Weipeng Yang

Education University of Hong Kong | ied · Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE)

This paper explores the influence of teacher learning on young children's STEM habits of mind through two studies involving Chinese preschools. Study 1 (141 teachers, 3214 students) demonstrates a significant impact of teacher attributes, particularly STEM teaching self-efficacy, on preschoolers' STEM habits of mind. Study 2 (77 teachers, 1514 stud...

Artificial intelligence (AI) has permeated most facets of life in the 21st century and has rapidly transformed various aspects of modern society. From entertainment to education, these advanced technologies have achieved a high level of competency in skills that once necessitated human involvement. Given AI's potential impact, ensuring students are...

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has become a global focus to foster learners’ Twenty first-century skills and achieve the sustainable development of society. Design challenges present children with a real-world design problem to solve, as design challenges inspire children to think creatively and apply STEM-relate...

This study investigates the potential of a voice-controlled collaborative robot to promote computational thinking (CT) skills in preschoolers aged 4 to 6 in Southern Chile. During a week-long workshop, 34 children engaged in activities designed to develop several CT components while interacting with a robotic arm. Pre- and post-workshop assessments...

Background While the integration of robot‐based learning in early childhood education has gained increasing attention in recent years, there is still a lack of evidence regarding the impact of AI robots on young children's learning. Objectives The study explored the effectiveness of two AI education approaches in advancing kindergarteners' computa...

The Maker Movement has emerged as a significant cultural phenomenon in the twenty-first century. Stemming from the Maker Movement, the STEM design challenge aims to foster children’s utilization of interdisciplinary knowledge and creative skills to address real-world problems. This study devised the Story-based STEM Design Challenge (SSDC) by integ...

Fostering young children’s computational thinking (CT) has garnered global interest as it aligns with the cultivation of twenty-first-century skills. Previous studies have focused on physical, virtual and hybrid kits with virtual programming blocks, but rarely explored the use of hybrid kits that combine virtual sprites and physical programming env...

Computational thinking (CT) and robot programming have been increasingly promoted in early childhood education (ECE) (Bers, 2020; Yang et al., 2022, 2023). Many studies focus on developing implementation strategies for these two practices but little on observing how teachers scaffold children to learn CT concepts and code with robots in the field i...

By transforming abstract problems into tangible solutions, computational thinking (CT) emerges as a foundational competency. This umbrella review synthesizes the current landscape of CT in early childhood, pivotal for fostering 21st‐century skills across multiple domains. A systematic search across Scopus, ACM Digital Library, and Web of Science yi...

Extensive empirical research has emphasized the benefits of integrating Online Teaching Video Cases (OTVCs) into pre-service preschool teacher education. However, there is a research gap concerning the perceptions and needs of pre-service preschool teachers regarding OTVCs. This cross-sectional study, therefore, investigated pre-service preschool t...

The present study explored how Chinese early childhood teachers’ self-perceptions of their pedagogical content knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) differ based on their backgrounds. Additionally, this research explored teachers’ understanding of their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards SEL. The study inv...

Computational Thinking (CT) is essential for developing creativity, problem-solving, and digital competence in the 21st century. Coding tools like robotic toys and tablet apps have become popular in early childhood education to support CT development, but there is a debate on which tool is more effective. Little evidence exists on the effect of cod...

This article presents a scoping review of the published studies on coding (or “computer programming”) and computational thinking education for young children in mainland China. A total of 21 eligible publications were included in the final analysis. Results revealed that (a) most studies did not involve a theoretical framework for intervention and...

Purpose To align with the artificial intelligence and robotics (AIR) research and policy agenda, this paper puts forth an adapted five big ideas framework specifically tailored to teaching young children about artificial intelligence (AI) via robotics. Design/Approach/Methods Grounded in early childhood education research, the proposed framework e...

From the first touch on a screen to dynamic conversations facilitated by AI, the boundaries of what is possible in early learning are continuously expanding (Ahmet, Citation2022; Berson et al., Citation2023; Su & Yang, Citation2022). While technological advancements have paved the way for groundbreaking teaching approaches and richer learning exper...

