Connecting Early Science and Environmental Learning in Preschool: An Experiential Intervention on Pollution, Ecosystems and Environmental Change

Young children encounter environmental problems through everyday life, media and school experiences, yet early childhood environmental education often emphasizes awareness more than the scientific ideas needed to interpret these issues. This qualitative pre-post intervention study examined how preschool children used science concepts to understand environmental problems before and after a two-month educational intervention. The study was conducted in one public kindergarten in Greece with 18 children aged 4–6 years. The intervention combined environmental education and early science learning through experiments, guided discussion, digital games, videos, simulations, online information searches and interactions with environmental organizations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews before and after the intervention and through a parent questionnaire used as supplementary evidence of learning transfer beyond school. Findings showed a shift from uncertain and fragmented responses to clearer explanations of pollution, materials, air, plants, animals and melting ice. Parent responses further suggested that children carried their learning into family conversations and everyday environmental behavior. Although limited by its small, single-site sample and immediate post-intervention design, the study indicates that preschool children can engage meaningfully with complex environmental issues when science concepts are embedded in participatory, developmentally appropriate experiences.