During thisreport I am going to discuss in depth how Education for Sustainable developmentcan support young children and their families. Education for sustainable development is defined as theprocess of equipping researchers and the students with greater knowledge andunderstanding, skills and attributes needed to work and also live in a way thatsafeguards the environmental, social and economic wellbeing, both in thepresent more importantly for future generations. Tilbury, D and Ryan, A (2013) Furthermore I am goingto consider how the children’s environment influences each of their lives.
In December 2017 I visited Calerstones Parkwithin the Park I visited The Story Barn which is a child friendly social space.The Storybarn is a fully inclusiveexperience as each child socially engages within the story telling which givesthe child the opportunity to express feelings and their understanding of thestory telling. Throughout the report Iwill be going into more in depth detail about the methods used in the storybarn and whether these are beneficial to the child so that they can understandand be aware of their sustainable development. Furthermore, towards the end ofthe report I will discuss any alternative and ethical considerations which Ihave come across during my findings and my understanding of the sustainable environment.Review Of Literature “Sustainabledevelopment is development that meets the needs of the present withoutcompromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (OurCommon Future,1987, p.
43) Education for sustainable development should beginvery early in the children’s lives. This is because in the Early childhoodperiod children develop their basic values, attitudes, skills, behaviours andhabits, which may have a long-lasting effect in their future. If the young child does not have anyexperience when growing up it will affect them as they get older. As they childwill not value and respect these vital life skills which are primarilydiscovered through the concept of sustainable development. Education for sustainable development aims toensure that inclusive and equitable quality education promotes lifelonglearning opportunities which will be available to all children and theirfamilies. (Cassen, 1987) These learning opportunities will widen the children’slearning and development which will enable them to become more aware in thefuture. Furthermore, the children can then take this opportunity and educateothers such as their friends or even their children when they are older.
Thiswill enable a positive effect in the future for the next generations. Studiesshow that most people think about sustainability as related to concerns aboutthe environment. They focus on the neglected role of young children’s place indiscourses of sustainability. However, the goal for sustainable development isthat it proposes that all children should have opportunities, so they canparticipate in high-quality early childhood education (ECE). Such a goal hasreceived strong support in international agreements and speci?cally in theSustainable Development Goals to be achieved across the next 15 years.
Siraj-Blatchford,.(2009, p10) Literature review (continued)Education forSustainable Development has its roots in the history of two distinct areas ofinterest of the United Nations which are education and sustainable development.Education for Sustainable Development integrates the values inherent insustainable development into all aspects of learning (World Declaration onEducation for All,1990) Education for Sustainable Development concerns all levels of education and allsocial contexts such as family school and community. It also allows learners toacquire the skills, capacities, values and knowledge required to ensuresustainable development which is vital to the young child as they get older andunderstand their surroundings. Furthermore, in relation to the child Educationand Sustainable Development will provide each child with essential learningtools and content to allow them to survive and to develop to their fullcapacities. Lastly the child will be fully engaged development. This willresult in better quality lives and help them to make informed decisions whilecontinuing to learn. The environmental pillar, the socialand cultural pillar and the economic pillar are the three main pillars in Educationfor Sustainable Development.
All tree of these pillars are interconnected. Siraj-Blatchford,Smith and Pramling Samuelsson (2010: 6) ‘we need to develop in young children a more critical appreciation of many ofthe most advanced projects of science and technology’. Takingthese pillars into consideration during a child development in critical during theirgrowing up experience. It gives the child a wider range of skills and abilitieswhen exploring their surrounding environments which relates to the Calerstones Parkin which I visited in December 2017.
