Early Childhood Education For Sustainability Research Articles

The Effectiveness of a Community-Based Playgroup in Inspiring Positive Changes in the Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours of Children and their Parents: A Qualitative Case Study

AbstractThe ideal period for implementing environmental education or education for sustainability is during the early childhood years. The educational context of playgroups can be a platform for both children and their parents to learn together and together engage in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), however there is a paucity of literature examining ECEfS within Australian playgroup contexts. The Little Explorers Playgroup (LEP) is a facilitated playgroup located in a sustainable living centre in Sydney, Australia, and provides opportunities for children and their parents to engage in ECEfS. The study purpose was to evaluate the effect of the LEP on the participating children and parents’ environmental attitudes and behaviours. This qualitative study was designed as a single critical case study employing semi-structured telephone interviews conducted with twenty-three participants, including three LEP playgroup facilitators and 20 parents. The data generated by the interviews was analysed thematically and the findings indicated that the LEP empowered and positively transformed both the children and parents’ environmental attitudes and behaviours. This was evident through the children and parents’ adoption of more environmentally responsible attitudes and behaviours. The findings demonstrate that playgroups may be an untapped opportunity for facilitating community change towards sustainable living.

Systematic Child Talks in Early Childhood Education-A Method for Sustainability.

One of a preschool teacher's most important competencies is to be able to talk with children and to invite them to share their ideas, knowledge, and experiences. This skill is of utmost importance within Early Childhood Education for sustainability. The aim of this article is to show various ways in which preschool teachers carry out systematic talks with children. Data come from a large Swedish development and research project, Sustainable Preschool, involving around 200 teachers in Early Childhood Education. During the spring of 2022, the preschools carried out theme-oriented projects linked to sustainable development. The participating preschool teachers were then asked to carry out systematic child talks with children about learning for sustainability and their understanding of the sustainability-related content. Using content analysis, three different approaches were identified as to how teachers communicate with children systematically about various content related to sustainability: (1) joint creation of meaning, (2) question and answer, focusing on remembering facts, and (3) following the children. There is a large variation in the teachers' communicative competences. A key factor seems to be to create a shared inter-subjective atmosphere, while at the same time being open for alterity, that is, introducing new or slightly changed perspectives for the dialogue to deepen and continue.

STEM/STEAM in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS): A Systematic Review

We sought to explore the intersection between interdisciplinary STEM/STEAM educational approaches and Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS). For that, we conducted a systematic review of Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and Scielo databases from 2007 to 2022 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) commandments. The systematic search led to a list of 12 articles, and we analysed them through theoretical orientations, educational perspectives, and pictures of children’s nature. We found that most studies focus on sustainability’s environmental pillar and address the discipline of science more frequently. Additionally, the authors tend to assume a theoretical orientation on the need for connecting children to a sustainable issue and picture the Apollonian child—assuming children are essentially good and emerge with virtuous traits from this contact, such as environmental care. Accordingly, researchers usually propose experiential learning in environments or settings related to sustainability, while there is a lack of teaching STEM/STEAM knowledge and skills on sustainability or engaging children to act for sustainability. We verified that they frequently lose opportunities to explicitly discern STEM/STEAM knowledge areas and their intersections in moments that could benefit children’s learning.

Environmental learning across generations: spontaneous encounters and interactions between young children, mothers and teachers

ABSTRACT While research demonstrates that family and school dynamics play a role in shaping children’s behaviour, little is known about the actual and potential bi-directional influences young children have on their teachers’ and mothers’ environmental learning. This study begins to fill this gap in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) research by recognising young children as agents of intergenerational learning for sustainability. It explores the ways in which young children (aged 4–7 years), in Malta, influence the way mothers and teachers learn about the environment and environmental issues. Socio-cultural and ecological theoretical perspectives framed this research. Designed within an interpretive methodology, this qualitative multiple case study generated data through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with children, mothers and teachers, and document analysis, thus enabling the triangulation of data. Findings revealed instances of intergenerational environmental learning between children and adults (teachers and mothers), and vice versa. The implications of these findings in relation to ECEfS are explored. New approaches to support intergenerational environmental learning at familial, school and societal levels, starting in early childhood, are discussed. Lastly, areas for further research are identified.

