Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T05:59:19.564Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Creative Arts-Based Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (EfS): Challenges and Possibilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2014

Kumara S. Ward
Kumara S. Ward*
Affiliation:
School of Education, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Kumara Ward, School of Education, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC NSW 1797, Australia. Email: k.ward@uws.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article showcases a creative approach to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS). It reports on the author's doctoral research program, which examined the effectiveness of arts-based pedagogies for exploring and understanding the natural world in an early childhood education program. Motivated by their existing commitment to education for sustainability (EfS), the participating educators used the arts for further exploration and understanding of the natural world in teaching and learning. They explored the role of the arts in knowledge production and embodied experience, and reinterpreted and built on their own funds of knowledge about their environment. The result was meaningful curriculum steeped in content about the natural environments that were local to the children and their educators. The findings further signify the challenges educators needed to overcome in order to intensify their connection with their own local environments, and the effect that this enhanced connection had on their capacity to reflect local natural environments in their programs with the children.

Keywords

early childhood educationnatural learningarts-based pedagogiessustainability
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , December 2013 , pp. 165 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aitken, J., Hunt, J., Roy, E., & Sajfar, B. (2012). A sense of wonder: Science in early childhood education. Melbourne, Australia: Teaching Solutions.Google Scholar
Arapaki, X., & Zafrana, M. (2004). The artistic expression of kindergarten children after a guided teaching approach. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 12 (2), 43–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archimedes Training Ltd. (2007). Forest schools. Retrieved July 28, 2007, from http://www.forestschools.comGoogle Scholar
Arktoft, E.H. (2008, February). Action Research as a Tool For Deliberate Communication Between University and School. Paper presented at the RIPPLE Conference Action Research and Professional Practice, Charles Sturt University, Australia.Google Scholar
Ashby, G., & Grieshaber, S. (1996). Culture and early childhood curriculum in Australia. Early Child Development and Care, 123 (1), 127–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (2009). Introducing a fifth pedagogy: Experience-based strategies for facilitating learning in natural environments. Environmental Education Research, 15 (2), 243–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlett, S. (1993). Amiable spaces in the schools of Reggio Emilia: An interview with Lella Gandini. Children's Environment, 10 (2), 113–125.Google Scholar
Bloom, J., Sheerer, M., & Britz, J. (1991). Blueprint for action: Achieving centre-based change through staff development. Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons.Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 37–43). Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Brunner, J.S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Carr, M., May, H., & Podmore, V. N. (2002). Learning and teaching stories: Action research on evaluation in early childhood in Aotearoa-New Zealand. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 10 (2), 115–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J.W., & Miller, D.L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory Into Practice, 39 (3), 124–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, D. (2007). Creating inspiration: How the visual and performing arts shape environmental behaviour (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of New England, Australia.Google Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Edwards, S. (2006). Everyday environmental education experiences: The role of content in early childhood education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 22 (2), 13–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Edwards, S. (2013). The next 20 years: Imagining and re-imagining sustainability, environment and education in early childhood education. In Elliot, S., Edwards, S., Davis, J., & Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (Eds.), Early Childhood Australia's best of sustainability: Research practice and theory. Canberra, Australia: Early Childhood Australia.Google Scholar
Davis, J.M. (2010). What is early childhood education for sustainability? In Davis, J.M. (Ed.), Young children and environment: Early education for sustainability (pp. 21–42). Sydney, Australia: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Vries, P. (2008). Music in early childhood education: A submission from the Music Council of Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Music Council of Australia.Google Scholar
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (2009). The Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging, being & becoming. Canberra, Australia: Council of Australian Governments.Google Scholar
