Preschool science education: A content analysis

The aim of this study is to conduct a content analysis of academic studies conducted in the field of preschool science education in Turkey and in the world. In this study, a total of 180 researches made up of 100 national and 80 international papers, masters' and doctoral theses about pre-school science education published between 2003-2017 are examined. The method, sample, data collection tools, research year and research subject area used in this study were analyzed by content analysis method. At the end of study; in recent years the tendency to the studies about pre-school science education is found to be increase in Turkey and in the world. When the samples used in the research are examined; it has been determined that while in Turkey pre-school teachers are preferred as a sample, pre-school students are more prefered as a sample in the world. When the subjects studied in the field of pre-school science education are examined; it has been found out that in Turkey teacher training is more studied while in the world, concept teaching, science nature and recently STEM teaching is more studied. When the studies are examined in terms of method, it has been determined that in Turkey quantitative anaylsis method is mainly used whereas qualitative analysis is mainly used in the world. As the studies are examined in terms of data collection tools; observation method, interview and questionnaire methods are the most widely used data collection tools both in Turkey and in the world. The results of this study are believed to be an important resource for researchers to work in the field of pre-school science education. Keywords: pre-school, science education, content analysis