Making a Makerspace for children: A mixed-methods study in Chinese kindergartens

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the “Making a Makerspace” (MM) program can enhance children's maker literacy and teachers’ understanding of maker education in makerspaces. The program was carried out in two kindergartens in China for three months and involved 407 children and 24 teachers. Six classrooms in each kindergarten were either assigned to the Makerspace condition or the control condition. Results from teacher questionnaires and observations of the children's maker activities showed significant improvements in problem finding & solving, hands-on, creative design, and communication skills among the children in the Makerspace condition compared to the control condition. The study revealed that children in 4- and 5-year-old classes were proficient in using the Engineering Design Process in maker activities, but this was not the case for 3-year-old classes. The teachers also reported positive experiences with the MM program. This study highlights the effectiveness of makerspaces in early childhood education and provides a practical case for implementing makerspaces in kindergarten classrooms. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.