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Although a whole school approach (WSA) to sustainability has been described as one of the most meaningful education approaches, the concept of WSA has not yet been widely explored within the context of preschool education, where the play, learning, and care are preconditions for a wholeness in childhood. The concept of the WSA considers raising quality and standard across entire education institution (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004). This approach also emphasizes the needs for (pre)school to engage children, teachers, parents, and the wider community in sustainability (Mogren, Gericke & Scherp, 2019). The principals have important roles to play in reforming and prioritizing preschools activities towards sustainability (Borg & Vinterek, 2020). This paper explores 50 principals’ views and attitudes towards sustainability from a WSA perspective. Using randomized sampling, the principals were selected from 25 eco-certified and 25 non-eco-certified preschools in 25 municipalities in Sweden, out of 290. A questionnaire was utilized to collect demographic information about the preschools, number of children, number of qualified teachers, principals’ attitudes towards preschool’s activities with sustainability, and also an open-ended question about how the principals themselves integrate sustainability in their planning of preschool activities and what they actually do. The qualitative data was analyzed by using Wals and Mathie’s (2022) six component Whole School Approach Flower Model. The components are: 1. Vision, ethos, leadership and coordination; 2. Institutional practices; 3. Pedagogy and learning; 4. Curriculum; 5. Community connections; and 6. Capacity building. The components were adapted and operationalized within a preschool context. The quantitative data was analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) in the SIMCA statistical software (Umetrics 2020). This study is a part of a project, “Eco-certified preschools and children’s learning for sustainability: Researching holistic outcomes of preschool education for sustainability (HOPES)” (Swedish Research Council, Dnr. 2018-04445). The analyses will be completed by June, 2023. 

References

Borg, F., & Vinterek, M. (2020). Principals´ Views on and Descriptions of Preschool Education for Sustainable Development. Journal of Applied Technical and Educational Sciences, 10(2), 18-40. doi:10.24368/jates.v10i2.170

Henderson, K., & Tilbury, D. (2004). Whole school approaches to sustainability: An international review of sustainable school programs. Report prepared by Macquarie University for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. Sydney.

Mogren, A., Gericke, N., & Scherp, H.-Å. (2019). Whole school approaches to education for sustainable development: a model that links to school improvement. Environmental Education Research, 25(4), 508-531. https://doi:10.1080/13504622.2018.1455074  

Umetrics. (2020). SIMCA-P+. In (Version 16.0) [Computer software]. Sartorius Stedim Inc. https://www.sartorius.com/en/products/process-analytical-technology/data-analytics-software/mvda-software/simca?gclid=Cj0KCQiAvvKBBhCXARIsACTePW-oD9sm_Ng1dgNBivHH9GFSApdp5wo2G0EDOydryNnzZQ-20Xoj_vIaApIwEALw_wcB  

"This book brings together established and emerging scholars from around the globe to highlight new directions for research on young children as active, engaged citizens of classrooms. 

Divided into three sections, the volume draws on innovative methods to explore diverse conceptualizations of citizenship, children’s understandings, and effective practice. Rejecting traditional views of children as citizens-in-preparation, the volume explores how young children can and do live as citizens, and how early childhood educational settings serve as civic forums. Chapters discuss the child-as-citizen in relation to issues including gender, class, race, tribal status, and linguistic diversity, and ultimately illustrate how sociocultural processes in early years settings can be harnessed to promote the development of democratic dispositions and skills.

This book establishes citizenship enactment in early childhood education as a robust and growing research area with the potential to shape research, policy, and practice worldwide. As such, it will appeal to researchers and academics with an interest in citizenship education, democracy, and early childhood education, as well as postgraduate students of teacher education and those working across international and comparative education more broadly."

This commentary traces shared themes across the six chapters of Part III of this volume. The examples of classroom practice presented in this part highlight the important role of critical dialogue and inclusive practices as foundations of global citizenship education. When classroom conversations engage students with big ideas and interrogate structural privilege and when they recognize and welcome all perspectives, children experience citizenship that works toward justice, sustainability, and democracy. Examples from the chapters also suggest that prevailing societal attitudes about children’s competence may work against efforts to help children recognize their agency within classrooms. Implications for teacher preparation and future research are discussed.

Although the national curriculum plays a crucial role in strengthening educational activities, research on national policies is scarce (Borg et al, 2021). Our study compares how democracy, play, and sustainability is addressed in preschool curricula in Sweden and Turkey. Studies revealed that sustainability is still not explicitly integrated into preschool curricula in many countries (Ärlemalm-Hagséret al., 2014; Elliott et al., 2015; Ohlsson et al., 2022). The study uses an integrated approach to sustainability where social, economic, and environmental dimensions are interdependent and interconnected (Elliott, 2023). The study is conducted within a qualitative research paradigm using critical content analysis (Cohen et al.,2018) to analyze, interpret and compare the content of text data. Although it is an analysis of curricula, ethical consideration has been given to ensuring fair representation of the literature to avoid the possibility of bias. It is expected that the results will contribute to the improvement of early childhood policy and practices and will benefit early childhood fields within wider society. The preliminary findings indicate that sustainability has explicitly been integrated in the Swedish curriculum, but Turkish curriculum mentioned only environmental sustainability. In Sweden, play is a core value for children’s learning where as in Turkey, play is mostly referred to as a methodology. Democracy is a core value of the Swedish curriculum, but the Turkish curriculum refers to “democracy” once in the whole text.  Our study contributes to create knowledge about policies and practices concerning preschool education in Sweden and Turkey focusing on democracy, play and sustainability.

Education for Sustainability for Preschool Children in Sweden

In Event: Young Children as Democratic Citizens in Early Childhood Education: International Perspectives

Thu, May 4, 8:00 to 9:30am CDT (3:00 to 4:30pm CEST), SIG Virtual Rooms, Early Education and Child Development SIG Virtual Session Room

Abstract

Preschool education in Sweden emphasizes children’s learning, play, care, and fostering of fundamental values (Author D, 2022). Democracy is a central theme in the 2018 Curriculum for Preschool, which points out that children have the right to participation and influence (Skolverket, 2018). Education for sustainability (EfS) is one of the strongest parts in the curriculum, which states that “Education should be undertaken in democratic forms and lay the foundation for a growing interest and responsibility among children for active participation in civic life and for sustainable development…” (p. 5). However, the ability of children to form and express their views has been subject to debates, often leading to young children’s voices being filtered by adults (Komulainen, 2007; Wall 2019). Although Sweden was one of the first countries to ratify the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), it did not become a national law until 2020.

