Contribution of Early Childhood Education to a Sustainable Society: Influences from Home in Preschool Children’s Understanding of Composting in France

Today, the understanding of environmental concerns is of great significance, making it desirable for children to investigate the scientific concepts underlying a growing list of emerging environmental issues. This paper deals with young children’s preconceptions. The authors have stressed the import...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early childhood education journal 2022-10, Vol.50 (7), p.1247-1261
Main Authors: Marchal-Gaillard, Valérie, Marzin-Janvier, Patricia, Boilevin, Jean-Marie, Grimault-Leprince, Agnès
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Childrens Attitudes
Composting
Conservation (Environment)
Early childhood education
Education
Environmental Education
Environmental Sciences
Family Environment
Food
Foreign Countries
Humanities and Social Sciences
Informal Education
Learning and Instruction
Life Sciences
Original Paper
Preschool Children
Sociology
Sociology of Education
Sustainability
Waste management
Wastes
Young Children
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Summary:Today, the understanding of environmental concerns is of great significance, making it desirable for children to investigate the scientific concepts underlying a growing list of emerging environmental issues. This paper deals with young children’s preconceptions. The authors have stressed the importance of investigating children’s ideas at an early stage, with some of these ideas leading to knowledge far removed from scientific knowledge. Our study focused on the knowledge about organic matter processes among five-year-old children who were only exposed to informal learning within the context of home waste management. We used semi-structured interviews with 48 young children to determine their knowledge about the organic matter cycling in composters. The determination of five significant stages for a global understanding of the cycle of organic matter and the construction of three levels of formulation have allowed us to conclude that young children are able to understand scientific processes involved in composting in the context of their family practice of organic waste management.
ISSN:1082-3301
1573-1707
DOI:10.1007/s10643-021-01260-8