Early Childhood Education in a World of Change

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 April 2024) | Viewed by 6518

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Education, Communication and Learning, Goteborgs Universitet, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
Interests: children’s learning; teaching and didactics/pedagogy in early childhood education; curriculum in ECE and sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Most children worldwide are in Early Childhood Education for a variable period of time before school. 

In Agenda 2030, goal 4.2, it is stated that all children should have a chance to participate in an education of high quality. Stated in goal 4.7 is the types of content that will best utilize education for sustainability, such as sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and the appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development. 

Sustainable development is about the next generation’s future. These topics, alongside others, can be linked to children’s future and their experiences in ECE, which also is closely linked to teacher education, or competence development for staff working with the youngest children.

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • early childhood education
  • sustainable lifestyles
  • human rights
  • gender equality
  • the promotion of a culture global citizenship
  • cultural diversity
  • sustainable development
  • children’s future
  • youngest children

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 1504 KiB  
Article
Multivocal Didaktik Modelling in Early Childhood Education—For a Sustainable Future in a World of Change
by Ann-Christine Vallberg Roth and Linda Palla
Children 2023, 10(8), 1419; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081419 - 21 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1359
Abstract
In times of democratic decline, unanimous choices and approaches and the idea of a singular best practice may be less conducive to democracy and sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this study is to suggest a multivocal approach to education and teaching by studying [...] Read more.
In times of democratic decline, unanimous choices and approaches and the idea of a singular best practice may be less conducive to democracy and sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this study is to suggest a multivocal approach to education and teaching by studying the question of what may characterise teaching in preschool for a sustainable future. The knowledge contribution and originality of the article is evident in the introduction, method, and results. In abductive analyses, models can summarize what we need to know and teach in pursuit of the creation of open life chances for every child. The results show that didaktik models are open and can provide support for teachers and leaders to consider and base informed decisions on, as well as to motivate their didaktik choices based on scientific foundations and proven experiences. Multivocal didaktik mo-delling intends to open up teaching—cultivating collaboration in preschool for a sustainable future in a world of change. In conclusion, we recommend cultivating an orientation (1) between knowledges, values and didaktik/education/special education in the pursuit of the creation of conditions for good education for all children; (2) between teaching realities and scientific foundations, which are founded in a critical–reflective didaktik, with a choice of direction in relation to an uncertain future; and (3) between continuity, progression and teaching adventures—which can include consolidating, deepening, broadening, raising, and cultivating knowledge and values for multivocality, democracy and sustainability in teaching realities. In the future the concept of multivocal didaktik modelling can be studied in relation to complex teaching realities as in a teaching universe or a teaching multiverse. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Childhood Education in a World of Change)
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14 pages, 295 KiB  
Article
Promoting Resilience in Early Childhood Education and Care to Prepare Children for a World of Change: A Critical Analysis of National and International Policy Documents
by Ann-Christin Furu, Angel Chan, Jonna Larsson, Ingrid Engdahl, Sarah Klaus, Anna May Navarrete and Barbara Turk Niskač
Children 2023, 10(4), 716; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10040716 - 12 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3697
Abstract
In recent years, the sustainability crisis has raised interest in the concept of resilience, i.e., the capacity to persist, adapt, or transform in the face of change and challenge. However, to date, resilience has only been studied to a limited extent within early [...] Read more.
In recent years, the sustainability crisis has raised interest in the concept of resilience, i.e., the capacity to persist, adapt, or transform in the face of change and challenge. However, to date, resilience has only been studied to a limited extent within early childhood education and care (ECEC). This paper reports on a study that used critical document analysis of national and international policies to explore if and how the concept of resilience within ECEC could contribute to sustainability in a world of rapid change. Five national and four international documents were analysed through the theoretical lenses of childism and place-based education. The results show that resilience is implicitly expressed in ECEC policies yet is rarely linked to sustainability issues. Instead, policies mainly limit resilience to the psychological dimension and the individual child. The conclusion is that ECEC is an apt context for supporting resilience in multiple ways. It suggests using a holistic understanding of resilience to advocate for ECEC policies that include diverse perspectives of families and local communities, incorporate indigenous voices, and recognise the interconnectedness between humans and the more-than-human world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Early Childhood Education in a World of Change)
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