STEM Play & Learn: A Summer Family Learning Programme in Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Communities

This innovative practice full paper describes a home-based summer family learning programme, STEM Play & Learn, designed to support kindergarten-aged children and their families by engaging them in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities. 'Summer Learning Loss' is the phenomenon where children experience a decrease in academic knowledge and skills when they take an extended break from education, particularly during the summer holidays. Children from lower socio-economic status backgrounds are disproportionately affected by summer learning loss. This research investigates the efficacy of a novel STEM Summer Family Learning Programme for 4-6-year-old children in a socio-economically disadvantaged community. The novelty of our programme centres around the practice and pedagogy delivered in the child's home with parental engagement at its core. The programme is delivered once a week over six weeks by Home Visitors. Child-directed open-ended play-based STEM activities are modelled to encourage children to develop higher-order thinking skills. Parents and children are encouraged to explore these educational STEM Play and Learn activities further between visits. Through a community action research methodology, this research employs a cyclical process of observing, reflecting, acting, evaluating, and modifying. Results of parent and child evaluation data show promise in improving the children's developmental skills and positively influencing the home learning environment. Results also indicate there was an increase in the parents' confidence in teaching their children STEM at home. The findings contribute insights into how an innovative STEM family learning programme for early years educators and parents enhances educational outcomes for kindergarten-aged children and mitigates summer learning loss.