An orientation to early childhood education for sustainability and research - framing the text

Abstract

This publication arose from the interests of the chapter authors, 'a small group of thoughtful people' almost all of whom participated in one or both Transnational Dialogues in Research in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability conferences, held in Stavanger, Norway in 2010 and Brisbane, Australia in 2011 (see Appendix 1 for a list of participants). These meetings were the first time that a critical mass of researchers from vastly different parts of the globe - Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand at the inaugural meeting, with additional participants from Korea, Japan and Singapore attending the second - had come together to debate, discuss and share ideas about research and theory in the emerging field of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS). Some of the researchers who joined these Transnational Dialogues had met serendipitously at earlier conferences and meetings, or had corresponded via email, but many had never met face-to-face. Now a significant number are contributing authors to this book. It is a testament to these researchers' interest in this agenda that they mostly self-funded their travel and other costs to attend the Transnational Dialogues research meetings. It is important to emphasize at the outset that a key focus of these meetings was to explore ECEfS from the perspective of young children as central - as thinkers, problem-solvers and agents of change for sustainability.