Early Childhood Preservice Teachers’ View of Socio-Environmental Problems and Its Relationship to the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

In the face of the socio-environmental crisis in which we are immersed, the initial training of teachers must assume the work in favor of a critical, committed, participatory citizenry capable of responding to the socio-environmental problems of the current and future world. The analysis of the initial 61 research projects on socio-environmental problems of four classes involving 240 students of the Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Seville (Seville, Spain) is presented. Under an interpretive descriptive approach according to a category system based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN (2015) and its targets, we can learn about their socio-environmental concerns and how they relate to the current 2030 Agenda. We obtain that of the 17 SDGs, around half of the final 42 research projects analyzed focus on sustainable consumption and project patterns and climate change, while problems related to poverty, hunger, or peace do not arise. In addition to allowing us to draw a portrait of the socio-environmental concerns of early childhood preservice teachers, the data obtained also gave us the opportunity to ponder the didactic possibilities that these types of formative activities bring to the training of teachers who are critical and committed to transforming the world.

The Learning of E-Sustainability Competences: A Comparative Study between Future Early Childhood and Primary School Teachers

“…Fulfilling the 2030 Agenda necessarily requires the improvement of digital competences across society. In this scenario, the training of future teachers becomes a fundamental element, since the attitudes and behaviours of subsequent generations are, to a large extent, dependent on their knowledge of the sustainable use of technology [31,32]. Based on this premise, the aim of this study was to identify the existence of possible differences in the learning of digital competences in sustainability among future Early Childhood and Primary School teachers.…”

“…(3) participation in collaborative processes that favour digital sustainability; and (4) the use of ethical principles related to personal and professional behaviour. With regard to future teachers, these competences acquire even more relevance, since the behaviour of future generations is largely mediated by teacher training in this area [31,32]. In fact, Dziminska et al [33] and Zamora-Polo and Sánchez-Martín [34] underline the important role that Higher Education institutions have to play in this field.…”

Problemas Socio ¿qué? Los problemas socioambientales y su concreción por el profesorado en formación

“…La selección de problemas socioambientales que hace nuestro alumnado coincide en gran medida con las propuestas planteadas por el alumnado de Educación Infantil de la Universidad de Sevilla (Rodríguez-Marín et al, 2020): los temas relacionados con el clima y con el consumo son los más considerados, aunque en el presente no aparecen tantas propuestas relacionadas con la salud y el bienestar. En cambio, hay más presencia de aquellas relacionadas con el género y las desigualdades.…”

Water, Waste Material, and Energy as Key Dimensions of Sustainable Management of Early Childhood Eco-Schools: An Environmental Literacy Model Based on Teachers Action-Competencies (ELTAC)

“…This CAR sequence has made it possible for early childhood education teachers to assume the roles of participatory researchers and acquire environmental literacy competences. Evidence of these changes can be seen in the curricular innovation actions developed in the classroom and a greater involvement and commitment in tasks of distributive leadership and environmental management of the centre [2,6].…”

“…The collaborative action-research experience developed with early childhood education teachers enables the construction of an educational management model that prioritises sustainability as a key element in the life of schools and acts as a stimulus for the teachers' professional growth and continuous training in specific educational activities, such as the solid waste management of the centre, the control of water consumption, energy expenditure and the use of alternative energies, mobility and travel activities through safe school roads coordinated with families, and other activities to mitigate climate change or the responsible production and consumption of products of proximity in school canteens and kitchens. The educational centre becomes an eco-school: an organisation conceived as an ecosystem that can be characterised as a mini-city made up of biotic and abiotic components, as sets of structures where interactions take place and decisions are made guided by principles of sustainability and environmental respect [1][2][3].…”