Sustainability Education in Progress: Practices and Pedagogies in Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care Teaching Practice Settings

Autor/inn/en	Furu, Ann-Christin; Heilala, Cecilia
Titel	Sustainability Education in Progress: Practices and Pedagogies in Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care Teaching Practice Settings
Quelle	In: International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 8 (2021) 2, S.16-29 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2331-0464
Schlagwörter	Early Childhood Education; Child Care; Sociocultural Patterns; Foreign Countries; Sustainability; Educational Policy; Educational Legislation; Municipalities; Metropolitan Areas; Evaluation Methods; Faculty Development; Teacher Education; Curriculum Development; Teaching Methods; Educational Practices; Finland + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Kinderfürsorge; Kinderbetreuung; Soziokulturelle Theorie; Ausland; Nachhaltigkeit; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Bildungsrecht; Schulgesetz; Magistrat; Ballungsraum; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Bildungspraxis; Finnland
Abstract	The purpose of this article is to report on a study exploring the sustainability work (i.e., practices and pedagogies related to sustainability education) of Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) teaching practice settings. Recently, the early years and ECEC have gained increasing attention in sustainability education matters. Educational policy for ECEC has been developed through legislation and renewed curricula for the early years. Research on how sustainability is implemented in ECEC settings as well as in Finnish teacher education is still sparse, but indicates there is a policy-practice gap. The study was conducted in collaboration with municipal ECEC teams (n=34) in teaching practice settings (n=11) in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Data was collected using the "Assessment Tool for Promoting Sustainability in ECEC" (PROSUS) by Furu & Valkonen (2020). The results show that there is great variability in terms of extent and depth in how sustainability work is carried out by the settings. In general, social-cultural issues are addressed at greater depth than ecological and economic issues. The study implies that there is a need to intensify professional development activities that support the capacities for sustainability work in ECEC teaching practice settings in order for teacher education to be effective in the realm of sustainability. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	North American Association for Environmnental Education. 1725 DeSales Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-419-0412; Web site: https://naturalstart.org/research
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01