Citation
Barnardos. (2023). Childlinks Issue 1: Environmental Sustainability in Early Childhood Education and Care. https://knowledge.barnardos.ie/handle/20.500.13085/1235
Abstract
Global concerns about pollution, overpopulation, waste disposal, climate change,
global warming, and the greenhouse effect are central to current discourse about
healthy futures for children. It is widely acknowledged that adults need to make
more proactive efforts to sustainably restore and regenerate the planet on which
we live for future generations. It is also increasingly evident that a proactive stance
with children in urgently addressing global environmental issues, highlighting
an ethical responsibility to sustainability, is needed. Children have a right to an
education that supports the development of respect for the natural environment,
and early childhood education and care (ECEC) is crucial to education for
environmentalism and sustainability. A respect for and a drive to protect and preserve nature
can be instilled in even the youngest children. While the
influence of formative nature experiences in supporting
children to develop an affinity with and appreciation of
nature, and subsequently pro-environmental attitudes
and behaviours, has been widely discussed, it is clear
that early environmental education needs to go further
to develop children’s understanding and awareness of
issues relating to environmentalism and sustainability. In the first article in this issue on environmental sustainability
in ECEC, Dr Sue Elliott and Dr Fran Hughes from the
University of New England in Australia argue for deeper
educator understandings about sustainability and stronger
transformative pedagogical engagement for collectively
shifting towards worldviews aligned with a global
sustainability trajectory. This is followed by a consideration
of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by
Dr Diane Boyd from Liverpool John Moores University,
who highlights how one early years educator in Australia
incorporated sustainability into her early childhood setting
in an inspiring way. Muireann Ranta, SETU, then considers a child rights-based
participatory education for sustainable development
approach in ECEC, acknowledging that, for children to
enjoy their education and participatory rights, they need regular access to nature, time, space and flexibility with
listening adults who know them, and buy in from leaders,
both within settings and at government level.
Also in this issue, Magdalene Hayden, Education
Programme Executive at SEAI, highlights the need for
education programmes that focus on the importance of
saving energy and protecting the environment in a safe and
age-appropriate way. Clodagh Burke from Ballymacarbry
Montessori School then details her setting’s experiences
of taking part in a pilot scheme to bring Preschools into
the An Taisce Green Schools Programme. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
(NCCA) then considers the relationship between
Ireland’s early childhood curriculum framework Aistear
and the Sustainable Development Goals, and highlights
calls to renew and strengthen the focus on sustainability
as Aistear is updated.
Finally, Dr Jennifer Pope and Dr Mary Moloney from Mary
Immaculate College, Limerick look at how inquiry-based
learning nurtures positive dispositions towards learning
about the environment in the early years.