Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development

Martín Bascopé, Paolo Perasso and Kristina Reiss
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Martín Bascopé: Campus Villarrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Villarrica 4930445, Chile
Paolo Perasso: Centro de Desarrollo Local, Educación e Interculturalidad (CEDEL UC), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Villarrica 4930445, Chile
Kristina Reiss: School of Education, Technical University of Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: During recent decades, education for sustainable development (ESD) has been under the scope of the international community, but research in ESD for early childhood education (ECE) is still scarce. This article proposes a procedural framework for the implementation of teacher professional development opportunities in the area. During the first phase, we undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles on ESD for ECE ( n = 30). After an expert committee revision of the articles reviewed, three cornerstones (scientific action-integrated, community-based and value-oriented scopes) and three sets of suitable pedagogical approaches (art-based, outdoor-based and project-problem-based) were identified. The review was enhanced by an unsystematic review of articles ( n = 26) that specifically referred to the cornerstones and approaches. Finally, a double-blind expert coding and categorization of the articles ( n = 56) was performed in order to validate the results. Focusing on guidelines and approaches, different examples found in the literature are presented. This review offers a useful framework to understand and practice ESD in ECE. Unlike previous reviews, it has a practical scope to foster innovative teacher professional development opportunities, inspire teachers and inform policy makers. We conclude with some common challenges and the needs for educational systems to foster science-based citizenship education towards sustainable development in a practical way, fostering agency from an early stage to transform local context, creating global awareness of the environmental, social and economic challenges of the 21st century.

Keywords: education for sustainable development; early childhood education; project-based learning; outdoor education; art-based learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:719-:d:201927

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