Abstract Young children's learning and development in Science is a complex process. Although a wide range of epistemological, theoretical and methodological frameworks have informed research in Early Childhood Science Education, capturing this complexity remains a challenge. New ways of conceptualizing and researching young children's engagement with Science are needed for responding to this fundamental challenge. The present study brings together the strengths of constructivist and cultural-historical research perspectives to provide deeper insight and a holistic understanding of the unique way young children experience, make sense of, and conceptualize the natural world. In line with the two basic research approaches, a twofold methodological model is introduced. Empirical data were collected in an early childhood setting during a collective science experience centred on the natural phenomenon of cloud formation. Following a constructivist perspective, the data on children's conceptual understanding of the phenomenon was initially analysed. Then, the same data set was analysed from a cultural-historical perspective. In this second step, the children's whole experience of the phenomenon was also captured. Findings reveal the critical role of the children's overall reality in the science concept formation. The study argues that a dialectical interrelation between the two research perspectives is feasible and essential for understanding children's conceptualizations in the moment, as well as how science concepts are formed in the overall reality of everyday life. This adds to the literature on Early Childhood Science Education, where studies have primarily focused on dividing, rather than bringing together the strengths of the two perspectives. The study contributes to the continual challenge of rethinking and overcoming traditional dichotomies in educational research.

中文翻译：

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了解幼儿科学学习和发展的复杂性：建立在建构主义和文化历史优势的双重方法论模型

摘要 幼儿科学的学习和发展是一个复杂的过程。尽管广泛的认识论、理论和方法论框架为幼儿科学教育的研究提供了信息，但要捕捉到这种复杂性仍然是一个挑战。需要新的方法来概念化和研究幼儿对科学的参与，以应对这一基本挑战。本研究汇集了建构主义和文化历史研究视角的优势，以提供对幼儿体验、理解和概念化自然世界的独特方式的更深入洞察和整体理解。根据两种基本研究方法，引入了双重方法论模型。在以云形成的自然现象为中心的集体科学体验期间，在幼儿时期收集了经验数据。按照建构主义的观点，初步分析了有关儿童对这一现象的概念理解的数据。然后，从文化历史的角度分析了相同的数据集。在这第二步中，孩子们对这一现象的整个体验也被捕捉到了。调查结果揭示了儿童的整体现实在科学概念形成中的关键作用。该研究认为，两种研究视角之间的辩证相互关系对于理解儿童当下的概念化以及科学概念如何在日常生活的整体现实中形成是可行且必不可少的。这增加了关于幼儿科学教育的文献，其中的研究主要侧重于划分，而不是将两种观点的优势结合起来。该研究有助于重新思考和克服教育研究中的传统二分法的持续挑战。