This book provides a fresh perspective on recent debates around integrating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education in early childhood. The book offers inspiration and practical advice for educators and researchers. It suggests concrete ways to engage young children in STEAM learning activities and promote their d...

Guided by a sociocultural perspective, this study aims to explore the views of kindergarten teachers on ChatGPT, its potential benefits and challenges in education, and the support and training required for effective implementation. The study involved 10 teachers from several kindergartens in Hong Kong. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. The f...

In the education field, professional learning communities (PLCs) are regarded as an effective method for fostering professional development for teachers, enhancing student learning and achievement, and promoting school reform. Quality leadership and management are understood to be essential for schools to become effective PLCs. Mainly proposed by W...

Background Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy is a crucial part of digital literacy that all individuals should possess in today's technologically advanced world. Despite the potential benefits that AI education offers, little research has been done on how to teach AI literacy to children. Objectives This study aimed to fill that gap by investi...

Programming and computational thinking (CT) have been progressively incorporated into early childhood education to prepare children for the digital age. However, little is known about the content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical knowledge (PK) possessed by early childhood teachers in this domain. To address this gap, we conducted a case study of an e...

A lack of evidence bridging the chasm between professional learning practices and commonly used, publicly available resources such as YouTube videos, remains a long‐term challenge in both research and practice. The study introduced a YouTube video club for female early childhood teachers in Hong Kong (N = 29) to view, analyse and discuss STEM teach...

Background The number of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy studies in K‐12 education has recently increased, with most research focusing on primary and secondary education contexts. Little research focuses on AI literacy programs in early childhood education. Objectives The aim of this mixed‐methods study is to examine the feasibility of an AI...

【New Issue Alert】The August issue of ECNU ROE is now available online! Explore fresh insights about and trends of education with our latest issue here: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/roea/6/3

The quality of early childhood education (ECE) has a significant impact on children's development and learning outcomes; thus, it is essential to provide effective professional learning opportunities for ECE educators to enhance their knowledge and skills. One promising approach is curriculum-based professional learning (CBPL, Short and Hirsh, 2020...

Digital competence is a vital combination of knowledge, abilities, and attitudes required for effective and responsible use of digital tools and technologies in the modern world. This article presents a review of 23 academic papers that investigate digital competence in early childhood education (ECE) settings from 2012 to 2022. The purpose of this...

Introduction How parents encourage and engage young children to learn science and solve scientific problems remains an understudied issue. Parenting styles have been widely studied and found to be associated with children’s various developmental outcomes. However, there is a dearth of research linking parenting styles to early science skills which...

The issue of Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy is gaining popularity in the field of education. Most research on AI literacy has focused on primary, secondary, and higher education, and there has been limited examination of AI literacy programs in early childhood education. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an eight-week AI literacy pr...

Online Teaching Video Cases (OTVCs) are an increasingly utilized digital learning resource for training pre-service preschool teachers (PPTs). This study employed an integrated framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) to examine the factors that influence PPTs' perceived learning perfo...

Computing education has progressively entered into children's early years. Due to a proliferation of computing education programs and coding tools designed for young children, research on the relationships between computational thinking (CT) and other domains of learning and development is highly warranted. Yet, there is little empirical evidence t...

Background Computational thinking (CT) has become a crucial skill for individuals in the 21st century, and while more educators are starting to recognize the importance of CT education, there is still a lack of research on how to teach young children CT, particularly outside of traditional school settings. Objectives To fill the gap in knowledge,...

Purpose Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, such as ChatGPT and GPT-4, developed by OpenAI, have the potential to revolutionize education. This study explores the potential benefits and challenges of using ChatGPT in education (or “educative AI”). Design/Approach/Methods This paper proposes a theoretical framework called “IDEE” for educative AI...

Computational thinking (CT) is a new literacy of 21st century that can be transferred to and applied in different real-world situations, although being derived from the discipline of computer science. Tangible robots or child-friendly digital apps are used to implement coding education with the goal of promoting young children’s CT. However, there...