Researching early childhood education for sustainability: challenging assumptions and orthodoxies - Edited by: Sue Elliott, Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, and Julie Davis. Routledge, 2020, London and New York.

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Challenges in Reorienting Early Childhood Education for Sustainability in Initial Teacher Education: Transforming, Creating and Expanding

This editorial essay introduces a special issue on education for sustainability, early childhood education and initial teacher education. We adopt a duoethnographic approach to first provide an overview of the issues, gaps, tensions and challenges in past and current trends in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) in initial teacher education (ITE). Then, from our perspectives as four teacher educators located in disparate regions of the world: Finland, Turkiye, Canada, and Australia, we invite readers into our own stories as a starting place to explore the papers within the special issue. Through this dynamic interplay of four critically questioning minds and five papers, we aim to transform, create, and expand understanding of the interplay between ECEfS and ITE. We acknowledge that readers will derive their own understandings and responses from the papers, hence, our interpretations are not prescriptive, but rather aim to provoke further contributions to an emerging and developing field. This editorial essay introduces a special issue on education for sustainability, early childhood education and initial teacher education. We adopt a duoethnographic approach to first provide an overview of the issues, gaps, tensions and challenges in past and current trends in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) in initial teacher education (ITE). Then, from our perspectives as four teacher educators located in disparate regions of the world: Finland, Turkiye, Canada, and Australia, we invite readers into our own stories as a starting place to explore the papers within the special issue. Through this dynamic interplay of four critically questioning minds and five papers, we aim to transform, create, and expand understanding of the interplay between ECEfS and ITE. We acknowledge that readers will derive their own understandings and responses from the papers, hence, our interpretations are not prescriptive, but rather aim to provoke further contributions to an emerging and developing field.

Broadening Ontological and Epistemological Possibilities within Early Childhood Teacher Education for Sustainability

The dominant sustainability ethos and discourse within early childhood education pursue a normative ontological and epistemological direction aimed at empowering children’s agency and thus, building certain predefined moral values, knowledge, and skills. Likewise, mainstream early childhood teacher education programmes strive to build early childhood pre-service teachers’ sustainability knowledge and skills, especially to enhance their capacity to be transformative agents and motivators for change to engage children with sustainability challenges. In this conceptual article, drawing on posthuman concepts, I highlight the limits of such orthodox assumptions in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) teacher education and invite broader ontological and epistemic possibilities. I interrogate the human-centric assumptions that unintentionally perpetuate the deep-rooted binary thinking that separates humans from non-humans and other species. In doing so, I offer an expanded understanding of the underlying ontological and epistemic assumptions within teacher education for ECEfS. I conclude by indicating how posthuman theories serve as an impetus for epistemological and ontological multiplicities in early childhood teacher education for sustainability.

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: An Assessment of the ERS-SDEC Scale (OMEP) in a Comparative Study of Chile–Venezuela

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: An Assessment of the ERS-SDEC Scale (OMEP) in a Comparative Study of Chile–Venezuela

Preschool children’s agency in education for sustainability: the case of Sweden

ABSTRACT Although children’s participation and agency are highly prioritized in early childhood education for sustainability, both researchers and educators have paid little attention to this topic. This paper explores how the revised preschool curriculum Lpfö2018 in Sweden addresses education for sustainability (EfS) with regards to children’s participation and agency. A sociocultural perspective on agency combined with a holistic view of sustainability was used, while a critical content analysis was conducted to investigate major changes in the curriculum in relation to both EfS and children’s participation and agency. Findings show that the curriculum Lpfö2018 has explicitly introduced the concept of sustainability from a holistic perspective, integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Children are recognized as competent beings who can actively participate in and influence their learning. Moreover, the notion of transformative learning has been observed in the curriculum, which emphasizes changes in the ways children think, act, and learn in relation to sustainability.

