Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/196587

Title

An early childhood AuSSI adventure

Author(s)

Young, Tracy Charlotte

Abstract

The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) is a partnership of the Australian Government and the states and territories that seeks to support primary and secondary schools and their communities to become sustainable. To date, the early childhood education sector has not been included within the AuSSI system and despite the efforts of early childhood researchers, advocates and educators who affirm that educatiion for sustinability in the early years is ‘essential not optional’ (Elliott, 2010), there are very few examples of what this may look like within the early childhood education sector and the pedagogy of teaching such content with young children. This paper identifies that one of the many inhibiting factors of early childhood education for sustainability is the double marginalisation effect. The early childhood sector is marginalised and sustainability is still marginalised in education, failing to become part of mainstream curriculum or an integral part of the education system. This is problematic because early childhood education for sustainability has been slow to take off, and has not been assisted by governments, funding or received the recognition to progress the systems that are needed to ensure its viability. This paper emerges from a research study that examined the progress of four children's services in Melbourne, as they implemented an early chidhood version of the AuSSI. It is hoped that the findings will open doors for the inclusion of the early childhood education sector in the AuSSI across Australia, and developments are already underway to progress this goal. As environmental degradation intensifies, there is a greater need for our youngest citizens to engage knowledgably, authentically and ethically with education for sustainability. It is essential that this commence in the earliest years of life and must therefore permeate the whole education establishment.

Publication type

Conference paper

Source

Paper presented at 'Explore, Experience, Educate', the 6th World Environmental Education Congress, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 19-23 July 2011

Publication year

2011

Keyword(s)

AuSSI;  Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative;  Early childhood;  Education;  Environment;  Sustainability

Publisher

Australian Association for Environmental Education

Publisher URL

http://www.aaee.org.au/publication/2008-2/

Copyright

Copyright © 2011.