The Importance of Sustainability Education in Early Childhood Care Issues 2022

RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY
EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE
The importance of sustainability education in early childhood care
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THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION IN CHILDHOOD CARE1
Sustainability plays a crucial role in early childhood education. The physical,
emotional, and social development of young children creates a positive impact on their
overall development. Investing in early childhood care is essential because it will help to
develop future wellbeing. The job of sustainability in early childhood care is necessary, as it
will help young children to understand and respect the environment and encourage critical
thinking. In this paper, the vital role of education for sustainability in early childhood will be
analysed. This paper will discuss the range of perspectives of early childhood care,
pedagogical practices to implement sustainable education, and teaching strategies for
explaining this issue,
Greater sustainability is becoming more apparent, so sustainability education is
essential in early childhood programs. Sustainability education in early childhood is the
process of transformation and empowerment (Davis, 2015). Education for sustainability will
help in bringing out transformative change at various levels, such as, thought procedure, the
way human beings behave, and the activities that humans perform to restore the earth.
Children, families, and educators will be engaged in this process to develop an eco-centric
worldview. This worldview embraces not only humans but also other life forms and physical
elements (Kopnina, 2013). Children can learn environmental issues through the pedagogies
of educators and their own experiences. Sustainability education in early childhood will
support to develop creativity and critical thinking skill, which is vital to improve the quality
of their lives and future generations (Davis & Elliott, 2014). This type of learning will
empower the children to explore values, create knowledge, create a bond with the
environment, and also develop an appreciation for the same. With this type of education
being given at a very early age, children will become more responsible as when they become
adults and in turn, building a safer world for themselves. Sustainability evolves into the
standard, and it has a constructive influence on the early children’s learning. Through their

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION IN CHILDHOOD CARE2
own experience, children realise their relationship with the environment. Sustainability
education in early childhood helps these children to develop this realisation. Societies depend
on the education system to prepare their citizens to fulfil their responsibilities towards the
earth. Early childhood education will help these children to be well prepared for the
upcoming obstacles. Sustainability education in early childhood care is a critical strategy for
developing the knowledge, skill, value, and thinking procedure. Environmental education is
the procedure, which involves encouraging and strengthening the capacity of human beings
to scrutinise the complexities and significance of sustainability and to work for a sustainable
future (Caiman & Lundegård, 2014). Sustainability education in early childhood empowers
individual human beings, communities, and organisations to critically reflect on existing
practices, detect opportunities, and make appropriately informed decisions.
The Early year Learning Framework, National Quality standard, and Framework for
School Age Care promoting sustainable education in early childhood care education. The
educator plays a key role in the environment for sustainability education (Edwards & Cutter-
Mackenzie, 2013). An effective educator helps all the students to achieve success, develops
their personal and social wellbeing. He/she also guides all the students to be involved in their
local social, economic, and ecological communities. Educators need essential knowledge,
skill, and dispositions to educate the children about sustainability. Sustainability education is
not completely about merging new content into the curriculum (Dockett, Perry & Davies,
2017). Also challenging teaching and learning approaches is a part of it. The curriculum
needs to be multidisciplinary and holistic in recognition because in future it will help the
children to deal with the real-world problem. The participatory curriculum has the goal of
global endurance and coexistence through the co-evolution of educators and students with the
subject matter and procedure of learning, which may guide them towards more reasonable
and sustainable ways of living. New construction of pedagogy is needed to empower