At present, the author leads a project (Dr. Nr. [removed for blind review]) that explores the self-reported knowledge and views of environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability among children (n=402) in their final year of preschool. This randomized study included 50 preschools from 25 municipalities of a total of 290 in Sweden. To ensure children’s participation in research, the children were interviewed, both individually and in pairs, using illustrations. The interviews were recorded if the children and their parents have consented. The transcription work is in progress. Using an integrated approach to sustainability, the study draws from constructive learning theories (Bruner, 1961; Bandura, 1986) and the concept of “empowered inclusion” (Josefsson & Wall, 2020).

The children were asked whether they get to decide anything about their daily preschool activities and whether they would like to decide something, and if so, about what. The children were also asked whether they think that it is important or good to make decisions. If so, why it is good or not good to make decisions. Preliminary results indicate that most of the children felt that they got to make some decisions at preschool, at least to some extent. However, they stated that the decisions were limited to what they liked to do, for example, to paint, draw, read a photo novella with a friend, or play on a tablet computer. Several children, however, did not think that they had any right to decide anything at preschool. Rather, they think it is the preschool teacher or the principal who decides everything. Most of the children expressed a keen interest in participating in decision-making activities. Nevertheless, some children reported that they do not think it is a good idea that they decide all the time, especially when they play with their friends, because everyone should take turns to decide in order to avoid conflict and in this way no one would feel sad.

Barns lek har stor betydelse i förskolans arbete med hållbarhetsfrågor. Leken stimulerar barns fantasi och inlevelse och är viktig för deras sociala, emotionella, fysiska, psykiska och språkliga utveckling. I den här presentationen redogör vi för preliminära resultat från en studie som undersökt bland annat barns val av leksaker och deras skäl till dessa samt hur de leker på förskolan. Med hjälp av illustrationer intervjuades 403 barn individuellt, parvis eller i grupp. Intervjuerna spelades in om barn och deras föräldrar hade samtyckt. Transkriberingar av intervjuerna pågår och en innehållsanalys kommer att genomföras. Studien ingår i projektet ”Ekocertifierade förskolors betydelse för barns lärande för hållbarhet: En studie av holistiska effekter av förskoleutbildning för hållbarhet”, (Vetenskapsrådet, Dnr 2018–04445). Etikprövningsmyndigheten hade inga etiska invändningar mot forskningsprojektet (Dnr 2020–00005).

To contribute to the methodological and ethical discourse on children’sparticipation in research on complex issues, this case-study critically discusses experiences from a large-scale randomized interview study about preschool education for sustainability in Sweden. Young children’s ability to express their views has been subject to debate, resulting in them often being excluded asresearch participants. Hence, age-appropriate methodological approaches are needed to ensure their participation.

This study draws from Josefsson and Wall’s(2020) concept of children’s “empowered inclusion” and Lundy’s (2007) model of voice, space, audience, and influence.

Employing a qualitative case-studyapproach, methodological approaches and ethical considerations and experiences of a randomized study are scrutinized. A total of 403 children from 50 preschools were interviewed about sustainability using illustrations. An interview instrument was developed and pretested in two iterations. Data were analyzed thematically. The Swedish Ethical Review Authority did not raise any objection to the interview study. Consent to participate was collected from parents and children.

They were informed that the children could withdraw at any time if they wanted. The findings demonstrate that research with young children can be undertaken in an ethically acceptable manner. The use of illustrations was helpful in creating a friendly environment and supporting children’s understanding of complex issues. Individual and pair interviews were effective while group interviews were problematic. Children’s attention dropped after 12-15 minutes. These findings suggest that preschool children can express their views on important matters under ethically acceptable and methodologically appropriate conditions.

Introduction and research questions

Despite children’s understanding of economic issues being identified as important for a sustainable society, the subject has been neglected in early childhood education by both researchers and educators. Education for sustainability emphasizes the development of the capacity of children to take responsible actions for a fair society for present and future generations. Researchers emphasize that issues concerning economic sustainability need to be included and handled in the Swedish preschool (Ärlemalm-Hagsér & Pramling Samuelsson 2018; Borg, 2017a; 2017b). The Swedish preschool curriculum also requires integration of the economic sustainability with social and environmental issues into preschool education (Skolverket, 2018). Although children are often directly or indirectly involved in economic transactions, studies on children’s understanding of the economy are scarce, resulting in a lack of evidence to guide teaching practices. The need to integrate the economic dimension of sustainability with its social and environmental dimensions, has been emphasized globally, because children’s knowledge of the daily economics of earning, consuming, borrowing and saving in an increasingly economically complex world, is crucial for a sustainable society. Therefore, a literature review is needed to map the field to identify what has been done and what needs to be conducted in the field of early childhood education for sustainability in relation to economic sustainability. 

The aims of this literature review have been:

·       to identify peer-reviewed journal articles or other literature reporting empirical studies concerning early childhood education for sustainability with a focus on issues related to economic sustainability;

·       to synthesize the key findings; and

·       to identify research needs suggested in the studies.

Methodology

To a large extent, economic and social factors contribute to environmental problems. The Global Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015) seek to end poverty and hunger, and ensure  protection of the planet and its natural resources.  Since early childhood education is effective in forming children’s attitudes and behaviours, economic issues need to be taught in preschool so that children learn how to cope with their everyday economic issues. A holistic approach to sustainability that considers economic sustainability as an integral part of environmental and social sustainability, is used as a conceptual framework. 

The methodology included establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria, identifying relevant search terms, searching articles in selected databases, screening and selecting articles, and extracting data according to preselected categories. Apart from database search, hand searches and reference list searches were conducted. In addition, relevant literatures known to authors are also included. A thematical contentt analysis is on progress. 

We will consider ethical issues related to included original studies and to the review itself. The literature review is based on previously published research which does not actualize research ethics that are primarily about how participants are informed and treated before, during and after (when publishing) studies. If we identify ethical issues in any of the studies our review covers, we will comment on this in connection with the study (s).

Findings

A content analysis has been undertaken for the study. The preliminary findings of the review are:

·       Only a limited number of studies addressing the economic world of young  children (below 6 years) have been undertaken.

·       The integration of the economic sustainability in preschool education has been found to be challenging by many teachers.

·       Young children have some knowledge about wealth and poverty concerning economic inequality and unfair distribution of resources.

Conclusion and recommendations for theory and practice 

The review is intended to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of the current situation and research needs to offer support and guidance for future practices, strategies, policies and priorities.

References

Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E. & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2018): Early childhood education and care for sustainability – Historical context and current challenges. In Valerie Huggins & David Evans eds: Early Childhood Care and Education for Sustainability, pp. 13–27. London: Routledge.