Background The technological age of the twenty-first century has witnessed an upsurge in the demand for STEM education. Early childhood STEM learning and teaching has sparked attention among researchers. Purpose This study aims to provide a holistic review of current STEM research in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Sample We conducted a bibliome...

Coding (or computer programming) helps equip children with an intellectual structure that is valuable for their lifelong learning and development. The proliferation of innovative coding platforms, especially screen-free programmable robotics, has made it possible for coding to be integrated into early childhood education (ECE). However, how the cod...

Letter From the Editors

The global education system has two primary objectives: achieving universal quality early childhood education (ECE) and integrating information and communication technology (ICT). We sought to determine whether preservice preschool teachers possess the necessary knowledge to integrate ICT into ECE by examining the technological pedagogical content...

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the “Making a Makerspace” (MM) program can enhance children’s maker literacy and teachers’ understanding of maker education in makerspaces. The program was carried out in two kindergartens in China for three months and involved 407 children and 24 teachers. Six classrooms in each kindergarten were ei...

‘In your opinion, what are some important research questions, problems or challenges that scholars in your field of specialization should address in the coming years? What types of studies should be conducted to move your field further? Please justify’. This prompt was posed by the incoming Editor of JSED to the new team of Deputy and Associate Edi...

Implementing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in early childhood education has received increasing attention in recent years. STEM process skills developed during the early years have lifelong positive effects on young children. In this study, we developed the Children’s STEM Habits of Mind Questionnaire (CSHMQ) an...

Computational thinking (CT) is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners all over the world to empower children in the digital era. However, there is no consensus on which components of CT to teach beginning coders in early childhood education (ECE). To address this issue, we conducted a systematic review of 42 empirical studi...

Computational thinking education has become an increasingly popular topic among practitioners and researchers. However, rare is known how to effectively teach and learn computational thinking in early childhood education. To address this knowledge gap, this systematic review examined 26 studies on the teaching and learning of computational thinking...

In recent years, Early Childhood Education (ECE) researchers have paid increasing attention to the quality of pre-service and in-service learning experiences of ECE professionals, in view of the need of enhancing the quality of services provided to young children. Given that curriculum guidelines are key in supporting the overall upgrade of ECE sys...

Computational thinking (CT) has received worldwide attention due to its alignment with developing 21st century skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and digital competence. With the increasing provision of programming tools such as robotic toys and tablet apps in the sector of early childhood education (ECE), many ECE researchers and practiti...

The hybrid approach to curriculum discussed in this book helps the sector of ECEC respond to the global and local cultures and bridge policy–practice gaps. This stance of embracing diversity and complexity is critical to advancing the agenda of ECC research and practice, especially in a rapidly changing and complex society, so that the curriculum (...

Previous evidence has revealed that mindful individuals tend to pay more attention to specific tasks and demonstrate better work engagement. However, prior investigations commonly used cross-sectional designs to examinine the link of mindfulness to engagement in Western societies. This research explores the association of mindfulness with cognitive...

Implementing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in early childhood education has received increasing attention in recent years. STEM process skills developed during the early years have lifelong positive effects on young children. In this study, we developed the Children’s STEM Habits of Mind Questionnaire (CSHMQ) an...

The proliferation of screen‐free programmable robotics allows teachers to implement age‐appropriate integrated activities that can promote child learning and development. However, very scarce is known about the challenges of using programmable robots as a tool to empower children in minority communities. This mixed‐methods case study examined a Fre...

This study investigated the measurement invariance of school and teacher Information , Communication and Technology (ICT) readiness among 57 countries that participated in the Program in International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 assessment. School and teacher ICT readiness scale is 11-item scale with two subfactors: school ICT readiness and teac...

