Early childhood educators’ conceptions of the environment: a ‘funds of knowledge’ approach

Abstract

Despite the growing awareness of the environmental crisis, few studies have examined how early childhood educators conceptualise the environment and the funds of knowledge they draw upon to describe these. Using ‘funds of knowledge’ as a theoretical lens, this study explores how early childhood educators in Malta describe the environment. Guided by a qualitative case study methodology, data were collected via semi-structured interviews with five early childhood educators and one head of school. Following Hedge’s funds of knowledge framework, the themes that emerged from the data were divided under three sections: centre-based funds of knowledge, that encouraged romantic images of nature and an understanding of the environment as place; community-based funds of knowledge, that helped participants value nature and the quality of the environment; and family-based funds of knowledge, based on personal experience and their relationship with the environment. If taken into consideration, these findings may contribute to the design and implementation of initial and in-service early childhood teacher training programs that focus on the implementation of environmental education programs in the early years, based on educators’ prior conceptions.