Borg, F. (2017a): Kids, cash and sustainability: Economic knowledge and behaviors among preschool children. Cogent Education 4(1).

Borg, F. (2017b). Economic (in)equality and sustainability: Preschool children’s views of the economic situation of other children in the world. Early Child Development and Care, 1-15. 

Skolverket. (2018). Curriculum for the Preschool 2018. The Swedish National Agency for Education. . Stockholm: Skolverket.

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E

The aim of this study is to provide a content analysis of the new Swedish preschool curriculum in comparison with the previous preceding curriculum to investigate how sustainability and education for sustainability (EfS) have been described, and whether there have been any changes in terms of the scope of their inclusion in the new curriculum. The study adopts a holistic view of sustainability, meaning that the environmental dimension, social dimension, and economic dimension, along with a pluralistic and transformative view of EfS, form the analytical framework. Using content analysis, the frequency of explicit and implicit descriptive words for sustainability and EfS in both curricula were investigated. A contextual analysis was also conducted that involved an interpretation of the meaning of the implicit words. Two main findings could be identified in the new curriculum in comparison to the previous curriculum. The first was that the term sustainability is now used from an explicit and holistic perspective that includes all three dimensions. The second was that the new curriculum provides guidance as to how to incorporate EfS where such words as investigating, participation, collaborate and develop are used. Together with the context in which these words appear, a picture forms of a pluralistic teaching tradition in preschool curricula. Overall, the analysis provides a picture of change in the Swedish preschool curriculum that is in line with the intentions of international policy and research relating to a need for increased focus on sustainability and EfS.

Social, ekonomisk och ekologisk hållbarhet. Hur kan de tre dimensionerna av hållbar utveckling bli konkreta i arbetet med barnen? I det här avsnittet av Skolverkspodden samtalar två förskollärare och en forskare om sina erfarenheter av hållbarhetsarbete i förskolan.

Medverkande: Silvia Wiklund och Karin Gjerstad, förskollärare på Hindrikshedens förskola i Mora kommun och Farhana Borg, lektor i pedagogiskt arbete vid Högskolan Dalarna. Samtalet leds av Erik Klarén.

Skolverket har uppmärksammat ett behov av stödmaterial kring hållbar utveckling för pedagoger i förskolan, särskilt kring dess ekonomiska och sociala dimensioner. De kontaktade Farhana Borg, lektor i pedagogiskt arbete vid Högskolan Dalarna och expert på området, för att tillsammans med två verksamma förskollärare medverka i en podd som belyser aktuell forskning och ger exempel på hur förskolan kan arbeta med dessa frågor. De medverkande förskollärarna Silvia Wiklund och Karin Gjerstad arbetar på Hindrikshedens förskola i Mora. Förskolan har tidigare deltagit i ett skolutvecklingsprojekt kring hållbar utveckling som genomfördes i samarbete mellan Högskolan Dalarna och Mora kommun. Projektet leddes av Farhana och finansierades av Pedagogiskt Utvecklingscentrum Dalarna.

– De flesta pedagoger i förskolans verksamhet har inte fått tillräcklig utbildning eller fortbildning kring utbildning för hållbar utveckling. Det gör det svårt att integrera alla dimensioner i det pedagogiska arbetet med barnen. Många tror att det kräver extra tid att arbeta med hållbar utveckling, mest när det gäller ekonomiska och sociala dimensioner. Förskollärarutbildningar i hela landet har ett ansvar att ge blivande förskollärare den kompetens de behöver för att hantera komplexa hållbarhetsfrågor i förskolans praktik, säger Farhana.

I den reviderade läroplanen för förskolan (Lpfö2018) beskrivs förskolans uppdrag att ge barn möjlighet till förståelse av hållbar utveckling utifrån ett holistiskt perspektiv. Alla dimensioner av hållbarhet – social, ekonomisk och miljömässig – skall därför ingå i den vardagliga undervisningen.

Although children’s participation and agency are highly prioritized in early childhood education for sustainability, both researchers and educators have paid little attention to this topic. This paper explores how the revised preschool curriculum Lpfö2018 in Sweden addresses education for sustainability (EfS) with regards to children’s participation and agency. A sociocultural perspective on agency combined with a holistic view of sustainability was used, while a critical content analysis was conducted to investigate major changes in the curriculum in relation to both EfS and children’s participation and agency. Findings show that the curriculum Lpfö2018 has explicitly introduced the concept of sustainability from a holistic perspective, integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Children are recognized as competent beings who can actively participate in and influence their learning. Moreover, the notion of transformative learning has been observed in the curriculum, which emphasizes changes in the ways children think, act, and learn in relation to sustainability.

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). 

Introduction

In 2019, the Swedish national curriculum for pre-school education (Lpfö18) was revised and for the first time sustainability was included in the curriculum. Education for sustainability (EfS) have been described as an overriding idea under the heading “Sustainable Development, Health and Well-Being” (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2018, p.  9). The curriculum describes sustainable development in a holistic way with an ecologic, economic, and social dimension. Teaching is also a new concept in the curriculum, although it has been included in the Swedish education law since 2010 (SFS 2010:800).  Therefore, it is important to investigate how the concept of teaching has been included in the curriculum.

Research Question

The aim of this study is to investigate how the concept of teaching in relation to sustainability has been addressed in the new curriculum for preschool Lpfö 2018 in Sweden and also how preschool teachers integrate sustainability in their teaching.

Methodology

Using content analysis, we have analyzed how the concept of teaching has been addressed in the preschool curriculum in relation to education for sustainability. A contextual analysis was also conducted that involved an interpretation of the meaning of concepts. In addition, using semi-structured interview question, a pilot study has been conducted with three preschool teachers to explore how they view teaching for sustainability in preschool. 

Findings

Our study indicates that not only that Lpfö 18 describes sustainability from a holistic perspective, but also that teaching for sustainability now becomes clear in the curriculum, both that it should be included in the preschool's activities and how it should be done[A1] . The curriculum used terms such as participation, challenge, experience, and development when describing learning and often using the word together in the same sentence. These words show that children should be involved and challenged, in teaching, by practically creating their own understanding of what sustainability is and what they can do to create sustainability. 

The findings from the pilot study show that the preschool teachers use some figures to make their teaching of sustainability more interesting for children. They also include other methods such as investigation, participation, games, and theatre in their teaching practices. Practical activities they do with children can be recycling, and reuse. 

