The Role of Early Childhood Education in the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the important of early childhood education
- To ascertain the significant role play by early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goal
- To ascertain the relationship between early childhood education and sustainable development goals
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY
There was an extensive discussion on what kinds of early childhood education would emerge if it were to contribute to sustainable development. The insights gained on this issue can provide guidance for reorientation and strengthening of curriculum and pedagogical guidelines, a necessary exercise and an important policy issue. First, the participants strongly agreed that the notion of the child embedded in the vision of sustainable development is that as portrayed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child the child as a right holder, who is an active participant and has his or her contribution to make to society’s present and future, and not an invisible, marginal worthless being. In education for sustainable development, young children’s perspectives and meanings are listened to, considered and shapes the content and approaches of learning. Second, early childhood education for sustainability is much more than environmental education. It should be broader than simply taking children outdoors to discover the beauty of nature and speaking about the natural environment. It must include opportunities for children to engage in intellectual dialogue regarding sustainability, and in concrete actions in favour of the environment. In addition, it should incorporate learning to be compassionate and respect differences, equality and fairness as the world is increasingly interdependent and inter-connected. It was suggested that, instead of talking about the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic), one should refer to the 7Rs for education for sustainable development (reduce, reuse, recycle, respect, repair, reflect and refuse). Encouraging scientific c and technological literacy was also pointed out as a component to be included. Third, diversity was considered a key issue in thinking about early childhood education that contributes to sustainability and was discussed extensively by the participants. In the globalizing world where different nationalities and ethnicities increasingly live side by side, learning to respect and appreciate diversity should begin early – through parents, community members, and early childhood programmes. Early education should help children acquire an identity firmly grounded in a culture closest to them, while developing a sense of themselves as world citizens. One way to promote this is intercultural education. es and practices. Democracy is one fundamental value embedded in sustainable development, and a requisite for a just society where everyone’s participation in the social, cultural, economic and political life is valued and counted. Learning about democratic values and practices can and should start in the smallest unit of society the family at birth, and should also be part and parcel of an early childhood education programme. Fourth, sustainable development requires people to be able to think critically about things taken for granted, and to find creative solutions and alternatives to unsustainable habits and practices, which tend to dominate at present. The work in the early years should not be about teaching how to read and write early and formally. Young children can be encouraged to question over-consumption through discussions about familiar food products, clothes, toys and advertisements. Such discussions could be expanded to incorporate considerations about their counterparts in less materially rich circumstances, and stimulate conversations about solidarity and co-operation.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought the role of early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goals
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
- Primary source and
- Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the role of early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goals.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goals
Summary
This study was on the role of early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goals. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the important of early childhood education, to ascertain the significant role play by early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goal, to ascertain the relationship between early childhood education and sustainable development goals. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 selected residents in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up married men, married women, teachers and civil servants were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Early childhood education is the foundation for the growth and future development of all children. It is generally accepted as the education that given to under six (6) years old children. Therefore introduction to education for sustainable development can be implemented or included within early childhood educational system. Education for sustainable development should give children, particularly early childhood children, knowledge, values, desire and skills in making decisions concerning a sustainable future.
Recommendation
- Increase investment in early childhood education in order to expand access to quality early childhood education. Sustainable societies cannot be built if children are not given the opportunity to develop a strong foundation for development, wellbeing and lifelong learning.
REFERENCES
- Agenda 21. (1992). Agenda 21. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda 21toc.htm.
- A¨ rlemalm-Hagse´r, E. (2013). Engagerade fo¨r va¨rldens ba¨sta? La¨rande fo¨r ha˚llbarhet i fo¨rskolan [‘An interest in the best for the world’? Education for sustainability in the Swedish preschool]. Doctoral thesis, Gothenburg Studies in Educational Sciences 335. Go¨teborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
- A¨ rlemalm-Hagse´r, E., & Engdahl, I. (2015). Caring for one-self, others and the environment: Education for sustainability in Swedish preschools. In J. Davis (Ed.), Young children and the environment: Early education for sustainability (2 rev. ed., pp. 253–265). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Barratt, R., Barratt-Hacking, E., & Black, P. (2014). Innovative approaches to early childhood education for sustainability in England: Case studies from the field. In J. Davis & S. Elliott (Eds.), Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations (pp. 225–247). London: Routledge.
- Corsaro, W. A. (2005). The sociology of childhood (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.
- Dahlberg, G., & Moss, P. (2005). Ethics and politics in early childhood education. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
- Davis, J. (2009). Revealing the research ‘hole’ of early childhood education for sustainability: A preliminary survey of literature. Environmental Education Research, 15(2), 227–241.
- Davis, J. (2014). Examining early childhood education through the lens of education for sustainability: Revisioning rights. In J. Davis & S. Elliott (Eds.), Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations (pp. 21–37). London: Routledge.
- Davis, J. (Ed.). (2015). Young children and the environment: Early education for sustainability (2 rev. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Davis, J., & Elliott, S. (Eds.). (2014). Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations. London: Routledge.
- Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
- Elliott, S. (2014). Researching change and theorizing about interfaces. In J. Davis & S. Elliott (Eds.), Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations (pp. 127–142). London: Routledge.
