The quality of interactions in the home science environment and associations with children's science learning

Abstract

From early on, families play a critical role in fostering their children's science development, particularly through shared interactions in the home science environment (HSE). The quality of these interactions is deemed pivotal for children's science learning. However, there is limited understanding regarding the quality of interactions between parents and children when exploring science together and how these interactions relate to children's science knowledge, motivation, and engagement. This study seeks to bridge these gaps by thoroughly investigating interaction quality in the context of shared book reading about an age-appropriate science topic among 61 parent-child pairs, taking a global perspective by focusing on three broader generic and domain-specific dimensions of interaction quality. The findings revealed that parents provided high-quality emotional-motivational but limited cognitive and science-specific support, varying greatly among families. Furthermore, parents' cognitive and science-specific support were associated with children's science knowledge. Emotional-motivational support was closely linked to children's engagement in science in the observed situation. However, relationships with children's science motivation exhibited mixed findings, with some positive associations observed with their enjoyment but no associations with their self-efficacy in science. These insights shed light on the role of interaction quality in the HSE, and which types of parental support are critical in shaping children's science learning. Future research could prioritize a more comprehensive investigation of interaction quality in the HSE to enhance the understanding of interaction quality and its impact on children's science development, potentially extending beyond the HSE to other pertinent contexts.