Education for sustainable development in early childhood education in Spain. Evolution, trends and proposals

Abstract

This article analyses how the sustainability culture has evolved in the early childhood education setting within the Spanish education system with official documents and the sustainability training received by teachers who intervene in this stage of education since these teachers' degrees have been adapted to the European Higher Education Area.Early childhood education in Spain is an individual stage to educate children aged up to six years (two main cycles: 0–3 and 3–6 years). It is important to verify if this stage of education includes curricular content that is designed to develop attitudes, behaviours and lifestyles that are in keeping with sustainability values.We conclude that it is necessary to include variables that outline sustainable development in early childhood education, to organize preliminary and continuous teacher training, and to inform the complete educational community so it is aware of the need for education to bring about changes towards sustainable development.