Children attempt to make sense of, and to understand, the various phenomena and experiences they have. This is science in its purest and simplest sense – children gaining an understanding of the world around them. Children’s understandings are based on the range of interactions they have and the cognitive development of ‘key understandings (concepts)’ that help to explain the phenomena, at least to them. The Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009, p. 12) indicates that it draws from a range of perspectives from early childhood developmental theory and knowledge about how children learn, which are then used to develop the Principles and Practices. There are many theories about how children (and adults) learn science and the factors that affect learning in young children. This chapter describes and discusses accepted theories of children’s development and the range of influences that impact science learning.
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