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Abstract
Sociocultural background shapes early science learning, yet little is known about whether targeted preschool inquiry can reduce conceptual gaps among ethnically marginalised children. This study examined kindergarten children’s understanding of magnetism and the extent to which a structured Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) Teaching-Learning Sequence (TLS) could attenuate differences between a Roma/low-sociocultural-background group and a general-population comparison group. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design involved 50 children aged four to six years: 25 from a Roma/low-sociocultural-background preschool community and 25 from middle-to-high sociocultural backgrounds. The research was conducted during one school week in the 2025–2026 school year, in two public kindergartens located in the same urban area of Greece. Both groups completed an identical six-lesson TLS addressing magnet recognition, material classification, magnetic field permeability, and the size–strength relationship, with contextual links to the Sustainable Development Goals. Descriptive statistics, between-group comparisons, and Welch’s independent samples t-test were used to analyse individual variables and composite scores. In relation to the first research question, pre-test results showed a large initial difference between the two groups, with the Roma/low-sociocultural-background group scoring substantially lower than the general-population comparison group on the composite magnetism score, Welch’s t = −10.59, p < .001, Hedges’ g = −2.94. In relation to the second and third research questions, both groups improved after the TLS, and the initial between-group gap was substantially attenuated. The absolute mean-score gap decreased from 1.96 to 0.48 points on a four-item scale, while the standardised between-group difference decreased from Hedges’ g = −2.94 to Hedges’ g = −1.31. In relation to the fourth research question, full convergence was achieved on three of the four conceptual variables: magnet recognition, field permeability, and the size–strength relationship. The remaining difference concerned material classification and may be partly related to interrupted attendance in Group A, although this interpretation remains tentative because lesson-by-lesson attendance was not analysed statistically. The findings suggest that, in this classroom-level intervention, a structured IBL Teaching-Learning Sequence was associated with substantial immediate conceptual gains and attenuation of the initial between-group gap. However, given the small purposive sample, the four-item binary measure, the ceiling effects at post-test, the absence of random assignment, and the lack of a non-intervention control group, the results should be interpreted as promising context-specific evidence rather than as definitive causal proof.
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Article Type: Research Article
Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher, Volume 6, Issue 3, 2026, Article No: em109
https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/19275
Publication date: 17 Sep 2026
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