Mother-Child Interactive Science Practices: Improving Mothers' Scientific Literacy and Children's Scientific Creativity

Abstract

The aim of this study is to improve mothers' scientific literacy and children's scientific creativity through science practices based on mother-child interaction. For this purpose, a training program based on mother-child interaction and including scientific experiments and activities that can be done at home and at school was prepared. The study was designed in a quasi-experimental design within the framework of quantitative research methodology. The participants were 62 mothers and their children (62 children) who had primary school 4th-grade level children in a public primary school. The data of the study, which lasted 6 months during the 2021-2022 academic year, were collected with the Scientific Literacy Test and the Scientific Creativity Test. The results obtained from the study indicate that the science practices training program based on mother-child interaction increased the scientific literacy level of mothers. In addition, it was concluded that mother-child interactive activities were more effective in children's scientific creativity dimensions such as scientific imagination, creative experimental ability, and creative scientific product design skill. Also, it was determined that the children of mothers with high levels of scientific literacy showed higher success in all sub-dimensions of scientific creativity compared to their controls. Keywords: Mother training program, mother-child interaction, scientific literacy, scientific creativity in primary school.