Science education is essential for holistic early childhood development and is mandated in many kindergarten curricula; it typically involves encouraging children to observe nature and fostering their scientific curiosity. Using Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, this study explored if professional learning communities in science education (PLC-SE) function as work resources shaping kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward teaching science (ATTS). Two surveys with Chinese kindergarten teachers developed and validated scales in the PLC-SE (shared norms and values, collective focus on student learning, and collaborative culture) and ATTS (self-efficacy, context dependency, enjoyment, anxiety, perceived relevance, and perceived difficulty). Results indicated PLC-SE positively impacted self-efficacy, context dependency, enjoyment, and perceived relevance, with mixed effects on anxiety and difficulty. Follow-up individual interviews with survey participants indicated that mandated norms and values functioned as job demands, underscoring the sociocultural alteration of JD-R processes. These findings suggest that the manifestation of PLCs may vary across culturally embedded settings. • Developed and validated PLC scale in kindergarten science education. • Developed and validated kindergarten teachers' science teaching attitude scale. • PLC strongly boosted efficacy, enjoyment, and relevance in teaching science. • Shared norms and values acted as job demands for Chinese kindergarten teachers. • Sociocultural context moderated JD-R resource/demand classification.
Wen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.