Conclusion & recommendations for theory and practice and possible References

The findings indicate that the concept of teaching in relation to sustainability has been explicitly mentioned in the preschool curriculum Lpfö 19. The curriculum provides a holistic view of sustainability and that EfS takes place in preschool teaching. 

Introduction

In 2019, the Swedish national curriculum for pre-school education (Lpfö18) was revised and for the first time is sustainability included in the curriculum. Education for sustainability (EfS) have been described as an overriding idea under the heading “Sustainable Development, Health and Well-Being” (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2018, p.  9). Previous research has shown that EfS was not present in the previous curricula. Teaching is also a new concept in the curriculum providing the opportunity for preschool teachers to develop EfS. Therefore, we choose to investigate whether and how the curriculum describes EfS, and how teachers address the new possibilities given by the new curricula.

Research Question

The aims of this study are to:

• Investigate how EfS has been made possible in the new curriculum for preschool Lpfö 2018 in Sweden and report how preschool teachers view teaching for sustainability.

Methodology

Using content analysis, we have analyzed how the concept of teaching has been addressed in the preschool curriculum in relation to education for sustainability. A contextual analysis was also conducted that involved an interpretation of the meaning of concepts. In addition, a pilot study has been conducted to explore how teachers view teaching for sustainability in preschool. We have used semi-structured interviews to investigate how preschool teachers view teaching for sustainability.

Findings

Our study shows that EfS becomes evident in the new Swedish curriculum, by descriptions of the preschool's activities. The curriculum used terms such as participation, challenge, experience, and development when describing learning and often using the word together in the same sentence in relation to sustainability issues. These words show that children are supposed to be involved and challenged, in teaching, by practically creating their own understanding of what sustainability is and how they can do to create sustainability. The preschool teachers align to this and in the interviews by describing teaching methods  for EfS that include, investigation, participation, games, and theatre. Practical activities they do with children can be recycling, plastic slimming and reuse. 

Conclusion & recommendations for theory and practice and possible References

Overall, the analysis provides a picture of change in the Swedish preschool curriculum that is in line with the intentions of international policy and research relating to a need for increased focus on sustainability and EfS. Interestingly, Swedish preschool teachers also seems to adopt to these teaching methods in the daily practices.

This report documents the results of an assignment commissioned by the School of Teacher Education at Dalarna University. The assignment includes investigation of how education for sustainability (EfS) has been integrated into the contents and teaching methods of courses in Educational Work, and what can be improved. The report also provides some suggestions on how EfS can be integrated in various courses in teacher education programs. Four university teachers, who have knowledge and experiences in teaching sustainability in different courses, were interviewed to explore how they integrated EfS in their courses and what challenges, if any, they have encountered. In addition to this, a literature review was also undertaken. The results indicate that in some natural science courses, sustainability has explicitly been addressed in the content, literature, and activities, whereas in some courses in other programs, it seems that sustainability has been integrated without having a clear link between teaching contents, learning goals, and activities. It is also found that the level of EfS integration in different courses depends on individual university teachers’ initiative, knowledge, and competencies. Although Dalarna University’s policy emphasizes the integration of sustainability throughout its activities, the implementation level of EfS in education programs at Educational Work is slow. To equip future teachers with knowledge, skills, and competences needed to work with sustainability, the School of Teacher Education needs to provide sustainability courses for students focusing on EfS and Agenda 2030, from basic to advanced levels. There is also a need for professional development training for university teachers to improve their knowledge and competences in EfS.

Purpose of the research

Although Sweden being an active initiator in the promotion of education for sustainability (EfS), there is a knowledge gap about children’s learning for sustainability and the pedagogical practices of sustainability in preschool education. Moreover, there is an overall lack of generalizable studies in this field. The purpose of this study, funded by the Swedish Research Council 2019-2022 (VR 2018-04445), is to contribute to evidence-informed development of pedagogical practices that facilitate children’s learning for sustainability at preschools. The objectives are:

• to explore and compare knowledge, attitude and behaviors among children, who attend eco- and non-eco-certified preschools;
• to identify and compare preschool teachers’ self-reported pedagogical practices of EfS at eco- and non-eco-certified preschools; and
• to investigate the extent to which eco-certification and preschool teachers’ pedagogical practices in EfS relate to children’s learning for sustainability.

In this study, eco-certified preschools refer to those preschools that work explicitly with EfS and have been awarded with the certifications, either Green Flag by the Keep Sweden Tidy or Preschool for Sustainability by Skolverket. The study uses:  integrated perspective on sustainability, in which environmental, social, and economic aspects are interconnected; pluralistic teaching methods; and transformative learning.

Research design and methods

The study applies a mixed methods design that combines cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Two-stage cluster random sampling is used to select participating preschools (n=50). A sampling frame consisting of all municipalities in Sweden that have at least two eco-certified preschools and two non-eco-certified preschools is created based on information from municipalities and organizations that award eco-certificates. A randomized sampling is used to select 25 municipalities from all over the country. 

Preschool children (n=300) and teachers (n=16) are interviewed, a questionnaire study is conducted among preschool teachers (n=300), and video observations of preschools’ (n=4) pedagogical practices of EfS is carried out. Demographical information of 25 eco- and 25 non-eco-certified preschools is collected from preschool principals. Content analyses, as well as descriptive and inferential statistics are applied.

The Swedish Ethical Review Authority did not have any ethical objections about this project (EPN 2020-00005). 

Major results

Currently the pilot studies are going on, and so far, children’s (n=12) from 3 preschools, teachers’ (n=3) from 3 preschools as well as video observations of one preschool’s pedagogical practices of EfS were conducted. The analyses of the findings from the pilot studies are expected to be ready and presented at the symposium.

Conclusion

This study will provide insights into the role of EfS in preschool education in relation to children’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors concerning sustainability, preschool teachers’ pedagogical practices, as well as the importance of eco-certification in relation to sustainability education in Sweden. 

Relevance to sustainable development and Agenda 2030

This project is explicitly connected to education for sustainability that addresses issues related to taking actions for saving the planet and living in harmony with people and its surrounding environments. It also addresses goal 4.7 of the 2030 Agenda for sustainability that urges that all learners must acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainability. 

