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ABSTRACT
Unsustainable living is a critical challenge for all sectors of society. While many universities promote sustainability by supporting campus resource efficiency and sustainability-focused research, these approaches fail to harness the full power of higher education. We argue that Education for Sustainability (EfS) should be at the heart of higher education’s sustainability commitments. This study examined the anecdotal view that initial early childhood teacher education (IECTE) in universities has been slow to embed EfS. A review was undertaken of 41 university websites, their online program materials for Education faculties/schools/departments, and IECTE materials at program and subject level, together with a deeper investigation of the policy and promotional documents of three selected institutions. We analysed the extent to which university policy reflects enunciated practice when it comes to embedding sustainability into IECTE programs. We believe that elevating EfS in IECTE may encourage greater systems-wide action within the broader early childhood education field, as opposed to the adhoc approaches that currently apply. Such a strategic measure offers the possibility for ECEfS to contribute more effectively to positive intergenerational impacts related to sustainability.
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Notes on contributors
Julie Davis
Julie Davis is Adjunct Professor in Early Childhood Education at QUT. Now retired, she continues as researcher and educator in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS), nationally and internationally.
Juliet Davis
Juliet Davis holds a law degree and joint Masters degrees in International and World History. She now focuses her socio-legal research on instutional abuse redress.