged in the classroom on their

Science identity, as defined by [8], demonstrates competent performance in relevant scientific practices with deep meaningful knowledge and understanding of science and recognizes oneself and gets recognized as a science person by others. The construction of this identity requires the participation of others as it is constructed socially within communities of practice [9]. Students develop identities through engaging with the practices and tasks of the science class upon entering a community of practice such as the science classroom [10]. Learning science in this community then becomes "a process of becoming to be, of forging identities in

Regrettably, in early childhood many students form perceptions of scientists and science that are narrow, inappropriate, and inaccurate [11–16]. Older elementary students included more indicators of stereotypical images in their illustrations than did 5- to 7-year-olds, suggesting that by fourth and fifth grades, students already have formed their limited views of who a scientist is [12]. Inaccurate views of scientists are widely held by students from elementary through high school [12]. In 6 years of research, having children draw pictures of scientists that are stereotypical, male images of white men in the laboratory increased with age [17]. Therefore, the least stereotypes are drawn by the youngest children [18]. In the examination of gender differences, only girls draw female scientists, and the majority of the female scientists are drawn by Kindergarten to second grade students, meaning children are less aware of the gender stereotypes associated with scientists at the youngest of ages [18]. Parents and teachers should provide experiences for young children that

lead them toward rich and rewarding experiences in science [19].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84735*

ideas for just these very reasons.

**3. Science identity**

activity" ([10], p. 3).

because they build the foundation for one's entire career.

therefore the early childhood years are extremely important [3–5].

to science in their everyday life seemed to have an important influence [7].

#### *Developing Young Scientists: The Importance of Addressing Stereotypes in Early Childhood… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84735*

some sort of response, both positively and negatively. The teachers who unknowingly call on boys versus girls when asking science questions can reinforce a science stereotype. Parents' expectations, society's expectations, the media, and a teacher's response are all the beginning of children testing out others' ideas about their own science identity in early childhood. They will ultimately use these experiences to contribute to their identity in science in and outside the classroom and eventually a career. This suggests that what early childhood educators do is extremely important because they build the foundation for one's entire career.

The kinds of books teachers introduce and their assumptions must be explicitly challenged in early childhood classrooms. The kinds of television shows parents introduce must accompany some conversation about the scientists portrayed. Young children need to question and think through their ideas in order to broaden their idea about scientists. Children's interests in science are formed by age 14, and therefore the early childhood years are extremely important [3–5].

Science capital, as described by [6], is the academic, social, and cultural aspects of a student's life and how they may relate to a child's science aspirations. The role of family should not be overlooked in terms of influence on the child; [6] found that parental attitudes to science play an important role in shaping children's science aspirations. The survey data suggest that while a family's social structure location is important, family attitudes to science and their encouragement and fostering or not to science in their everyday life seemed to have an important influence [7].

Therefore, scientists and engineers are "who we are" and "what we do" or who we are and what we do not do. These stereotypes may form early on in life, and they may seem so acceptable because they come from our family of origin and we cannot recognize them. Young children need to be challenged in the classroom on their ideas for just these very reasons.