Research Findings: This review focuses on the use of robotics in early childhood education (ECE), addressing gender and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in young children’s robotics learning. This review systematically evaluates, synthesizes, and displays the research designs, robotic toys, data collection instruments, research methods, and r...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and preschools worldwide have been suspended, causing many challenges for students, parents, and teachers. Through home-schooling, preschool children struggle to accept new (online) learning modes. Teachers need to acquire digital skills quickly to deliver online teaching, while parents need to take on the role...

Teachers’ professional identities, or the professional images teachers have of themselves, play an essential role in teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and their propensity to stay in the profession. Even though with a shared recognition of the importance of professional identities among teachers, research is limited in terms of examining preservice t...

This Special Issue includes a collection of studies examining the role of culture and context in shaping childhood experience and curriculum. This Special Issue aims to explicitly acknowledge that, first, culture and the value system it provides has never stayed away from us. Second, social change and cultural collisions in the globalized world res...

Purpose This article presents a scoping review of the internationally published research on the early childhood curriculum (ECC) reforms, policies, measures, and effectiveness in China and Singapore, to explore the joint and interactive effects of globalization and localization in ECC in two different contexts. Design/Approach/Methods We reviewed...

This video-based study investigates the extent to which Chinese teachers intentionally teach mathematics knowledge to kindergarten children. Evidence revealed that intentional teaching with the key practice of sustained shared thinking occurred more in group activities than in learning centers; however, there was insufficient intentional teaching i...

Programmable robotics is recently used in early childhood education (ECE) to introduce programming and computational thinking (CT) skills. However, there is a further need for research to contrast the efficacy of children's participation in robot programming and traditionally beneficial ECE activities. The present study thus investigated the effect...

As a core competence in 21st century, computational thinking (CT) is of great significance for undergraduates. However, there are few researches on the CT evaluation about undergraduates, and nor do a theoretical framework. Additionally, it is not clear what factors may affect their CT development. Therefore, according to Marzano's new taxonomy of...

Artificial intelligence (AI) education has posed fundamental challenges to early childhood education (ECE), including (1) why AI is necessary and appropriate for learning in the early years, (2) what is the subset of key AI ideas and concepts that can be learned by children, and (3) how to engage children in a meaningful experience that allows them...

Coaching is proven to be an effective strategy of professional development; however, rare research has documented the nuances of coaching effects and the enablers in early childhood education. This study presents a systematic review of 33 randomised controlled trials or (quasi‐)experiments to investigate the effects of coaching as a professional de...

The Singapore government has laid out a regulation for daily minimum time spent outdoors and the Outdoor Learning Guide (OLG) to support children’s outdoor experiences in full-day childcare programmes. However, there is scarce research on young children’s outdoor learning experiences from children’s and teachers’ perspectives. This study aims to ma...

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly being used in the field of early childhood education (ECE) to enhance learning and development among young children. Previous proof-of-concept studies have demonstrated that AI can effectively improve teaching and learning in ECE; however, there is a scarcity of knowledge about how these studies a...

Visual pedagogy and social stories have been widely used to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in learning various skills. A toothbrushing visual pedagogy (TBVP) was developed adapting existing toothbrushing social stories for children with ASD. This TBVP consists of 13 toothbrushing steps with scripts describing the toothbrushing...

Anti-bias in early education is gaining importance, especially given the volatile social climate amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Singapore preschools lack focus on anti-bias education despite being a multi-ethnic society. Set in the COVID-19 context, this teacher research developed and examined a curriculum to educate young children on anti-bias...

The primary focus of this special issue will be re-thinking and reexamining the role of digital technologies and curriculum reforms in children’s lives given the social inequities perpetuated by the digital divide. This special issue may involve multiple fields, such as educational technology, curriculum studies, and child development. The coverage...

A hybrid model of curriculum that reflects cultural conflicts and fusion is aligned with the framework of ‘glocalisation’ as a balance and fusion of ‘globalisation’ and ‘localisation’, which has been proposed to decolonise the curriculum and promote culturally diverse perspectives and contributions (Bautista et al., 2021; Joseph & Ramani, 2012). Wi...