Human–nature relationships in early childhood education for sustainability: Metaphysical analysis and reshaping

Popular instructional approaches in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) are co-construction learning, transformative learning and ecological learning. These rely on constructivism that could challenge human–nature relationships of ECEfS. In this study, we aim to discover and reshape human–nature relationships embedded in the approaches. To do so, we deconstruct the approaches through a metaphysical analysis with ontology, epistemology and axiology. As a result, we confirm that they are likely to view humans and nature as two separate entities. For sustainability, we distinguish an ontological view (‘N’ature) and an epistemological view (‘n’ature) and justify the distinction based on posthumanists’ concepts of non-humans and more-than-humans. We present a metaphysically reshaped human–nature relationship and argue that this new model enables teachers to critically review ‘human-made/observed natures’ and participate in the reconciliation between ‘N’ature and humanity. We also apply the model into a waste-recycle activity to clarify its potential practicality.

Fostering Cultural Sustainability in Early Childhood Education through a Neighbourhood Project

Culture is the life blood of a society, which influences people’s worldviews, values, and behaviours. Research has confirmed that children’s participation in culture helps develop thinking skills, builds self-esteem, and improves resilience. This paper aims to explore how a purposely designed project can foster cultural sustainability through a case study of a neighbourhood project conducted in Chinese and Norwegian kindergartens. A qualitative research methodology is utilised. Major data sources are an overall project plan prepared by one of the Norwegian university researchers, project descriptions and PowerPoint presentations from the kindergartens, as well as workshop notes taken by one researcher during the workshop, complemented and triangulated by the follow-up reflective narratives from three kindergartens. Qualitative content analysis and comparative analysis are used to analyse the collected data. Findings have indicated that kindergartens hold similar views on culture and cultural stainability. Though the actual activities are diverse and implemented in different ways, the goal of fostering cultural sustainability is achieved in all participating kindergartens. Children not only have gained knowledge of their neighbourhood and problem solving and social skills but also have developed sense of belonging and emotional link with their local culture through the active participation. More importantly, this study has indicated that purposely designed projects/activities can promote early childhood education for sustainability and quality of early childhood education. It is thus recommended cultivating student teachers’ and kindergarten teachers’ competence to design projects/activities integrating different dimensions of sustainability in early childhood teacher education

Children's Agency and Action in Nature Preschool: A Tale of Two Programs

Integral to sustainability is the active role of citizens to promote and participate in sustainable practices. In this report from the field, we describe two projects that demonstrate how early childhood educators supported children's development of ecologically sustainable practices by facilitating a shift from learning in and about environments to acting in ways that promote regeneration of the natural environment. Two practitioner-researchers, each paired with a critical friend, used the Project Approach as a framework for facilitating children's complex, authentic connections to, understandings of, and actions for their ecosystems, demonstrating the potential of the field of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS).

Why is it important to protect the environment? Reasons presented by young children

How children piece together their reasons for protecting the environment is an important but under-research area in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS). This article reviews findings related to young Maltese children’s (aged 3–7 years) reasons for protecting the environment. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, preliminary data were collected via observations in two state schools and one family household, semi-structured conversational interviews with children, children’s drawings and their interpretations of them, and document analysis. Findings showed that children were aware of the need to protect the environment, they were aware of some environmental issues within their local context. Children were able to share their opinions with adults about the importance of protecting the environment in different ways. Children’s reasons for protecting the environment centred round moral reasons; the effects on human life; the effects on endangered species; supports for living; and, aesthetics. Finally, the implications of these findings for ECEfS, policy and directions for future research are discussed.

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

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.

Preschool children’s perceptions on human–environment relationship: follow-up research

ABSTRACT In the current study, we focus on how the early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) program develops the perceptions of preschool children about the human–environment relationship. The sample of the study consisted of preschoolers aged 60–66 months in Ankara, Turkey. The data were collected through the drawings of children on the topic of ‘human–environment’ and interviews on drawings obtained before and after the program. The findings revealed that children perceive their environment as a peaceful and gentle place. Furthermore, children conceptualized the environment through unusual and fantastic elements and they described the environment through secondary sources. There was a shift in descriptions in the post- and follow-up drawings including proposing recycling as a way of reconstructing the human–environment relationship, with making connections between global issues. In parallel to post findings, follow-up drawings gained after 10-month of the implementation highlights children’s own solutions for a sustainable future.

