Towards a Research Programme for Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Development
The chapter argues that transdisciplinarity is fundamental to the achievement of sustainable development and that this applies as much to early childhood care and education for sustainable development as to the subject as a whole. A summary of the main fi
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Towards a Research Programme for Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Development John Siraj-Blatchford
In a world characterised by rapid change, uncertainty and increasing interconnectedness, there is a growing need for science to contribute to the solution of persistent, complex problems. (Hadorn et al. 2008: vii)
It is now widely recognised that holistic solutions are required to address the world’s problems. It isn’t enough to provide an economic or even a sociocultural or an environmental analysis in isolation. What is required is to combine these perspectives to identify the complexities and the interrelationships of economic, environmental and social and cultural contributions to the problems we face such as poverty, waste, environmental destruction and degradation, inequality, health, safety and the violation of human rights. Transdisciplinarity is fundamental to sustainable development. As educational researchers concerned with the development of policy and practice, we addressed these challenges directly.
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Trials of the Education Rating Scale for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood (ERS-SDEC)
The collaborative studies carried out within the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) and reported in the preceding chapters have all been founded on a common assumption that these challenges are best addressed through international collaboration and that, as professional ECCE educators and advocates, our responsibilities to young children and their families extend beyond national borders, supporting children around the world and especially where their needs are greatest at the present time. J. Siraj-Blatchford (*) Institute of Education, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 J. Siraj-Blatchford et al. (eds.), International Research on Education for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood, International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development 14, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42208-4_13
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In the study trials, the ERS-SDEC was well received by teacher in all the countries involved in the study. Even in the trials carried out in Chile where all of the settings were considered inadequate, it was felt that the use of the scale, as a selfevaluation tool, would allow the centres to improve their sustainability practices. The Chilean research team called for international support in the development of more training resources for ESD and for materials promoting greater recognition of the need for ESD in early childhood education. The ratings in Kenya were also very limited, but the UNESCO Post-DESD Africa Consultation has suggested that the post-2014 ESD programme framework should focus on the development of indicators to assess ESD implementation at local, national, subregional and regional levels. It was felt that terms of reference and indicators for monitoring and evaluating ESD implementation were required at all levels and that the informatio
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