Environmental education practices in preschools in Sweden and Japan : A comparative study through Actively Caring Model
(2022) International association people-environment studies (IAPS) 2022 conference- Abstract
- Background and objectives: There has been an increased interest in education for the environment in early childhood, but little is known about how the education influence young children’s behaviour. Moreover, knowledge about education for the environment in different educational contexts is still limited. To adopt pro-environment behaviours, the children should be taught about caring for the environment and feel confident in their ability. With these recognitions, this study explores the aspects of early childhood environmental education by targeting preschools affiliating to Green Flag program (an international environmental certificate for the education for sustainable development) in Sweden and Japan.
Process and methods: The... (More) - Background and objectives: There has been an increased interest in education for the environment in early childhood, but little is known about how the education influence young children’s behaviour. Moreover, knowledge about education for the environment in different educational contexts is still limited. To adopt pro-environment behaviours, the children should be taught about caring for the environment and feel confident in their ability. With these recognitions, this study explores the aspects of early childhood environmental education by targeting preschools affiliating to Green Flag program (an international environmental certificate for the education for sustainable development) in Sweden and Japan.
Process and methods: The empirical data were obtained through nine interviews with educators involving in the program, and relevant documents received from the informants. Initially, the data obtained from two countries subject to a content analysis respectively to categorize environmental education activities. Subsequently, a deductive approach is applied in which all brought up aspects relating to the activities will be interpreted and discussed based on the three constructs of the actively caring model for the environment (Geller, 1995): (i) empowerment, (ii) self-esteem and (iii) belongingness.
Main result: Preliminary results have pointed out the important role of everyday green environments in environmental education activities in Sweden that could be associated with self-esteem and belongingness. The focus in Japan seems to be mostly on performing actual pro-environmental behaviours due to a lack of local green space. The activities (e.g. making compost, growing own vegetables and making food, and energy saving competitions) could be considered as having tendencies that promote empowerment as well as belongingness.
Implications for research and practice/policy/Importance and originality of the contribution: The actively caring model was used to examine the potential for environmental education to increase the propensity of young children’s care for the environment and therefore, pro-environmental behaviours. It is expected that the results will facilitate design of environmental education activities taking into consideration different preschool contexts.
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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7ca5cccf-8e97-4d93-b548-e8fa5fb16ec8
- author
- Mattsson, Pimkamol LU and Iwasaki, Shimpei
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-07
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- conference name
- International association people-environment studies (IAPS) 2022 conference
- conference location
- Lissabon, Portugal
- conference dates
- 2022-07-05 - 2022-07-08
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7ca5cccf-8e97-4d93-b548-e8fa5fb16ec8
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-13 22:24:25
- date last changed
- 2024-01-15 15:03:20
@misc{7ca5cccf-8e97-4d93-b548-e8fa5fb16ec8,
abstract = {{Background and objectives: There has been an increased interest in education for the environment in early childhood, but little is known about how the education influence young children’s behaviour. Moreover, knowledge about education for the environment in different educational contexts is still limited. To adopt pro-environment behaviours, the children should be taught about caring for the environment and feel confident in their ability. With these recognitions, this study explores the aspects of early childhood environmental education by targeting preschools affiliating to Green Flag program (an international environmental certificate for the education for sustainable development) in Sweden and Japan.<br/>Process and methods: The empirical data were obtained through nine interviews with educators involving in the program, and relevant documents received from the informants. Initially, the data obtained from two countries subject to a content analysis respectively to categorize environmental education activities. Subsequently, a deductive approach is applied in which all brought up aspects relating to the activities will be interpreted and discussed based on the three constructs of the actively caring model for the environment (Geller, 1995): (i) empowerment, (ii) self-esteem and (iii) belongingness.<br/>Main result: Preliminary results have pointed out the important role of everyday green environments in environmental education activities in Sweden that could be associated with self-esteem and belongingness. The focus in Japan seems to be mostly on performing actual pro-environmental behaviours due to a lack of local green space. The activities (e.g. making compost, growing own vegetables and making food, and energy saving competitions) could be considered as having tendencies that promote empowerment as well as belongingness.<br/>Implications for research and practice/policy/Importance and originality of the contribution: The actively caring model was used to examine the potential for environmental education to increase the propensity of young children’s care for the environment and therefore, pro-environmental behaviours. It is expected that the results will facilitate design of environmental education activities taking into consideration different preschool contexts. <br/>}},
author = {{Mattsson, Pimkamol and Iwasaki, Shimpei}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Environmental education practices in preschools in Sweden and Japan : A comparative study through Actively Caring Model}},
year = {{2022}},
}