Education for Sustainability in the Early Years (12006.1)

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2015-2030 (SDG) includes two important statements relevant to early childhood education and care. Goal 4 states that by 2030 all Member States must:
- ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education, and
- ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable development

To achieve these outcomes early childhood teachers must be confident and capable in programming and delivering high quality pedagogies and curricula in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) during the early years. Students will explore all four dimensions of sustainability (economic, natural, social and political) and the Sustainable Development Goals. Students will investigate the ESD Rating Scale developed by the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education and plan, implement and reflect on learning experiences that promote and support ESD.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Explain the different components of sustainability and the importance of education for sustainable development in early childhood;
2. Evaluate how sustainability impacts society and the role early childhood teachers have in promoting sustainable development;
3. Model and advocate sustainable practices particularly in regards to natural or environmental sustainability; and
4. Create, implement and reflect on learning experiences that promote education for sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Graduate attributes

2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - apply their knowledge to working with Indigenous Australians in socially just ways
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline

Prerequisites

Students must have passed 24 credit points.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.