A Collaboration Project on Education for Sustainability: Professional Development Needs of Turkish Preschool Teachers

Öz

The purpose of this study was to determine the preschool teacher’s professional development (PD) needs about education for sustainability (EfS) as the first stage of a PD project. The general knowledge of teachers on sustainable development (SD) and their experience in preparing and implementing EfS activities was investigated. The data were collected from 1126 participants via a survey to determine preschool teachers’ knowledge level about SD and their practice to develop a PD program. Most preschool teachers acknowledge the term SD and revealed limited SD knowledge. Organizing learning centers and using outdoor learning environments on EfS were seen as challenging tasks for them. Few of them find themselves competent in family participation efforts for SD.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Early childhood education
• sustainable development
• education for sustainability
• professional development
• , preschool teachers

Sürdürülebilirlik İçin Eğitim Üzerine Bir İşbirliği Projesi: Türkiye’de Okul Öncesi Öğretmenlerinin Mesleki Gelişim İhtiyaçları

Öz

Bu çalışma, mesleki gelişim (MG) projesinin birinci aşaması olarak, okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin sürdürülebilirlik için eğitim (SE) ile ilgili MG ihtiyaçlarını incelemektedir. Bu doğrultuda öğretmenlerin sürdürülebilir gelişme (SG) hakkındaki genel bilgileri ile sürdürülebilirlik için eğitim etkinliklerini hazırlama ve uygulama konusundaki deneyimleri araştırılmıştır. Öğretmenlerinin MG ihtiyaçlarını araştırmak için 1126 katılımcıdan bir anket aracılığı ile veri toplanmıştır. Bulgular, okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin çoğunun sürdürülebilirlik terimi hakkında sınırlı bilgiye sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Ayrıca, öğrenme merkezlerinin bu amaçla düzenlenmesi ve açık havada öğrenme ortamlarının kullanılması katılımcılar tarafından zorlu görevler olarak görülmüştür. Katılımcıların küçük bir kısmı sürdürülebilirlik için aile katılımı çalışmalarında kendilerini yeterli bulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Okul öncesi eğitim
• sürdürülebilir gelişim
• sürdürülebilirlik için eğitim
• mesleki gelişim
• okul öncesi öğretmenleri.

Kaynakça

1. Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance (AESA). (2014). Education for Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum Project: Final Report for Research Phases 1 to 3. Retrieved from http://aries.mq.edu.a/ublication/the/ducatio/fS-in-Aust-Curriculum.pdf
2. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
3. Bautista, A., Moreno-Núñez, A., Ng, S. C., & Bull, R. (2018). Preschool educators’ interactions with children about sustainable development: Planned and incidental conversations. International Journal of Early Childhood, 50(1), 15-32. DOI: 10.1007/s13158-018-0213-0
4. Barr, S. K., Cross, J. E., & Dunbar, B. H. (2014). The whole school sustainability framework. Retrieved from https://centerforgreenschools.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/Whole-School_Sustainability_Framework.pdf
5. Bascopé, M., Perasso, P., & Reiss, K. (2019). Systematic review of education for sustainable development at an early stage: Cornerstones and pedagogical approaches for teacher professional development. Sustainability, 11(3), 719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030719
6. Berglund, T., & Gericke, N. (2016). Separated and integrated perspectives on environmental, economic, and social dimensions an investigation of student views on sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 22(8), 1115-1138, DOI:10.1080/13504622.2015.1063589
7. Bonnett, M. (1999). Education for sustainable development: A coherent philosophy for environmental education? Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(3), 313-324. DOI:10.1080/0305764990290302
8. Borg, F. (2019). Economic (in)equality and sustainability: Preschool children’s views of the economic situation of other children in the world. Early Child Development and Care, 189(8), 1256-1270. DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2017.1372758

