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preschoolers excercise

The Issues: Why STEM Education Must Begin in Early Childhood Education

Education policy experts explore why Nevada must prioritize STEM educational experiences for all children, and why waiting until kindergarten is too late.

Students with the 51ԹϺ kinesiology department work with preschoolers from the Lynn Bennett Preschool. (Aaron Mayes/51ԹϺ Creative Services)

Research has demonstrated that the drive to explore, interact, and observe in human beings begins in early childhood, long before middle and high school, and even before elementary school. At the same time, the nation’s economy is moving toward technologically based industries, creating growth in demand for workers proficient in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The question is, how can Nevada cultivate a generation of adults that is prepared to thrive in the 21st century economy? The answer is, begin recruiting and training them to serve in early childhood education capacities. Despite overwhelming evidence in support of this approach, high-quality STEM programming has not yet been incorporated into early childhood education.

The experts

  • , visiting lecturer in the College of Education’s Educational and Clinical Studies department
  • , visiting lecturer in the College of Education’s Educational and Clinical Studies department
  • , recent College of Education Ph.D. graduate
  • , assistant professor in the College of Education’s Educational and Clinical Studies department
  • , professor in the College of Education’s Educational and Clinical Studies department

These experts authored a policy paper, "Supporting STEM in Early Childhood Education," that appears in the College of Education’s 2017 volume of reports for Nevada lawmakers. To read the full paper, visit the .

A few facts

  • The National Science and Technology Council, along with the Committee on STEM Education, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Next Generation Science Standards concur the exposure to STEM during early childhood is critical to establishing an optimal educational trajectory.
  • Advancing American students from the middle to the top tiers in mathematics and science is a federal educational priority.
  • A report by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program in partnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Cracking the Code on STEM: A People Strategy for Nevada’s Economy, found that the K-12 education system is inadequate to address STEM educational outcomes.
  • By 2018, STEM-related jobs are projected to increase to nearly 50,000, a 25 percent increase from 2008 levels.

Why this matters

Why is it important to incorporate STEM education in early childhood development?

The early childhood years, birth to age 5, have long been accepted as the most critical point in neurological or brain development. Studies by the National Science Teachers Association show that young children learn through active exploration—and the drive to observe, interact, discover, and explore is inherent in their development. And it is during these years that many in the education community believe that evidenced-based STEM curricula should begin, setting children on a path to develop a love of scientific inquiry.

“During the earliest years, infants and toddlers develop 700 neural connections every second,” Buchter said. “These biologically driven neurological processes and natural curiosity of how the world works make early childhood an optimal time to introduce children to scientific inquiry.”

Experts further describe that this sensitive period of development must be utilized to start children on the right path to be successful in STEM, and other content areas. “Once these neurological pathways are developed, they go through a pruning process in which synapses that are not used are eliminated,” Buchter said.

In addition to developing an interest and knowledge base for STEM and enhanced inquiry skills, experts say that science instructio