Principals have an important role to play when it comes to making decisions on organizational reforms and priorities in preschool; however, there has been little focus on their views on education for sustainable development (ESD) at the preschool level, which is a reform that needs to be prioritized. Furthermore, there is little insight into similarities and differences when it comes to how different types of preschools incorporate ESD, especially from the point of view of management. For this reason, this study aims to find out about the views on ESD that principals of eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools have. A further aim is to examine whether there are any differences between the two types of preschools – eco-certified and non-eco-certified – as made evident in the principals’ descriptions of ESD. This qualitative study applies a cross-sectional design. Seven principals, who headed a total of 22 preschools located in six municipalities in Sweden were interviewed: these interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and a thematic analysis was conducted. The findings demonstrate that the principals consider ESD to be crucial in early childhood education and feel ESD needs to be integrated into preschool education. Going by the principals’ descriptions, it seems that the eco-certified preschools prioritize ESD in their daily educational practices more than non-eco-certified preschools do. Further studies are needed to explore the attitudes and actions of principals when it comes to heading ESD in preschool, since attitudes guide both actions and behavior.

This paper presents findings from a case study intended to develop understanding of the practices within education for sustainable development at a preschool in Sweden and highlights its work with two themes: The Health of People and the Planet and Human and Animal Societies. This case study was part of a large school development project conducted by a university in collaboration with a municipality between 2017 and 2019. The preschool had two units with a total of 36 children aged 1–6 years, and 8 preschool teachers. Empirical materials were collected from observations of educational activities at two events, as well as group discussions with teachers and the preschool head teacher. Findings show that the interconnectedness of, and interdependencies between, the environmental, social, and, to some extent, economic aspects of sustainable development were present in educational practices of the preschool. They also indicate that young children, with support and encouragement from their teachers, can take responsibility for activities that are meaningful to them. In this preschool, children’s opinions were respected, and they were given the opportunity to participate in decision-making activities of relevance to their lives.

This study explored preschool children’s knowledge and views of other children’s economic situation worldwide, and their self-reported sources of such knowledge. A total of 53 final-year preschool children, aged 5–6, from 12 preschools in Sweden were interviewed. Children’s responses were analysed using content analysis and the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcomes Taxonomy. Most of them seemed to have knowledge about the lives and the economic situation of other children in the world. Many of the preschool children could justify their views with one or more relevant ideas or thoughts, and a few of them were also able to logically connect their arguments. Parents, media and observations of real-life situations were reported as major sources of knowledge, while preschool was mentioned by a few. Further research is needed to enhance our knowledge about how to integrate social and economic sustainability in preschool’s pedagogical activities and to engage children meaningfully in such learning.

Eftersom det är svårt att ändra det man lär sig som ung är det betydelsefullt att påbörja utbildning för hållbarhet redan i förskolan. Den här presentationen kommer att redovisa min forskning om förskolebarns kunskaper om och färdigheter i social, ekonomisk och miljömässig hållbarhet i Sverige, samt betydelsen av pedagogers engagemang för barns lärande om hållbarhet. Några resultat från två pågående skolutvecklingsprojekt kommer också presenteras; dels vad gäller hur pedagogerna konkretiserar det abstrakta konceptet hållbarhet i det vardagliga pedagogiska arbetet, dels hur förskolechefer ser på förskolans arbete med hållbarhet. Föreläsningen hålls på engelska.

This study explored Swedish preschool children's knowledge about the environmental impact of various transport modes, and investigated whether or not eco-certification has any role to play in relation to this knowledge. Additionally, this study examined children's perceived sources of knowledge. Using illustrations and semi-structured questions, 53 children, aged five to six years, from six eco-certified and six non-eco-certified preschools were interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using content analysis and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), respectively. Findings revealed that most of the children had acquired some knowledge about the environmental impact of various transport modes, although some children were not familiar with the word 'environment'. Although the complexity of children's justifications for the environmental impact of different modes of transport tended to be higher at eco-certified preschools compared to non-eco-certified preschools, no statistically significant differences were found. Parents were reported to be a major source of knowledge.

One challenge of our time is to find ways of living in harmony with people and the nature without further damaging our planet. To promote sustainability, Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is about ensuring quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. To achieve the SDGs by 2030, they have been integrated in Swedish national policy documents, such as the preschool curriculum. However, research on how preschools include education for sustainability (EfS) in daily educational activities is limited.

This paper presents findings from a case study in an eco-certified preschool that works explicitly with EfS. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the preschool’s activities with EfS from a whole-school approach model. The preschool has 36 children aged one to six, and eight preschool teachers (of whom two are child-carers). Since 2009, the preschool has maintained the requirements for the Green Flag award by the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, which is part of the eco-preschool program of the Foundation for Environmental Education.

Data were collected from the director and preschool teachers through group discussions, observations, informal conversations, structured interviews, reading of reports and attending planning meetings. A whole-school approach model in EfS and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory were utilized to interpret the findings.

Teachers encouraged children to take part in planning and decision-making activities. Together they selected different sustainability themes, such as, friendship, health of people and the planet, energy consumption, and recycling. Teachers used songs, stories, plays, films, illustrations, drawings and different experiments when they work with EfS. Older children took part in group discussions to reflect on different issues. Teachers connected environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability in educational activities. For instance, under the theme health, teachers integrated what is good for our health and what is good for our planet to survive. Some children transferred knowledge about the use of water and electricity from preschool to home.

There were areas that the preschool could improve, e.g., newly employed staff and kitchen staff had less opportunity to be involved in EfS; one reason being that not much time was allocated for collegial learning and reflection. It is important to collaborate within the whole organisation, as sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. The preschool may think of keeping record of its ecological footprint and monitoring impact of their EfS activities to provide an incitement. This study helps developing our knowledge about how to integrate EfS at preschool level.

Bakgrund och syfte

Dagens barn växer upp i en tid med många konflikter, klimatförändringar, naturkatastrofer, sinande naturresurser, fattigdom och globala hälsohot. Barn är offer eller potentiella offer för dessa omständigheter och de kommer i framtiden att påverkas av dem både fysiskt och socialt. De förhållanden som nämns här kan kopplas samman med frågor om hållbar utveckling. I rapporten Vår gemensamma framtid (Brundtland & Hägerhäll, 1988) definieras hållbar utveckling som ’en utveckling som tillfredsställer dagens behov utan att äventyra kommande generationers möjligheter att tillfredsställa sina behov.’ Hållbar utveckling är ett komplext och omfattande begrepp som innefattar miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner. Forskare betonar vikten av att integrera lärande för hållbarhet i förskolans verksamhet (Davis, 2015; Pramling Samuelsson, 2011; Siraj-Blatchford, 2009). Studier visar att familjen och förskolan spelar en viktig roll i yngre barns utveckling av beteende och attityder (Musser & Diamond, 1999; Sigel, Stinson, & Flaugher, 1991; Sylva et al., 2004). Trots detta är forskning om föräldrars och lärares påverkan på utvecklingen av barns förståelse av och praktiserande för hållbarhet mycket begränsad. Sådan forskning är viktig för att kunna utveckla lämpliga strategier för undervisning om hållbarhetsfrågor i förskolan och för att säkerställa en hög kvalitet i utbildningen av de yngsta.

