Enacting Scientific Curiosity in a Kindergarten Learning Garden: Children’s Inquiry, Talk, and Plant Sensemaking

Дата публикации: 08-09-2026 00:00:00

Scientific curiosity is often invoked as a resource for early science learning, yet it remains difficult to define and examine as it emerges in everyday kindergarten activity. This single-site interpretive qualitative case study explored how 5–6-year-old children enacted scientific curiosity during a researcher-facilitated, inquiry-oriented learning-garden unit in an Arabic-speaking public kindergarten in Israel. Twenty focal participants were selected from a class of 35 children. Data were generated through semi-structured group interviews and participant and non-participant observations were conducted before, during, and after the unit. Data were analyzed using inductive, interpretive qualitative content analysis focused on plant-related sensemaking, inquiry practices, and curiosity episodes. Findings showed that children’s explanations became more specific and more frequently referenced evidence related to plant growth conditions, including soil, air, heat, and season. Inquiry practices became visible in children’s talk and action through prediction, child-initiated why/how questions, comparisons across conditions, and simple measurements. Scientific curiosity was enacted through observable displays of wonder, sustained engagement with uncertainty, and connections to prior experiences and information resources. These findings suggest that, when organized as structured small-group inquiry, learning gardens can make curiosity, inquiry participation, and plant-related sensemaking visible in everyday kindergarten activity. The study highlights three design principles for inquiry-oriented kindergarten science: planned contrasts across conditions, repeated revisits over time, and open-ended questioning supported by simple tools.

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