Peer-reviewed article
Early Childhood Education for Sustainability Through Contradicting and Overlapping Dimensions
Liv Torunn Grindheim, Yvonne Bakken, Kjellrun Hiis Hauge, Marianne Presthus Heggen ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed article examines how to integrate sustainability education into early childhood education programmes using four dimensions defined by UNESCO: ecological, economic, social/cultural, and governance. The authors review existing research and propose how these dimensions relate to children's learning and development. The article identifies how these dimensions can work together or create tensions in ECE practice. The research emphasizes creating opportunities for children to engage critically and challenge conventional thinking.
Key points
- All four UNESCO dimensions of sustainability are necessary in early childhood education
- The dimensions can overlap and sometimes contradict each other in practice
- Children's opportunities to engage and disturb established ways of thinking should be facilitated
- The analysis connects sustainability dimensions to Biesta's concepts of socialization, qualification, and subjectification
Limitations
This is a theoretical and literature-based investigation without empirical data on actual implementation outcomes or effectiveness of sustainability education in ECE settings. The article does not measure whether children actually develop sustainability competencies or attitudes as a result of the proposed approach.
Abstract
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.