9. Borg, C., Gericke, N., Höglund, H., & Bergman, E. (2014). Subject- and experience-bound differences in teachers’ conceptual understanding of sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 20(4), 526-551. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2013.833584
10. Brundtland, G. H. (1988). Världskommissionen för miljö och utveckling [World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future]. Translated and edited by B. Hägerhäll, 408. Stockholm: Prisma.
11. Bursjöö, I. (2011). How student teachers form their educational practice in relation to sustainable development. Utbildning & Demokrati–tidskrift för didaktik och utbildningspolitk, 20(1), 59-78.
12. Centre for Environment and Sustainability. (2008). The Gothenburg recommendations on education for sustainable development. Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg. Gothenburg: Sweden.
13. Davis, J. M. (2010). What is early childhood education for sustainability? In J. M. Davis (Ed.) Young children and the environment (pp. 21-42). Port Melbourne, VIC: Cambridge University Press.
14. Davis, J., Miller, M., Boyd, W., & Gibson, M. (2008). The impact and potential of water education in early childhood care and education settings: A report of the Rous water early childhood water aware centre program, Brisbane: QUT.
15. Demirci, F. G. & Şıvgın, N. (2017). Okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin öğrenme merkezleri ile ilgili uygulama ve görüşleri. [Practices and opinions of pre-school teachers about learning centers]. Electronic Turkish Studies, 12(18), 271-292. DOI: 10.7827/TurkishStudies.12092
16. Duhn, I. (2012). Making ‘place’for ecological sustainability in early childhood education. Environmental Education Research, 18(1), 19-29.
17. Duncan, E. (2011). Report part 2—ESD in practice. Norway: OMEP.
18. Dyment., E. J., E., Hill, A., & Emery, S. (2015). Sustainability as a cross-curricular priority in the Australian Curriculum: A Tasmanian investigation. Environmental Education Research, 21, 1105–1126. DOI:10.1080/13504622.2014.966657
19. Dyment, J. E., Davis, J. M., Nailon, D., Emery, S., Getenet, S., McCrea, N., & Hill, A. (2014). The impact of professional development on early childhood educators’ confidence, understanding and knowledge of education for sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 20(5), 660-679. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2013.833591
20. ECEESDPD. (2020). Integrating sustainable development into early childhood education: An effort through modules and professional development. Bilateral Cooperation Project (TUBITAK-NRF). Retrieved from https://www.eceesdpd.com/
21. Elliott, S., Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E., & Davis, J. (Eds.). (2020). Researching early childhood education for sustainability challenging assumptions and orthodoxies. NY: Routledge.
22. Elliott, 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. DOI: 10.1007/BF03168879
23. Engdahl, I. (2015). Early childhood education for sustainability: The OMEP world project. International Journal of Early Childhood, 47(3), 347-366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-015-0149-6
24. Engdahl, I., & Rabušicová, M. (2011). Education for sustainable development in practice: World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP). Retrieved from http://old.worldomep.org/files/1343134_wareport-omep-esd-in-practice-2011-1-.pdf.
25. Flogaitis, E., & Agelidou, E. (2003). Kindergarten teachers' conceptions about nature and the environment. Environmental Education Research, 9(4), 461-478.
26. Ginsburg, J. L., & Audley, S. (2020). "You don't wanna teach little kids about climate change": Beliefs and barriers to sustainability education in early childhood. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 7(3), 42-61.
27. Güler Yıldız, T., Öztürk, N., İlhan İyi, T., Aşkar, N., Banko Bal, Ç., Karabekmez, S., & Höl, Ş. (in press). Education for sustainability in early childhood education: A systematic review. Environmental Education Research.
28. Güler Yıldız, T., Simsek, P. O., Eren, S., & Aydos, E. H. (2017). An analysis of the views and experiences of children who are 48-66 months old, their parents, and teachers about "sustainable development". Educational Sciences-Theory & Practice, 17(2), 653-677. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2017.2.0013
29. Haktanır, G., Güler, T., Yılmaz, A. and Kurtulmuş, Z. 2010. “Perceptions of Turkish Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers About Sustainable Development”. OMEP XXVI. World Congress, 11-13 August 2010, Göteborg/Sweden.
30. Henderson, K., & Tilbury, D. (2004). Whole-school approaches to sustainability: An international review of sustainable school programs. Report. The Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) for The Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government. ISBN, 1(86408), 979.
31. Hill, A., McCrea, N., Emery, S., Nailon, D., Davis, J., Dyment, J., & Getenet, S. (2014). Exploring how adults who work with young children conceptualise sustainability and describe their practice initiatives. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(3), 14-22. DOI: 10.3316/informit.662244248093552
32. Hoorn, J. V., Nourot, P., Scales, B., & Alward, K. (1993). Play at the center of the curriculum. New York, NY: Macmillan.
33. Inoue, M., O'Gorman, L., & Davis, J. (2016). Investigating early childhood teachers' understandings of and practices in education for sustainability in Queensland: A Japan-Australia research collaboration. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 32(02), 174-191. DOI: 10.1017/aee.2016.4
34. Kahriman, D. (2016). Comparison of Early Childhood Education Educators' Education for Sustainable Development Practices across Eco versus Ordinary Preschools. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Ankara: Middle East Technical University Institute of Social Sciences.
35. Kahriman Öztürk, D. & Olgan, R. (2016). Analysis of pre-School teachers' views on the importance of education for sustainable development by means of location and household type in childhood. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(13), 6303-6313.
