The effect of project approach-based science education program on problem solving skills of kindergarten children

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the project approach-based science education program on problem solving skills of kindergarten children. Material and Method: The study was conducted in an independent kindergarten affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the city center of Muş between September 2022 and January 2023 as a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest and retention test control group. The sample size of the study to be conducted with 5-6 year-old children attending kindergarten was determined as 59 children (28 in the experimental group, 28 in the control group) with the power analysis and the study was completed with 70 children (35 in the experimental group, 35 in the control group). Data were collected using the personal information form and the Problem-Solving Skills Scale (PSSS). While a 28-session Project Approach-Based Science Education Program was applied for ten weeks to the kindergarten children in the in the experimental group, no application was made to the children in the classrooms in the control group. As a result of the normality test performed on the data using the appropriate analysis program in the data analysis, it was determined that the data were normally distributed. Therefore, the data were analyzed using the independent samples t-test from the parametric tests. Results:: After the project approach-based science education program applied to children attending preschool education, it was determined that there were significant differences in favor of the experimental group between the PSSS scores of the children (p<0.05). It was found that the effect of the education program continued in the retention test conducted on the permanence of the education program (p>.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the project approach-based science education program positively affected the problem-solving skills of the kindergarten children. Key Words: , Kindergarten, Child, Science, Problem-solving, Project approach.