Att lära för FN: s Globala Mål–utmaningar och möjligheter med ämnesövergripande och samskapande undervisning i förskolan

The study explores how kindergarten educators responsible for 1-5-year-olds in Swedish kindergartens understand and implement sustainability education based on the UN’s global goals. The study places particular emphasis on the challenges and opportunities experienced by the educators in this process. The research questions are: 1) What challenges and opportunities do kindergarten staff express regarding the knowledge content in education for sustainable development? 2) What opportunities and limitations do kindergarten staff express regarding child-focused teaching and goal-oriented teaching in education for sustainable development? 3) What challenges and opportunities do kindergarten staff express regarding the practical conditions in education for sustainable development?

The study shows that although there is a desire for interdisciplinary teaching, issues related to sustainable development and Agenda 2030 are often divided into separate components – ecological, economic, and social sustainability – rather than being integrated. The kindergarten teachers experience that kindergarten has good opportunities to teach about sustainable development. However, they experience a dilemma between taking children’s interests into account while maintaining goals and focus on sustainable development.

To investigate how kindergarten staff perceive sustainable development teaching, the researchers created 13 focus groups with employees from eight different kindergartens. These kindergartens participated in the collaborative project ‘The world needs a new story’. To facilitate exchange, the focus groups were organised based on the criterion of mixing participants from different kindergartens as much as possible. The focus groups were designed to stimulate in-depth discussions about the SDGs, with preparatory materials such as information films and seminars on sustainability. This material was used by the participants as a basis for reflection and conversation, as well as an interview guide.

Asplund, T., Uhrqvist, O., Kall, A. S., & Bijedic, A. (2023). Att lära för FN: s Globala Mål–utmaningar och möjligheter med ämnesövergripande och samskapande undervisning i förskolan. NorDiNa: Nordic Studies in Science Education, 19(1), 35–48.