Enligt den svenska läroplanen för förskolan (Skolverket, 2011) skall alla förkolor sträva efter att varje barn utvecklar respekt för alla former av liv och att de utvecklar en vilja att visa omsorg om närmiljön. För att främja hållbarhet i svensk utbildning delar Skolverket ut utmärkelsen ”Skola för hållbar utveckling” till förskolor som arbetar systematiskt med lärande för hållbar utveckling (Skolverket, 2014). Förskolor kan också certifieras med "Grön Flagg” av Håll Sverige Rent, som är en del av ett program för miljöskolor inom Foundation for Environmental Education’s (FEE) (Håll Sverige Rent, 2016). Eftersom den här typen av certifierade förskolor uttryckligen arbetar med hållbar utveckling skulle man kunna förvänta sig att arbetet också påverkar barns kunskaper och beteenden vad gäller hållbarhet. Trots att certifikat har beviljats i Sverige sedan 1998 har inga studier genomförts för att undersöka om ekocertifiering spelar någon roll för barns lärande om miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor. Av de få tidigare studier som undersöker denna fråga har ingen fokus på förskolan. Med tanke på att hållbar utveckling också lyfts fram i den svenska läroplanen för förskolan är frågan särskilt angelägen.

Det övergripande syftet med denna studie har varit att öka kunskapen om förskolebarns lärande för hållbarhet i Sverige. Studien har undersökt förskolebarns egenrapporterade kunskaper och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska aspekter av hållbar utveckling. Studien har också undersökt samband mellan förskole- och hemrelaterade faktorer och barns kunskaper och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller hållbarhet. Bland annat har relationen till ekocertifiering studerats samt vilka källor till den egna kunskapen barnen uppger.

Denna studie definierar inte termen "kunskap"; snarare används termen för att beskriva barns egenrapporterade kunskap genom verbala svar och praktiska handlingar. Begreppet "kunskap" i denna text ska förstås som barnens egna beskrivningar av sina föreställningar och tankar. Egenrapporterade handlingar avser barns egna beskrivningar av vad de gör och hur de utför olika aktiviteter på förskolan, i hemmet eller när de är med vänner och ska hållas isär från observationer av barns agerande.

I denna studie kategoriseras förskolor som har fått utmärkelsen Skola för hållbar utveckling eller har Grön flagg-certfikat som ekocertifierade förskolor.

Metoder

Studiens syn på hållbar utveckling utgår från miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner. Dessa tre överlappande dimensioner har operationaliserats genom fyra teman: ekonomisk jämlikhet, dela med sig, återvinning och transportanvändning. Banduras (1977) sociala inlärningsteori och Bruners (1961) kognitiva utvecklingsteori, i synnerhet det bildbaserade sättet att förstå omvärlden, användes i olika steg i studien.

Både kvalitativa och kvantitativa data samlades in under perioden februari till september 2015. Data samlades in från tolv olika förskolor varav sex var ekocertifierade. Förskolorna fanns i sex kommuner i två län i Sverige. Data om förskolebarnens kunskaper om och praktiska färdigheter vad gäller hållbar utveckling samlades in genom intervjuer och observationer av 53 barn som gick sitt sista år på förskola. Vidare besvarade 74 förskolepedagoger och 89 vårdnadshavare enkäter, och sju förskolechefer som var ansvariga för de inkluderade förskolorna intervjuades.

Den regionala etikprövningsnämnden i Umeå hade inte några invändningar mot studiens upplägg som följde Vetenskapsrådets etiska riktlinjer. Data samlades in efter informerat samtycke från förskolechefer, deltagande pedagoger samt deltagande barn och deras föräldrar.

Resultat och slutsatser

Resultaten visar att många barn i förskolans sista år hade förvärvat viss kunskap om hur man använder pengar, om sortering av olika återvinningsartiklar hemma och i förskolan och om påverkan av olika transportsätt på miljön samt om människors hälsa och välfärd. De hade också viss uppfattning om hur livet ser ut för andra barn i världen och vad det kan innebära att dela med sig av resurser till andra människor.

Det fanns ett positivt samband mellan barns deklarativa kunskaper (förståelse) och funktionella kunskaper (praktik) om hållbarhetsfrågor, samt lärarnas och vårdnadshavarnas deltagande i hållbarhetsrelaterade diskussioner och aktiviteter. Inga statistiskt signifikanta skillnader kunde påvisas mellan ekocertifierade och icke-ekocertifierade förskolor i form av barns deklarativa och funktionella kunskaper. Föräldrar rapporterades vara de viktigaste källorna till barnens kunskap tillsammans med lärare och TV. Flera barn uppgav också att deras kunskap kom från dem själva.

Resultaten ger stöd för att integrera miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska dimensioner av hållbar utveckling i förskolans dagliga pedagogiska verksamhet. I studien framträdde betydelsen av att barn ges möjlighet att delta inte bara i diskussioner utan också i praktiska aktiviteter som berör deras liv för vilken kunskap de utvecklar om hållbarhetsfrågor.

Ytterligare studier behövs för att undersöka i vilken utsträckning olika utbildningsaktiviteter bidrar till att utveckla barns förståelse och beteende när det gäller ett hållbart samhälle samt hur man kan engagera dem på ett meningsfullt sätt i deras lärande för hållbarhet.

Although parents and preschool play important roles in developing children’s behavior and attitudes, little is known about their influences on children’ s learning of environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability. This study investigated the influences of home- and preschool-related practices and factors on children’s declarative and functional knowledge of sustainability issues, and the extent to which eco-certified preschools promote beneficial practices. ‘Eco-certified preschools’ refers to schools that explicitly work with education for sustainability. Children (n=53), aged five to six years, and the directors (n=7) at six eco-certified and six non-eco-certified preschools were interviewed, while guardians (n=89) and teachers (n=74) filled out questionnaires. Children’s responses were categorized and classified using SOLO Taxonomy. Multivariate analyses were performed in SIMCA P + 14. The findings indicate a positive relationship between children’s declarative and functional knowledge of sustainability issues and the involvement of teachers and guardians in sustainability-related discussions and activities. Teachers’ verbal interaction with children about sustainability issues, and the perceived high value of these issues among teachers and directors seem to be more beneficial for children’s declarative knowledge than their functional knowledge. No statistically significant differences between eco- and non-eco-certified preschools in terms of children’s declarative and functional knowledge were found.

