Peer-reviewed article
Climate education in early childhood education : Finnish early childhood educators' views
Markus Hilander, Chantal Romi, Sirpa Tani ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed study explores how early childhood educators in Finland view and implement climate education in their settings. Through a survey of 26 educators and interviews with 7 participants, the researchers found that climate education is not currently part of the official early childhood curriculum but can be integrated through sustainable development approaches. The study identifies two key factors for effective climate education: creating safe learning environments where children can express climate concerns, and educators serving as environmental role models.
Key points
- Climate education is not mentioned in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care
- A safe learning environment where children can share concerns and ask questions about the environment is important for climate education
- Early childhood educators' role as environmental role models is crucial for climate education
- Climate education can be connected to sustainable development and eco-social education concepts
Limitations
This study captures the views and practices of only 26 surveyed educators and 7 interviewed participants interested in environmental education in Finland, so findings may not represent all early childhood educators or be generalizable beyond Finland. The study does not measure actual child outcomes or evaluate the effectiveness of climate education interventions on children's learning or behavior change.
Abstract
Although climate change is a much-discussed topic, climate education is not mentioned in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2022). However, it can be connected to the idea of sustainable development and eco-social education. In this article, the state of climate education in Finnish early childhood education is mapped. The dataset consists of an online survey (N=26) addressed to early childhood education personnel interested in environmental education and their thematic interviews (N=7). The dataset was produced in spring 2020. Based on the results, it is suggested that a safe learning environment and the educator’s role model are important factors in climate education in the context of early childhood education. First, children need to be provided with a safe learning environment where they can share their concerns and ask questions about the environment and global climate. Second, early childhood educators act as role models for the children and, therefore, it is necessary that educators reflect their values in relation to the environment and climate change.