An Australian Perspective: Seeking Sustainability in Early Childhood Outdoor Play Spaces

Abstract

In this chapter a social constructivist lens (Crotty, 1998) is employed to explore understandings of sustainability, education for sustainability (EfS) and outdoor play spaces. Further, critical theory (Friere, 1976) offers a frame for interrogating assumptions and misconceptions about educator roles and children's learning in this arena. Key emergent issues here include an assumption that playing outdoors per se, particularly in natural settings constitutes education for sustainability and misconceptions about the pedagogical role of educators in facilitating EfS. These issues are highly pertinent given the recent implementation of sustainability policy requirements for all Australian early childhood services and globally for initiatives such as the Global Action Programme (GAP) for ESD (UNESCO, 2014b). This chapter draws on recent research that highlights educators' perceptions and offers a problematizing of pedagogy for engaging in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS).The implications here are specifically practice-related; the intent is thus to provoke educators' questioning and provide strategies to deepen understandings of the synergies between sustainability, education for sustainability and outdoor play spaces in early childhood settings.The chapter aim is to strengthen the early childhood educator's role in ECEfS and provide an Australian contribution to the global sustainability agenda.