To promote sustainability, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes a need for developing knowledge and skills in all learners through education for sustainability (EfS) (UN, 2015). Environmental and sustainability education is stressed in the Swedish preschool curriculum, which states that all preschools should strive to ensure that each child develops respect for all forms of life as well as care for the surrounding environment (Skolverket, Lpfö 98 Rev. 2010). In Sweden, preschools can be awarded two different eco-certifications; about 1500 preschools are certified with ‘Green flag’ and about 200 schools hold ‘Preschool for Sustainable Development’ certification (Ärlemalm-Hagsér, 2013). However, no national evaluation strategy has been developed. In fact, there is a general lack of research on and evaluations of EfS program effectiveness in whole-school sustainability programs globally (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004). The aim of this paper is to describe the development of an instrument which was used to explore and compare the outcomes of eco- and non-eco preschools in terms of children’s understandings and practices of environmental and sustainability issues. ‘Eco-preschool’ refers to a preschool that works explicitly with EfS. The terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ are used synonymously in this paper. Using a three-interlocking-circles framework, which portrays the equal importance and interdependency of environmental, social and economic dimensions (Elliott, 2013), the concept of sustainability Brundtland (1987) was operationalized in three themes: (i) transport use and recycling, (ii) consumption and (iii) resource sharing. Based on Bruner (1966) Iconic (age 1-6 years) mode of representation, which states that information stored in the form of images and illustrations can be helpful for children’s understanding of an issue, a semi-structured, illustrated interview instrument was developed. Children’s practices were explored through a play-based approach where children performed recycling activities. The instrument was pre-tested with eight children in order to finalize the question design, question wording, appropriateness of illustrations, interview techniques and timing, as well as to collect information on open-ended questions with a view of changing some of them into multiple choice questions. Applying a cross-sectional design, 53 children, aged five and six, were interviewed during February-June 2015. The interviews were audio recorded. Besides describing the development of the instrument, preliminary results from the interview will be presented at the symposium.

References

Brundtland, G. H. (1987). World Commission on environment and development: our common future. Oxford University Press. Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction (Vol. 59). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Elliott, J. A. (2013). An introduction to sustainable development. London: Routledge. Henderson, K., & Tilbury, D. (2004). Whole-school approaches to sustainability: An international review of sustainable school programs. Report Prepared by the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) for The Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government. ISBN, 1(86408), 979. Skolverket. (Lpfö 98 Rev. 2010). Curriculum for the preschool. The Swedish National Agency for Education. Retrieved 08-03, 2013, from Skolverket website: http//www.skolverket.se UN. (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 02-12, 2015, from http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E, accessed 03-12-2015 Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E. (2013). Engagerade i världens bästa? : lärande för hållbarhet i förskolan. Göteborg: Acta universitatis Gothoburgensis.

Environmental and Sustainability Education in Early Childhood: A Systematic Search and Review of the Literature

Although environmental and sustainability education in early years is on the rise, it has been noted that the field is slow to engage in sustainability issues (Davis, 2005, 2009; Elliott & Davis, 2009; Pramling Samuelsson, 2011). Evidence from a number of longitudinal studies indicates that high quality preschool education has positive effects on children’s well-being, health, intellectual and social behavioral development (Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2008; The Abecedarian Project, 2012). Researchers also stress that environmental and sustainability issues should feature in early childhood education, because children develop their attitudes, conceptions, behavioral and intellectual potential during this time (Cutter-Mackenzie & Edwards, 2013; Flogaitis et al., 2005; Siraj-Blatchford, 2009). However, questions such as in what way and how sustainability challenges should be integrated in early childhood education have received little attention (Hagglund & Samuelsson, 2009).

Defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (Brundtland, 1987, p. 43), the concept of sustainability was introduced in the end of the 1980's as a critical global issue. Later on, the United Nations General Assembly declared the Decade of Education for Sustainability (2005-2014) for promoting education for sustainability within all areas of education and learning (UNESCO, 2005). As the Decade recently came to an end, a literature review would be useful to provide an overview of what has been done academically in the field of early childhood education since the concept of sustainability was introduced. A review can also help to avoid ‘re-inventing the wheel’ and to build on the findings of other studies (Badger et al., 2000). Evidence from empirical studies can assist in improving educational practices and to facilitate evidence-based policy-making (Broekkamp & van Hout-Wolters, 2007).

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the current empirical evidence in the field of environmental and sustainability education in early childhood, which is based on information provided by preschool children, their parents or teachers. Its objectives have been:

• to identify articles reporting empirical studies about early childhood education concerning environmental or sustainability issues, which are based on data provided by preschool children, their parents or teachers, and are published between 1987 and 2015;
• to synthesize the key findings; and
• to identify research needs suggested in the studies.

Early childhood refers to a period until eight years of age (Britto, Yoshikawa, & Boller, 2011). Preschools refer to any type of child institutional care, for example, a day-care center, a nursery or a kindergarten, where children are taken care of while their guardians work. They include government, non-government, private, international and combined-type of institutions for young children. This review does not address any similarities or differences in conceptions of environmental and sustainability education. It does not attempt to define any terms, rather, it reports what has been done in both fields regarding early childhood education.

Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used Although some elements of a systematic review were followed, variations in objective, study design and outcome of the included studies do not allow for a meaningful evaluation of the quality of the evidence. The methodology included establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria, identifying and grouping relevant search terms, searching articles in selected databases, screening and selecting articles, and extracting data according to preselected categories. A priori inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed for the review. The inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed journal articles reporting empirical studies published 1987 or later. The author(s) of the articles should explicitly connect early childhood education to the concept of environmental or sustainability education. Articles were searched in three databases on 31 January 2015 by combining two groups of search terms. The first group of search terms was concerned with preschool settings and the second group was concerned with environmental and sustainability education. Within each group search terms were combined by the Boolean operator OR, and the two groups of search terms were combined using the Boolean operator AND. A hit was generated if any one term in the first group and any one term in the second group both appeared in the topic or abstract of an article. Searches were performed in the following databases: Academic Search Elite, ERIC, and GreenFILE. The databases were chosen considering their coverage of educational resources related to environmental and sustainability issues. No restrictions in language or geographical areas were set and no special search limiters were chosen. American and British spelling differences were noted and both were searched for. The total number of hits in the three databases was 217. Titles and abstracts of these primary records were screened. Duplicates and articles not meeting the inclusion criteria or meeting the exclusion criteria were omitted. Based on a review of titles, abstracts and elimination of duplicates, 157 articles were excluded. Sixty articles were selected for full text review. Eligible articles will be selected for inclusion. Using a form comprising pre-determined categories, data will be extracted from the selected articles. In terms of methodological limitations, a systematic search and review may have gaps in the searching procedure (Borg et al., 2014). Some relevant studies may have been excluded if they were not on electronic databases. Therefore, traditional methods of hand searching, information from individuals and searching references will be carried out. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The study is in progress and will be completed by the end of May. Data categories include: Author, Year, Objective, Study design, Country, Participants, Theoretical framework, Aspects of sustainability (environmental, social or economic), Findings and Recommendations. The categories will be collapsed into broader areas while summarizing the data. A brief summary on what has been done in the field of early childhood education since the concept of sustainability was introduced in 1987 will be provided, as well as an outline of identified research needs. This review is intended to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of the current evidence base and research needs to offer support and guidance for future practices, strategies, policies and priorities.

