Resolución del Parlamento Europeo de 8 de septiembre de

Marked positive changes in participants’ attitudes and behaviours through their participation in ESD activities were evident in the reviewed ESD studies. Positive transformation in participants’ attitudes and learning about the environment and active citizenship became evident in Gambino, Davis & Rowntree’s (2009) study where children developed attitudes of concern, care and affection towards the endangered Bilby and other animals and insects as they identified actions to protect them. Similarly, transformation in participants’ attitudes and learning about the environment

59 and sustainable practices in Prince (2010) and Fisher-Maltese (2016) was observed as parents gained better awareness of sustainability issues leading to their promoting actions for the environment e.g. recycling, and the need to be more respectful of the environment. Teachers learnt new things and researched topics of interest with greater focus on sustainability as shown in studies by Ward (2014) and Hirst (2019) that revealed how educators developed an appreciation for the natural world through engaging in arts-based pedagogy to enhance children’s understanding of the natural world. In addition, transformative effects from nature play experiences on children were observed in Haas & Ashman’s (2014) study as children expanded on nature play through wider range of games, played fairly with progress in all areas of development, increased teamwork and interacted with other children outside their peer groups. These changes were coupled with strengthening of child-environment, child-child and child- adult relationships which developed from their participation in activities arising from the study, and it also enabled all participants to show respect for all human and non- human species, as well as improvement to children’s overall physical capabilities. My awareness that the noted changes in participants’ behaviours in these studies took place in small steps over a period of time resonates Davis & Gibson’s (2006) argument that change which emanates from participating in ESD projects is an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary process. The change emanated from the organisation’s history; the people and the quality of the existing relationships; and the educator’s shared sense of ownership of the Sustainable Planet Project in their study. These factors provided a platform for change at the deepest level of the centre’s practices and philosophy, as it involved changes in fundamental relationships; in changing understandings of key areas of the curriculum; pedagogy; how children learn; as well as in teachers’ skills and behaviours. This resulted in a culture of sustainability that permeated the entire centre, and where young children were active participants in changing their world.

3.12 Summary

In this chapter, my review of studies on environmental education and early childhood education for sustainable development has enhanced my understandings of ESD in terms of interpretations of, and insights into the concept. This review led me to identify

60 eleven key approaches which I hold to be important for addressing sustainability issues and which should be considered by practitioners when planning and implementing practical activities that support ESD with children. In my examination of each approach in turn, I particularly focused on the methodology adopted (qualitative action research e.g. in Prince, 2010, Ward, 2014) as well as how they influenced teaching and learning of ESD in early years settings. These approaches also have implications for how teaching and learning activities can be shaped to promote better knowledge and practice of ESD within an early years setting.

Finally, and as mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, insights gained from the review of literature highlighted some theoretical perspectives from which the studies were carried out, and which have influenced my adoption of some theoretical perspectives for my study. I was inspired by the way participants worked together, listened to one another and shared experiences in their attempt to achieve common goals in the studies (e.g. Davis & Gibson, 2006; Tarr, 2008; Ogelman, 2012). Also, my acknowledgment of participants’ knowledge and interests and focusing on their views and understandings of issues as basis for pedagogical planning for play experiences emanated from the review of some of the studies (e.g. Caiman & Lundegård, 2014; Norðdahla & Jóhannesson, 2014; Hill et al., 2014; Ärlemalm- Hagsér & Sandberg, 2011) where children’s and practitioners’ interest and knowledge were used as bases for pedagogical planning for play experiences. Hence, the reviewed studies have been useful as means of analysing findings from the research. The next chapter of this thesis (Chapter Four) will address the theoretical framework that have guided this study in more detail.

61 Chapter Four: Theoretical framework for the study

In this chapter, I present the theoretical framework that underpins this study. A theoretical framework is the lens through which a researcher views the world (Merriam, 1998). In a qualitative study as one presented here, the theoretical framework is the structure that guided my thinking about the research design, participants, methods of data collection, as well as the interpretive lens for viewing data collected (Savin-Baden & Howell Major, 2013). I derived the theoretical framework from findings and conclusions in the reviewed studies in Chapter Three. Findings from studies (see Prince, 2010; Mackey, 2012; Stuhmcke, 2012; Borg et al., 2017) showed that participants acquired knowledge, values, attitudes, skills and practices of sustainability with the contextualised process of their learning through social interactions at the core when issues that were central to environmental education and sustainable development, were presented to them. Hence, the nursery is positioned as a naturalistic setting which enabled participants to make meaning of their world in the research process (Mukherji & Albon, 2018).

The theoretical framework that has guided this study is unique in the sense that it is the first of its kind to be described in relation to three specific theories that explain the ways in which participants’ learning and development is influenced by their social and cultural contexts in their learning for sustainability. I firstly draw on Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory which illuminated participants’ interactions, habits and language in the nursery setting as they occurred on an everyday basis. This theory demonstrates how the context becomes important and inseparable from the participants.

As I pondered on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, I observed that participants not only come together in a social context to co-create knowledge which is meaningful to them, but that to do so, draw upon their existing wealth of knowledge and experiences based on their understandings of the world. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory highlights how participants’ knowledge and experiences arise through active participation in family or elsewhere. This led me to consider and adopt the second theoretical perspective known as ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll et al., 1992).

Finally, the reviewed studies highlighted how participants’ learning for sustainability became more meaningful and effective when enshrined in caring relations. This was

62 particularly evident in studies reported by Chan, Choy and Lee (2009) and Norðdahla & Jóhannesson (2014) where the caring for one another enhanced understanding of the importance of caring for nature. Good relationships provided opportunities for communication, enabling participants to share, as well as co-construct knowledge with others. This led me to introduce a third theoretical perspective to this study, the ethics of care as articulated by Noddings (1984) who positions caring at the heart of learning experiences. Caring for oneself, others and the environment was pronounced in the reviewed studies suggesting that the ethics of care and its impact on children’s learning in educational institutions needs to be addressed in relation to sustainability learning in the early years (Wals, 2017).

This chapter focuses on these three theoretical perspectives: Vygotsky’s (1978) socio- cultural theory; Moll et al.’s (1992) ‘funds of knowledge’ perspective, and Nodding’s (1984) ethics of care; whilst demonstrating their relevance to this thesis. These perspectives complemented each other as they helped to add depth to my work by shedding light on how participants make meaning of their world in a given context. The perspectives also helped me to gain answers to the research question through the study’s design, methods of data collection and analysis of my findings.