Training early childhood teachers for sustainability: towards a ‘learning experience of a different kind’

Abstract

In this study, we discuss findings from a small-scale project evaluating an in-service teacher training programme focused on ‘perspective transformation’ in early childhood education and education for sustainability (EfS). A bespoke professional development programme was developed for Turkish early childhood teachers, based on a variety of Mezirowian-inspired adult education activities. Data were gathered using a mixed method research design, from 24 early childhood educators, through learning diaries, a Learning Activities Survey and follow-up interviews. Initial findings illustrate the range of transformations possible in the teachers’ perspectives during and after the training workshops. Influential factors in facilitating perspective transformation are shown to be the content, structure and sequencing of the training, and peer support. We conclude that transformative learning techniques offer a viable framework for engaging practicing early childhood teachers with EfS and also discuss implications for teacher preparation in both areas.

Keywords:

• education for sustainable development
• early childhood
• transformative learning
• adult education
• teacher education

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank James Hindson, Özgül Yılmaz-Tüzün and Zafer Levent Soyhan for being a source of knowledge and inspiration.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The most educated populations tend to be in countries where spending on all levels of education is amongst the highest. The United States, for example, spent 7.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education in 2010, the sixth highest amongst the countries reviewed by the OECD’s Education at a Glance study. Eight of the 10 most educated countries spent more than the OECD average on education, both as a percentage of GDP and in dollars per capita. For http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm.

2. This is not to ignore other key factors, such as home life, but to recognise these are not the focus of this study.

3. According to OECD (2012), 69% of teachers in Turkey are less than 40 years old.

4. In OECD (2009), it was found that 74.8% of teachers in Turkey stated that they participated in in-service training in the previous 18 months.

5. William McDonough and Michael Braungart popularised the phrase ‘cradle to cradle’ with their 2002 book bearing the same name. The concept was first introduced by Walter Stahel in the 1970s. When applied to production modelling, ‘cradle to cradle’ entails understanding the production process in ways such that all material inputs and outputs are considered as either technical or biological nutrients. In contrast to ‘cradle to grave’-type approaches, where the responsibility of the company is limited to the disposal of the produced goods, ‘cradle to cradle’ expects the process to involve technical nutrients being recycled or reused with no loss of quality, and biological nutrients being composted or consumed.