EDITORIAL The internationalisation of curriculum, and associated pedagogies and forms of assessment, is increasingly important for universities and schools, especially in the light of global educational policy transfer and the impact of international student assessments. Furthermore, the effects of globalisation and neoliberalism highlight the need...

Academic buoyancy refers to students’ capability of dealing with day-to-day obstacles in the school contexts. Previous studies have demonstrated that academic buoyancy is linked to optimal outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted to explore why academic buoyancy can predict positive academic functioning. This research examined the ass...

The preparation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers for early childhood education (ECE) has clearly become an important issue in recent years. Teacher efficacy can lead to changes in professional beliefs toward and teaching practices in STEM. In this study, we developed the STEM Teaching Self-efficacy Scale (STSS) a...

Resumen Aunque investigaciones previas revelan que el bienestar está vinculado al aprendizaje eficaz, hay pocas pruebas sobre cómo están relacionadas las emociones positivas con las metas de logro y las medidas objetivas de compromiso escolar. Basándose en la teoría de ampliación y construcción de emociones positivas, el presente estudio analiza la...

Collective academic supervision (CAS) is a collective model for students' academic supervision to reduce their isolation and as a measure to establish a congenial culture and to develop networks with their peers. Most studies focus on the benefits of online CAS, leaving the pedagogical process and students' learning experiences understudied. This r...

This paper explores the relationship between workforce competence, migration, and quality improvement in the Asia-Pacific through analysis of Early Childhood Education (ECE) policy texts from three East Asia Summit countries. Content (word level) analysis of salient policy texts was undertaken to address two questions: How are culture and diversity...

Although prior research shows that well-being is linked to effective learning, there is scarce evidence on how positive emotions relate to achievement goals and objective measures of school engagement. Drawing from the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study examines the reciprocal associations of positive emotions with mastery-ap...

Existing studies on writing for publication have focused on doctoral students and junior scholars, leaving those non-native English-speaking (NNES) Master's students understudied. This article presents a case study of the challenges and coping strategies shared by the six purposively selected NNES Master's students, who have each successfully publi...

Globalisation has been transforming early childhood care and education worldwide since the turn of this millennium. The early childhood sector in Singapore is no exception. Its early childhood curriculum has inevitably been influenced by Eastern and Western cultures and has developed into a unique hybrid over the years. This special issue collects...

Teacher research has been promoted as a context-relevant approach to improving children’s learning experiences in early childhood settings. In this article, we focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), a crucial domain of the early childhood curriculum, to illustrate the role of teacher research in changing early childhood teachers’ everyday practi...

Singapore has launched a bilingual education policy nationwide, which leads to three main home language environments amongst Chinese families, namely, Chinese dominant, Chinese-English bilingual families and English dominant families. However, little is known about the development of early reading abilities among Singapore children from these famil...

This article presents findings from a representative case study of a typical childcare centre in Singapore that achieved an emerging level of quality certification despite being under-resourced as a non-profit centre. Like other centres, it was navigating a climate of early childhood care and education (ECCE) policy reforms and teacher shortage. Gi...

This special issue on early STEM education collects ten articles that present a series of studies covering topics about curriculum and pedagogy, teacher education and professional development, family environment, and inclusive education for enhancing young children’s STEM learning experiences. These collected studies have presented empirical eviden...

Computational thinking (CT) plays a vital role in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, whether students' learning attitude towards STEM is related to their CT skills remains unknown. Two studies were conducted to address this knowledge gap. In Study 1, we validated a newly developed STEM learning attitude...

Spatial skills significantly predict educational and occupational achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As early interventions for young children are usually more effective than interventions that come later in life, the present meta-analysis systematically included 20 spatial intervention studies (2009–2020) wit...

Research Findings The present study investigated the effects of a 12-week inquiry-based science and engineering (IBSE) program on preschoolers’ science and engineering learning experiences. The treatment versus control condition was randomly assigned to four preschool classes, which included 122 preschoolers (M = 61.10 month, SD = 3.73). Statistica...