Parent Attitudes Toward Science and Their Support for Science in Early Childhood

Parents play a critical role in supporting early learning, yet little is known about their attitudes and beliefs toward science, particularly for families with infants and toddlers. This study examined the internal reliability and construct validity of the Early Childhood Family Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Science Questionnaire (EC-FABS) to assess parents and caregivers’ perspectives on early science learning, building on the Preschool FABS. Three hundred and ten parents and caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers completed the EC-FABS along with measures of their engagement in science activities, personal science experiences, and perceptions of everyday opportunities for science learning. Results revealed a two-factor structure: Parent Support, reflecting positive attitudes and confidence in engaging children with science, and Parent Challenges, capturing perceived barriers such as lack of confidence, time, and resources. Parents with higher Parent Support scores engaged in science activities more frequently and identified more everyday opportunities for science learning, whereas those with higher Parent Challenges scores participated in fewer activities and saw fewer opportunities. Differences emerged based on parent education, language background, and race/ethnicity, with some groups reporting greater perceived challenges. These findings highlight the need for interventions to better support family engagement in early science learning, particularly for families with lower education and diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds.