Editor’s note
In this new chapter for the second edition, the three authors from the United Kingdom share their perspectives on ECEfS, using the four strands of UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development initiative (2012) to shape their discussion. In short, they examine responses in the United Kingdom to EfS through the lenses of access to quality basic education; professional education provision; changes to existing educational programs to address sustainability; and public understanding and awareness of sustainability. They expand on these themes with reference to two ‘Stories from the field’ vignettes that highlight aspects of the four UNESCO strands. The authors argue that, even though there appears to have been a diminution of central policy support for sustainability and EfS across the country, and an economic recession, sustainability initiatives should not be left to flounder. The authors make the point that, by building on the strength of current initiatives and making the most of adversity to stimulate creativity, new opportunities can be generated to further legitimise and integrate ECEfS into lifelong educational experiences that promote sustainable living.
Introduction
We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams … yet we are [also] the movers and shakers of the world for ever, it seems
(O’Shaughnessy 1874).Our world, as we know it, is a human construct; we are both social products and social producers. If we accept that human behaviours affect and are affected by our engagements with physical, social and economic environments, then early years practitioners are potential ‘movers and shakers of the world’ (O’Shaughnessy 1874), and well placed to promote and facilitate sustainable development. This chapter explores this possibility, using the four strands of UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development initiative (UNESCO 2012, p. 11) to discuss ECEfS in England.