Department of Education and Training NSW. (2010). Curriculum key learning areas K-6. Learning and Teaching. Retrieved May 31, 2010 fromhttp://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/learning/k_6/index.phpGoogle Scholar
Desjardins, J. (2006). Environmental ethics: An introduction to environmental philosophy (4th ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Thomson Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Edwards, L. (2010). The creative arts: A process approach for teachers and children (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merril.Google Scholar
Edwards, S., & Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2011). Environmentalising early childhood education curriculum through pedagogies of play. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 36 (1), 51–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisner, E.W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Elliot, S. (2003). Early childhood environmental education in Australia: Scope, status and direction (Social Reseach Series). Sydney, Australia: Environmental Protection Agency.Google Scholar
Elliot, S., & Davis, J. (2009). Exploring the resistance: An Australian perspective on educating for sustainability in early childhood. International Journal of Early Childhood, 41 (2), 65–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, E.H. (1963). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Fiske, E. (1999). Champions of change: The impact of the arts on learning. Washington, DC: President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; Arts Education Partnership.Google Scholar
Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., & Suman, L. (2006). Early childhood learning communities: Sociocultural research in practice. Sydney, Australia: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Gambino, A., Davis, J., & Rowntree, N. (2009). Young children learning for the environment: Researching a forest adventure. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 25, 83–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gandini, L. (1993). Educational and caring spaces. In Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Froman, G. (Eds.), The hundred languages of children (pp. 135–135). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Gill, T. (2004, September 23). Bred in captivity. The Guardian. Retrieved from file://localhost/Users/kumara/Kumara%20Uni/UWS/PhD%202007/Research/Play/Tim%20Gill/Bred%20in%20captivity.htmlGoogle Scholar
Gill, T. (2007). Can I play out? Lessons from London Play's Home Zones project. London: London Play.Google Scholar
Goodwin, W.L., & Goodwin, L.D. (1996). Understanding quantitative and qualitative research in early childhood education. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Groundwater-Smith, S. (2008, February). Practitioner researchers: Today's children of Mother Courage. What can we learn from them? Paper presented at the RIPPLE Conference Action Research and Professional Practice, Charles Sturt University, Australia.Google Scholar
Hedges, H. (2000). Teaching in early childhood: Time to merge constructivist views so learning through play equals teaching through play. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 24 (4), 16–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helm, J., & Katz, L. (2010). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years (Early Childhood Education Series, 2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Hohmann, M., & Wekart, D. (1995). Educating young children: Active learning activities in preschool and child care programs. Ypsilanti, MI: High Scope Press.Google Scholar
Huges, M. (2007). Climbing the little green steps. Gosford, Australia: Gosford City Council and Wyong Shire Council.Google Scholar
Ingunn, F. (2004). Landscape as playscape: The effects of natural environments on children's play and motor development. Children, Youth and Environments, 14 (2), 21–44.Google Scholar
Isenberg, J., & Jalongo, M. (2009). Creative thinking and arts-based learning: Preschool through age four (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.Google Scholar
Jones, E., Evans, K., & Renken, K.S. (2001). The lively kindergarten: Emergent curriculum in action. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.Google Scholar
KahnP., Jr. P., Jr., & Hasbach, P. (Eds.) (2013). The rediscovering of the wild. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Kirova-Petrova, A., Alber, S., & Briod, M. (2000). Action research as commencement: A model for practicing teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 21 (2), 235–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koeppel Strasser, J. (2000). The teacher as researcher: Action research studies on creativity and play. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 21 (2), 281–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Louv, R. (2006). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature deficit disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books.Google Scholar
McArdle, F. (2012). Creative arts. In Wright, S. (Ed.), Children, meaning making and the arts (2nd ed.). Sydney, Australia: Pearson.Google Scholar
Magiropoulous, M., & Guigni, M. (2007). Rethinking equity environments and everyday sustainability. Every Child, 13 (1), 30–31.Google Scholar