Lärande för hållbar utveckling har varit ett kunskapsområde i den svenska förskolan sedan Agenda 21 1992 (Program of action for sustainable development: Rio declaration on environment and development) och reflekteras i förskolans läroplan. Många förskolor är certifierade för arbete med frågor om hållbar utveckling enligt ”Grön Flagg” (Håll Sverige Rent) eller ”Skola för hållbar utveckling” (Skolverket). Även om förskolechefer har en betydelsefull funktion för att bedriva verksamheten i enlighet med målen i läroplanen och en fungerande arbetsmiljö är lite dokumenterat om chefernas perspektiv på detta arbete. Syftet med denna studie är därför att utveckla kunskap om synen på arbete med hållbar utveckling bland förskolans chefer i certifierade och inte certifierade förskolor. Frågor om hur man beskriver att förskolan arbetar för att utveckla barns intresse och förståelse för hur människor, natur och samhälle påverkar varandra och attityder till ett sådant arbeta har undersökts.

Semi-strukturerade intervjuer hölls med fem förskolechefer från sju kommunala förskolor varav fyra var certifierade. Ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv används för att beskriva och förklara de attityder som framkommer i undersökningen.

Datainsamling och analys är ännu inte avslutad. Preliminära resultat indikerar att förskolechefer anser att arbetet med hållbar utveckling i förskolan är mycket viktig och att frågor som rör natur och miljö, situationen för barn i andra länder, matens och leksakers ursprung etcetera, är områden som uppmärksammas. Bland förskolecheferna i certifierade förskolor framträder en tydlig ambition att integrera frågor om hållbar utveckling i verksamheten.

Introduction: As humans we influence the climate system and our current emissions of greenhouse gases are higher than ever. Nearly two thirds of the greenhouse gases in the transport sector come from motor cars. Driving car is not only harmful for the environment, but it also contributes to health problems. Issues related to climate change and transport are part of a large challenge of sustainability. Children as future global citizens are the potential victims of these consequences. Raising awareness about the hazardous environmental issues does not ensure a change in human behavior or practice. Rather, alternative forms of education and learning are needed to develop such understandings, attitudes and capacities. As we develop our values, attitudes, behaviors and skills when we are very young, special attention needs to be given to include sustainability issues in early childhood education.  However, knowledge is scarce in the field of preschool children’s understanding of transport use and its relation to environmental and sustainability issues.

Objectives: To explore preschool children’s understanding of transport use and its relation to environmental and sustainability issues, and investigate the sources of their understandings.

Methods: A pilot study was conducted with eight children, aged 5-6, in a preschool in Sweden in 2014. Semi-structured questions with colored illustrations of a bus, a car, a bi-cycle and a child walking to school with an adult were used. The interviews were audio recorded. The five levels of Biggs and Collis’ SOLO (Structure of the Observed Leaning Outcomes) taxonomy was used to organize, categorize and analyze the responses.

Results: All children mentioned that walking to preschool is best for the environment when someone lives close to the school. Some children could tell that going by bus is better than going by car, but the reason was unknown to them. Thus, they could connect single to multiple aspects of various modes of transport, but relationships between these connections or their effects on the environment were missing. One child responded at a relational level by telling that walking is good for health and going by car is bad for the nature. Another child responded at an extended level by mentioning that driving car is bad for health and for the environment, while walking is good for health, because one gets fresh air. Two children mentioned that it is not enjoyable to travel by bus during winter when it is freezing cold and one has to wait for the bus. Guardians and teachers were mentioned as the main sources of children’s understandings of transport and the environment.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that children understand different modes of transport and their relation to environmental issues and health. However, their levels of understanding vary. The findings also suggest that both preschool teachers and guardians play instrumental roles in children’s understandings of sustainability issues and can help them grow as agents of change.

The objective of this thesis was to describe how a contemporary textbook and its workbook forSwedish upper secondary English A course reflects integration of immigrants and fundamentalvalues for a society based on cultural diversity. A textual analysis of the texts in the textbook,questions and activities in the workbook, and a visual analysis of the images of the textbook werecarried out using quantitative and qualitative methods. The result of the study indicates that thethemes, texts, personalities, writers and images of the textbook appear to be selected consciouslyto avoid portraying stereotype messages and views of “them”, who are different. Although thereare a couple of stereotype messages, the textbook offers teachers and pupils of English A coursea wide range of texts and images, including activities in the workbook, which can be used to meetthe goals in LPF 94 regarding integration of immigrants and fundamental norms and values for asociety based on cultural diversity.

This study focuses on translating print materials from English into simple Bangla for people with low literacy skills, mainly in Bangladesh. A brief overview of some translation theories and practices as well as cultural aspects involved in cross-cultural communication for translating materials are given in the essay.This study is mainly based on corpus of translation theories and practices, and thelinguistic and cultural aspects of translation. My practical experience of translating arehabilitation guide, titled “Disabled Village Children – A guide for community health workers, rehabilitation workers, and families” (2003) by David Werner, from English into simple Bangla has been included in the study.A good translation should be acceptable by the target language audience and it should sound natural to the target language. A translator needs to consider the language of thetranslation according to the education level of the target audience and their knowledgeof the translated topic. Otherwise, the purpose of the translation will remain unachieved.

'Shunitir mojar galpo' is the name of two series of storybooks in Bengali. The storybooks raise awareness among children on human rights as well as rights of people with disabilities in an attractive and entertaining way. A selection of stories from 'Shunitir mojar galpa' has been translated into English and published under the name 'Shunitir-interesting stories for children on rights. 

The story writing competition and publishing of the storybooks were the two major components of Shuniti - a human rights project of InterLife-Bangladesh. The project was funded by PMU-InterLife.