Our planet is facing unprecedented transnational challenges that cannot be solved by a single country or entity. Considering the intensity of the situation, the United Nation (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focusing on people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. Education for sustainability (EfS) has become an integrated part of all education, from preschool to higher education. Target 4.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals states that education should ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainability by 2030. The preschool curriculum Lpfö 2018 in Sweden explicitly requires the integration of sustainability in educational practices. This study set out to explore:
· What competence do preschool teachers have in teaching EfS?
· What challenges do they encounter while integrating EfS in their educational practices?
This study was part of a school development and research project in Sweden conducted from October 2017 to December 2019. A holistic approach, in which environmental, social and economic dimensions are interconnected, was used together with pluralistic and transformative perspectives. Eighteen preschools with 140 preschool teachers participated in the project. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, group discussions, EfS-network meetings and informal interviews.
Two of three preschool teachers did not have any education or competence development training on EfS. Most of the teachers defined EfS as taking care of the environment, the natural cycle of the environment, recycling, or energy consumption. Challenges that preschool teachers experienced include:
· Absence of educational materials with practical examples
· Lack of professional development training
· Shortage of time for planning
· Insufficient collaboration between preschools
· Lack of support from the preschool leadership
The project was funded by the Pedagogiskt Utvecklingscentrum Dalarna (PUD), Sweden (Ref. Nr. HDa 4.2-2017/658).
2022.
holistic approach, national curriculum, pluralistic perspective, school development project, transformative education