36. Kahriman Pamuk, D. & Olgan, R. (2018). Teacher practices and preschool physical environment for education for sustainable development: Eco vs ordinary preschools. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 14(2), 669-683. DOI: 10.17860/mersinefd.391312
37. Kahriman Pamuk, D. & Olgan, R. (2020). Comparing Predictors of Teachers’ Education for Sustainable Development Practices among Eco and Non-Eco Preschools. Egitim ve Bilim, 45(203).
38. Knight, S. (2013). Risk & adventure in early years’ outdoor play: Learning from forest schools. Oxford: Sage Publications.
39. Korkmaz, A., & Güler Yıldız, T. (2017). Assessing preschools using the Eco-Schools Program in terms of educating for sustainable development in early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(4), 595-611. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293x.2017.1331074
40. Lee, R. E., Soltero, E. G., Ledoux, T. A., Sahnoune, I., Saavadra, F., Mama, S. K., & McNeill, L. H. (2019). Sustainability via Active Garden Education: Translating policy to practice in early care and education. Journal of School Health, 89(4), 257-266. DOI: 10.1111/josh.12734
41. McNichol, H., Davis, J. M., & O’Brien, K. R. (2011). An ecological footprint for an early learning centre: identifying opportunities for early childhood sustainability education through interdisciplinary research. Environmental Education Research, 17(5), 689-704. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.572161
42. Michek, S., Nováková, Z., & Menclová, L. (2015). Advantages and disadvantages of forest kindergarten in Czech Republic. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 171, 738-744. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.186
43. Morris, H., Skouteris, H., Edwards, S., Rutherford, L. M., Cutter-Mackenzie, A., O'Connor, A., Mantilla, A., Huang, T. T. K., Lording, K. M., & Williams-Smith, J. (2016). Feasibility of conducting a randomized trial to promote healthy eating, active play and sustainability awareness in early childhood curricula. Early Child Development and Care, 186(11), 1752-1764. DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2015.1131158
44. Nespor, J. (1987). The role of beliefs in the practice of teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19(4), 317-328. DOI: 10.1080/0022027870190403
45. Nicholls, J., & Thorne, M. (2017). Queensland teachers' relationship with the sustainability cross-curriculum priority. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 33(3), 189-200. DOI:10.1017/aee.2018.1
46. OMEP [Organization Mondiale Pour L’Education Prescolaire] (2020). Education for sustainable development world project. Retrieved from http://eceresourcebank.org/index.php?hCode=PROJECT_04_01
47. Özyürek, A. & Kılınç, N. (2015). Okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarındaki öğrenme merkezlerinin çocukların serbest oyun davranışları üzerine etkisi [The effect of learning centers on the children’s leisure time activity behaviors at pre-school institutions]. Karabük Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 5(2), 125-138.
48. Panatsa, V. M., & Malandrakis, G. (2018). Student teachers’ perceptions about the social pillar of urban sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 19(5), 998-1018. DOI: 10.1108/IJSHE-09-2017-0162
49. Padilla-Walker, L. M., & Nelson, L. J. (2012). Black hawk down? Establishing helicopter parenting as a distinct construct from other forms of parental control during emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescence, 35(5), 1177-1190. DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.03.007
50. Park, E., Kim, H., & Yu, S. (2016). Perceptions and Attitudes of Early Childhood Teachers in Korea About Education for Sustainable Development. International Journal of Early Childhood, 48(3), 369-385. DOI: 10.1007/s13158-016-0176-y
51. Pepper, C. & Wildy, H. (2008), Leading for sustainability: Is surface understanding enough? Journal of Educational Administration, 46(5), 613-629. DOI: 10.1108/09578230810895528
52. Prescott, E. (1987). The environment as organizer of intent in child-care settings. In Spaces for children (pp. 73-88). Springer, Boston, MA.
53. Renton, Z., & Butcher, J. (2010). Securing a sustainable future for children and young people. Children and Society, 24, 160–166. DOI: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00280.x
54. Sterling, S., & Huckle, J. (Eds.). (2014). Education for sustainability. Routledge.
55. Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. (2019). Zero Waste. Retrieved from http://zerowaste.gov.tr/
56. Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. (2020). Save Your Food. Retrieved from https://www.gidanikoru.com/
57. MoNE, (2013). Preschool Education Program. Retrieved from http://tegm.meb.gov.tr/dosya/okuloncesi/ooproram.pdf
58. Presidency of the Strategy and Budget (2019). The Eleventh Development Plan (2019-2023). Retrieved from https://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/On_BirinciPLan_ingilizce_SonBaski.pdf
59. TEMA (Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats). (2018). Education programs of the Turkish Foundation for combating soil erosion, for reforestation and the protection of natural habitats. Retrieved from https://www.tema.org.tr/calismalarimiz/egitim/doga-egitim-programlari/minik-tema
60. Uğraş, M., & Zengin, E. (2019). Sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının sürdürülebilir kalkınma için eğitim ile ilgili görüşleri. Kuramsal Eğitimbilim Dergisi, 12(1), 298-315.
61. UN (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
62. UNESCO. (2002). Education for sustainability—From Rio to Johannesburg: Lessons learnt from a decade of commitment. Paris: Author.
63. UNESCO. (2005a). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) Retrieved from http://portal.unesco.org/education/admin/ev.php
64. UNESCO. (2005b). International implementation scheme. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001486/148654E.pdf (accessed 13 September 2017).
65. UNESCO. (2006). Framework for the UNDESD International Implementation Scheme. Paris: UNESCO.
66. UNESCO (2014). Roadmap for Implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development. Paris, France. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002305/230514e.pdf
67. UNESCO (2008). EFA-ESD Dialogue: Educating for a sustainable world. Paris: UNESCO.