Early childhood education for sustainability and the legacies of two pioneering giants

Boyd, Diane

doi:10.1080/09575146.2018.1442422

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…On ECE, ESD addresses the flaws and limitations of current early-childhood education and sustainability approaches. This encompasses the need to overcome adult-centric views of children that consider them incapable of coping with harsh and complex issues (e.g., climate change) [12,13,[20][21][22], to focus on developing experience rather than transmitting knowledge to raise change-agents [13,23,24], to overcome positivistic and romanticized views in our relationship with the environment [20,[25][26][27][28], and to integrate individual and collective values [13,29]. ESD encompasses previous fields of education, such as environmental education, science education, intercultural education, citizenship education and community-based education.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development

2019

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During recent decades, education for sustainable development (ESD) has been under the scope of the international community, but research in ESD for early childhood education (ECE) is still scarce. This article proposes a procedural framework for the implementation of teacher professional development opportunities in the area. During the first phase, we undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles on ESD for ECE (n = 30). After an expert committee revision of the articles reviewed, three cornerstones (scientific action-integrated, community-based and value-oriented scopes) and three sets of suitable pedagogical approaches (art-based, outdoor-based and project-problem-based) were identified. The review was enhanced by an unsystematic review of articles (n = 26) that specifically referred to the cornerstones and approaches. Finally, a double-blind expert coding and categorization of the articles (n = 56) was performed in order to validate the results. Focusing on guidelines and approaches, different examples found in the literature are presented. This review offers a useful framework to understand and practice ESD in ECE. Unlike previous reviews, it has a practical scope to foster innovative teacher professional development opportunities, inspire teachers and inform policy makers. We conclude with some common challenges and the needs for educational systems to foster science-based citizenship education towards sustainable development in a practical way, fostering agency from an early stage to transform local context, creating global awareness of the environmental, social and economic challenges of the 21st century.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development

2019

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“…Davis and Elliott [100] talk about 'the transformative agenda of education for sustainability' (p. 9). Boyd [101] calls early childhood a 'transformative time' and argues "that early childhood educators should empower children to act as critical agents of change" (p. 227).…”

Section: The Competent Child and Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mission of Early Childhood Education in the Anthropocene

Wolff

Skarstein

2020

Education Sciences

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During the last century, the human way of life has begun to transgress many of the Earth’s biophysical boundaries in an alarming way. The consequences of this are more dramatic and long lasting than ever before. Many researchers even argue that humanity has created a new geological epoch, which they call Anthropocene. Education, even in early childhood (EC), is often presented as a remedy for these complex problems. Yet, how can anyone prepare young children to deal with such tremendous changes? The primary aim of our study is to define and outline what the mission of early childhood education (ECE) might be in the epoch of the Anthropocene. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, we have tried to find answers about how the Anthropocene could be addressed in ECE. We have searched for answers in the natural science literature, policy documents, educational research articles and philosophy, and discuss the various standpoints we have identified. We argue that the Anthropocene demands a new, more authentic education; a change towards a more holistic, transformative, sustainability-oriented approach. At the same time, children, as always, have a right to a safe, positive and encouraging childhood.

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“…Very brittle cultural tool sets imply less potential for social change. When flexibility is embedded in the cultural identity constituting tool set, then there is greater potential for transformative change (Boyd, 2018; Cranton, 2016; Mezirow, 2000). However, it is clear that transformative change is rarely engaged and administered with the goal of the type of epistemological and ontological paradigm shift envisaged by the authors of this article.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emotional Experience of Sustainability Courses: Learned Eco-Anxiety, Potential Ontological Adjustment

Graham

Kuyvenhoven

Upitis

et al. 2020

Journal of Education for Sustainable Development

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The knowledge content of university-level introductory sustainability courses elicits emotional reactions by students that are novel within the typical classroom context. Common negative reactions include ‘sadness’, ‘worry’, ‘guilt’ and ‘disgust’, while more positive responses include ‘feeling angry’, ‘empowered’, ‘like trying to make a difference’ or ‘having raised awareness’. These emotions are indexical of a deeper social epistemic collision between historically established social identities, including behavioural scripts consistent with, and generative of, unsustainability on the one hand, and a growing collective awareness of the consequent unsustainability that threatens students’ future well-being on the other. The authors argue that introductory sustainability courses set up the potential for not only a learned eco-anxiety, but also an ontological adjustment. That adjustment might bring student, historical inheritance and environment from a state of living in a suffering, but still separate, world to a practice of becoming with a world into which we extend and that also extends into us. Therefore, it is arguably important for instructors to be aware of the possibility of students getting into a negative state of eco-anxiety and for instructors to also have some tools for supporting a more positive ontological adjustment. We recommend that they become skilled in facilitating transformational learning by including some discussions about the ontology of self in any introductory sustainability instruction. Directing students’ attention to their own emotional responses can also be useful for grounding such classroom discussions and transformational learning.

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Early childhood education for sustainability and the legacies of two pioneering giants

Abstract: The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of the record. Please see the repository URL above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.

Cited by 23 publications

References 10 publications

Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development

Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development

The Mission of Early Childhood Education in the Anthropocene

The Emotional Experience of Sustainability Courses: Learned Eco-Anxiety, Potential Ontological Adjustment

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