Abstract
Problem-solving is an important 21st-century skill and an indispensable part of early STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. To effectively study the development of children’s problem-solving competencies and to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom interventions and programmes, researchers and educators need reliable and valid assessment instruments. This scoping review aimed to identify and discuss methods that are developed, studied or used in scientific research to assess preschoolers’ competencies in solving ill-structured problems in and across the four STEM disciplines. A systematic search of Web of Science, Scopus and ERIC identified 24 studies published between 1974 and 2024. These studies reported 18 unique methods for assessing problem-solving competencies in preschool children aged 3–6 years. Results indicate that most assessment methods rely on observation of hands-on tasks or oral examination, typically focussing on a single step of the problem-solving process within one STEM discipline. Observing children solve engineering design problems and engaging in dialogue with them appears appropriate for integrated problem-solving assessment. Only one instrument was found for which the psychometric properties were adequately examined. Further research is needed to develop reliable and valid assessment methods to provide researchers and educators with age-appropriate methods to investigate and monitor preschoolers’ problem-solving competencies.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study
Identifying characteristics of reliable and valid methods for assessing preschoolers’ problem-solving competencies will help researchers and practitioners to study and support their development.
Why the new findings matter
The findings offer valuable insights into the current methods used to assess preschoolers’ problem-solving competencies in scientific research, and draw attention to issues that need to be considered when selecting, developing or implementing assessment methods.
Implications for researchers, practitioners
From this scoping review, we conclude that there is still a need for reliable and valid, cross-disciplinary assessment methods that cover the whole problem-solving process and can be administered multiple times. Most of the methods identified involve oral examination of depicted problems or observation of hands-on assignments. Observing children as they solve engineering design problems and engaging in dialogue with them offers an integrated and promising approach for assessing and monitoring the development of preschoolers’ problem-solving competencies.