STEM education: What about VET qualified early childhood educators?

There is a critical shortage of students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses at Universities across Australia. Over 75% of jobs now require STEM skills (Chubb et al, 2012). The Australian government spends millions of dollars in improving STEM teaching and outreach programs for secondary and primary schools, however there is little targeted support for early childhood educators, especially those enrolled in Vocational Education and Training qualifications. This paper draws on ideas from the Science Education Experience to suggest strategies for a collaborative approach to science education professional development for early childhood educators working in the birth to 5 sector (that is, in early learning centres and preschools/kindergartens). The Science Education Experience was conducted in regional Queensland for primary pre-service and in-service teachers utilising local experts and hands-on activities to allow educators to increase their knowledge and expose them to local resources in order to improve their teaching. This paper explores how a collaborative learning event such as this one could be modified and contextualised for early learning centres to align with the Early Years Learning Framework, intentional teaching, play based learning and relevant modules in the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50113) to support educators to build the STEM skills needed to improve young children's early science understandings and longer term learning outcomes around STEM.