Learning with vital materialities: weather assemblage pedagogies in early childhood education

Early Childhood Education in general, and Early Childhood Education for Sustainability in particular, have dominantly relied on an ontological framework that privileges children’s agency. This paper challenges this dominant narrative by attuning to the everyday ways in which children are moved by the weather within a multitude of weather assemblages. It attempts to illustrate how ‘learning’ could be achieved when bodies come in relation with, and are able to be affected by, other bodies. Drawing on ideas from post-qualitative research orientation that highlights weather-generated data, the paper elucidates how the weather acts on and comes into relation with humans and non-human bodies. It contends that noticing and engaging with the vitality of weather offers possibilities for creating affects and that this potentially leads to an attunement towards ecological sensibility. Notions such as ‘vital materiality’ and ‘lively assemblages’ are discussed as a possibility to go beyond an anthropocentric understanding of the weather, which could pave the way towards a more relational ontology as a basis for emphasizing human’s ‘inter and intra-dependence’ with non-human nature, and hence, arguably, sustainable living.

Building a Sustainable Future Through International ECE Partnership Programmes

Purpose:Taking a particular example of an international partnership programme, this article aims to discuss kindergartens’ participation in international partnership programmes as compelling vehicles for promoting early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS). The partnership programme included Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, and kindergartens in Norway and China. Researchers, postgraduate students, kindergarten principals, and teachers participated in the programme, their key concern being to promote competencies for sustainability and agents for change.Design/Approach/Methods:The article is based upon research with a phenomenological approach to Chinese and Norwegian kindergarten teachers’ and principals’ experiences of participating in an international partnership programme. The data for this article consisted of reflective notes from the teachers and principals and recordings of teachers’ and principals’ reflections in a joint seminar in the kindergarten network.Findings:This article argues that ethical normative, dialogical, and anticipatory approaches are pivotal within international ECEfS partnership programmes.Originality/Value:The article has the potential to address international partnership programmes, involving different stakeholders, as vital in promoting ECEfS. It also urges international partnership programmes to promote glocality in ECEfS (i.e., local situatedness with global awareness).

A Critical Analysis of Education for Sustainability in Early Childhood Curriculum Documents in China and Norway

Purpose: This article examines how early childhood curriculum documents in two culturally different contexts are associated with current concepts of sustainability and principles of early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) in China and Norway. Design/Approach/Methods: Applying critical document analysis, the study explores a number of landmark curriculum documents from China and Norway, comparing the ways in which ECEfS is conceptualized, including the concept of sustainability, children as agents of change for sustainability, and sustainability in young children’s everyday lives. Findings: Corresponding to the analytical framework, China and Norway attach different importance to the three dimensions of sustainability—social-cultural, economic, and environmental. For example, Norway has a more autonomous view of children’s agency, while China gives more emphasis to teachers’ support. The two countries also have different perspectives on how to work with families and communities based on significantly different traditions and institutions. The comparative document analysis argues that predominant cultural dimensions in each context, such as collectivist and individualistic factors, may shape the understandings of sustainability in each country’s early years’ curriculum documents. Originality/Values: By broadening the focus on the social-cultural aspects of sustainability, this study extends the development of a culturally inclusive understanding of the concept of sustainability and contextualized/localized approaches to ECEfS across the globe.

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: A Driver for Quality

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: A Driver for Quality

Early Childhood Education for Sustainability Through Contradicting and Overlapping Dimensions

Purpose: The article investigates how to make a broader understanding of sustainability relevant for early childhood education (ECE) guided by the four dimensions suggested by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: ecological, economic and social/cultural sustainability, and good governance. Design/Approach/Methods: Previous research on ECE on sustainability is discussed in relation to the four dimensions and to Biesta’s concepts of socialization, qualification, and subjectification. Findings: The investigation finds that all four dimensions are necessary in ECE for sustainability, and it suggests how the dimensions can be understood, how they may overlap, and how they can be contradictive. Originality/Value: The article depicts how children’s opportunities to engage and to disturb established ways of thinking can be facilitated through all dimensions.