Systematic Child Talks in Early Childhood Education – A Method for Sustainability

The study investigates methods used by Swedish kindergarten teachers to conduct systematic conversations with children about sustainability. The aim is to highlight how such conversations can promote children’s thoughts and reflections on sustainable practices. The study is part of the ‘Sustainable Preschool’ research project, which connects sustainable development to children’s learning and experiences in everyday life. By focusing on different approaches in conversations about sustainability, the study highlights how children’s voices and perspectives can be included and developed in kindergarten’s educational work.

The analysis shows that teachers used three main approaches in the children’s conversations about sustainability: (1) joint meaning-making, where both children and teachers actively contribute to the conversation; (2) question-answer-focused conversations, where teachers primarily assess the children’s factual knowledge; and (3) an approach where teachers follow the children’s initiatives without a fixed structure. The study concludes that an intersubjective atmosphere is essential in promoting children’s participation in sustainable learning, and that teachers’ ability to listen and create space for dialogue is crucial to the quality of sustainability education in kindergarten.

Data were collected through systematic conversations with children in Swedish kindergartens, where teachers used various techniques to talk about sustainable development. Children were encouraged to share their own perceptions and experiences through open-ended questions, images and other educational tools. Teachers submitted transcripts of the conversations via a secure platform, and the material was analysed through content analysis to identify three communication patterns. The conversations were then assessed based on whether they included dialogic participation and intersubjective understanding between children and adults.

Engdahl, I., Pramling Samuelsson, I., & Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E. (2023). Systematic Child Talks in Early Childhood Education – A Method for Sustainability. Children, 10(4), 661.