Culturally inclusive early childhood education for sustainability: a comparative document analysis between Australian and Korean curricula

Abstract

ABSTRACT Early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) is becoming internationally recognised as an important means for young children to develop their attitudes and behaviour towards sustainability. Yet, there is little research in addressing how ECEfS is differently understood within different cultural contexts, which can compromise the universality of sustainability and ECEfS. This study is to analyse how the ECEfS concepts (the meaning of sustainability, children as agents of change for sustainability, and sustainability in young children’s everyday lives) are represented in Australian and Korean national curricular documents through critical document analysis. As a result, it is identified that the curricula have meaningful connections with predominant cultural characteristics of the countries. That is, individualistic and collectivistic factors greatly influence shaping the understanding of sustainability (e.g. analytic versus holistic understanding of sustainability, independent versus interdependent children identity, and selective versus nonselective approaches to children’s everyday lives). With these findings, this paper is to discuss and articulate ‘culturally inclusive education for sustainability’ by adding ‘culture’ as an essential dimension to the meaning of sustainability, defining children identity with three forms of being (independent, interdependent, and relational), and addressing children’s interactive and interconnected everyday lives.