STEMinists in the making: Encouraging girls’ confidence in science
Early years settings have a powerful opportunity to shape how girls view themselves as problem-solvers, critical thinkers and future scientists. The curiosity you nurture now can grow into the confidence that makes choosing STEM subjects later at school feel normal and achievable. By encouraging the exploration of ideas, valuing their questions and challenging stereotypes, practitioners can lay the foundation for life-long scientific confidence.
Here are some ideas to support staff with encouraging girls’ confidence in science in your setting.
Top tips for encouraging girls’ confidence in science
- Start with staff reflection. Encourage staff to consider their own feelings about science. Building staff confidence is the first step to inspiring scientific confidence in children
- Challenge stereotypes. Review displays, resources and books – do they portray positive images of girls exploring and experimenting? Model curiosity. Use open ended questions such as, “I wonder …” Show children that science is about noticing, questioning and exploring ideas
- Value process over product. Praise persistence, predictions and discoveries, however small. Remember many scientific breakthroughs have been found by mistake – embrace learning through making mistakes
- Create open-ended science play. Offer sensory materials, natural objects, and resources that invite experimentation and problem-solving
- Share real-life role models. Highlight female scientists, engineers and inventors through stories, themed days, displays or by inviting women in scientific jobs to come into your nursery. Find out if children have female relatives who work in a scientific field
- Encourage questioning. Treat every child’s “why?” as a spark of scientific thinking. Record children’s ideas and revisit them to show they matter
- Engage families. Run workshops on how children’s curiosity and exploration links to science and scientific thinking. Give parents ideas about how they can encourage curiosity at home. Provide some simple ‘experiment’ ideas – from growing cress to mixing potions
- Invest in staff development. Provide CPD or peer sharing about supporting enquiry through play – confidence is contagious!
NDNA products to help you with this tip
Little scientists leading the way – online course
Disclaimer: Activities with children must always be risk assessed, including for allergies or choking. Children must always have adequate supervision. Resources and materials must always be appropriate for children’s age and stage of development.
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