Early Childhood Education for Sustainability Through Contradicting and Overlapping Dimensions

• Main Authors: Liv Torunn Grindheim, Yvonne Bakken, Kjellrun Hiis Hauge, Marianne Presthus Heggen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2019-12-01
• Series: ECNU Review of Education
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531119893479

Purpose: The article investigates how to make a broader understanding of sustainability relevant for early childhood education (ECE) guided by the four dimensions suggested by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: ecological, economic and social/cultural sustainability, and good governance. Design/Approach/Methods: Previous research on ECE on sustainability is discussed in relation to the four dimensions and to Biesta’s concepts of socialization, qualification, and subjectification. Findings: The investigation finds that all four dimensions are necessary in ECE for sustainability, and it suggests how the dimensions can be understood, how they may overlap, and how they can be contradictive. Originality/Value: The article depicts how children’s opportunities to engage and to disturb established ways of thinking can be facilitated through all dimensions.