Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Journal of Early Childhood, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
Understanding the nature of science (NoS) is widely recognized as a fundamental component of scientific literacy. However, empirical research examining young children’s conceptions of NoS remains limited, particularly in early childhood contexts. This study explores how biodiversity-based science education may support preschool children’s emerging understandings of NoS. The study employed a single-group pretest–posttest intervention design with twelve children aged 5–6 attending a public preschool in Antalya, Türkiye. The intervention consisted of an 11-week program integrating local biodiversity contexts with explicit-reflective NoS instruction. Children’s views were examined using the Young Children’s Views of Science (YCVOS) interview protocol across four aspects of NoS: tentativeness, empiricism, subjectivity, and the distinction between observation and inference. Qualitative content analysis indicated that prior to the intervention children’s responses were largely intuitive and insufficient. Following the intervention, children demonstrated observable shifts toward more evidence-oriented explanations, including increases in partially sufficient and sufficient responses across the examined NoS aspects. These findings suggest that developmentally appropriate biodiversity-based science experiences may provide meaningful opportunities for young children to begin reflecting on how scientific knowledge is generated, interpreted, and revised. The study contributes to the growing body of research highlighting the potential of early childhood science education to support foundational understandings of the nature of science.