Malone, K. (2004). ‘Holding environments’: Creating spaces to support children's environmental learning in the 21st century. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 20 (2), 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, D.R. (2008). Poems as stories — Memories illuminating the lives of experienced early childhood teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 29 (1), 59–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mindstretchers. (2010). Nature kindergartens. Retrieved May 31, 2010, from http://www.mindstretchers.co.uk/nature-kindergartens.htmlGoogle Scholar
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). (2008). The Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians. Melbourne: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.Google Scholar
National Childcare Accreditation Council. (2005). Quality Assurance Systems, Commonwealth Funding. Retrieved June 11, 2005, from http://www.ncac.gov.au/quality_systems/quality_systems_index.htmlGoogle Scholar
NSW Curriculum Framework for Children's Services. (2002). The practice of relationships: Essential provisions for children's services. Sydney, Australia: Office of Childcare.Google Scholar
Orr, D.W. (2005). Place and pedagogy. In Stone, M. & Barlow, Z. (Eds.), Ecological literacy: Educating our children for a sustainable world (pp. 85–95). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1953). The origin of intelligence in the child [Cook, M., Trans.]. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Plotkin, B. (2008). Nature and the human soul: Cultivating wholeness and community in a fragmented world. Novato, CA: New World Library.Google Scholar
Ponte, P., Ax, J., Beijaard, D., & Wubbels, T. (2004). Teachers’ development of professional knowledge through action research and the facilitation of this by teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20 (6), 571–588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyle, R. (2002). Eden in the vacant lot: Special places, species and kids in the neighbourhood of life. In Kahn, P. Jr., & Kellert, S. (Eds.), Children and nature: Psychological, sociocultural, and evolutionary investigations (pp. 305–327). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Pyle, R. (2007, September). Losers, weepers: The extinction of experience and the diminishing baseline. Paper presented at the Come and Play Outside: A Multidisciplinary Symposium, University of Western Australia, Australia.Google Scholar
Roszak, T. (2001). The voice of the Earth: An exploration of ecopyschology (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press.Google Scholar
Russell-Bowie, D. (2009). MMADD about the arts: An introduction to creative arts education (2nd ed.). Sydney, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Shepard, P. (1982). Nature and madness. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.Google Scholar
Skinner, B.F. (1938). The behaviour of organisms. New York: Appelton Century.Google Scholar
Sobel, D. (1996). Beyond ecophobia: Reclaiming the heart of nature education. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society.Google Scholar
Sobel, D. (2005). Place-based education: Connecting classrooms and communities. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society.Google Scholar
Somerville, M., Dundas, M., Mead, M., Oliver, J., & Sulter, M. (1994). The sun dancin’: People and place in Coonabarabran. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.Google Scholar
Spodek, B., & Saracho, O.N. (1996). Culture and the early childhood curriculum. Early Child Development and Care, 123 (1), 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steiner, R. (1996). The education of the child: And early lectures on education (Foundations of Warldorf Education, 25). London: Floris Books.Google Scholar
Suzuki, D. (1997). The sacred balance: Rediscovering our place in nature. Vancouver: Greystone Books.Google Scholar
Tooth, R. (2006). Growing a sense of place: Storythread and the transformation of a school (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Queensland, Australia.Google Scholar
Tooth, R., & Renshaw, P. (2009). Reflections on pedagogy and place: A journey into learning for sustainability through environmental narrative and deep attentive reflection. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 25, 95–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaske, J., & Kobrin, K.C. (2001). Place attachment and environmentally responsible behaviour. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32 (4), 16–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallis, J. (2004). Green Lane Nursery Forest Project. Buxton, UK: Green Lane Infants School.Google Scholar
Ward, K. (2011). The living curriculum: A natural wonder: Enhancing the ways in which early childhood educators scaffold young children's learning about the environment by using self-generated creative arts experiences as a core component of the Early Childhood Program. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Western Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Warden, C., & Buchan, N. (2007). Look, look . . . and look again. Auchlone, UK: Mindstretchers.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. (2010). Aesthetics and a sense of wonder. ChildCare Exchange, May/June, 27–27.Google Scholar
Wright, S. (2012). Children, meaning-making and the arts. Sydney, Australia: Pearson.Google Scholar
Wyver, S., Tranter, P., Naughton, G., Little, H., Sandseter, E., & Bundy, A. (2010). Ten ways to restrict children's freedom to play: The problem of surplus safety. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11 (3), 263–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar