| 3101. |
- Borg, Farhana, et al.
(författare)
-
Preschool children's knowledge about the environmental impact of various modes of transport
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Early Child Development and Care. - Abingdon : Taylor & Francis. - 0300-4430 .- 1476-8275. ; 189:3, s. 376-391
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explored Swedish preschool children’s knowledge about theenvironmental impact of various transport modes, and investigatedwhether or not eco-certification has any role to play in relation to thisknowledge. Additionally, this study examined children’s perceivedsources of knowledge. Using illustrations and semi-structured questions,53 children, aged five to six years, from six eco-certified and six non-eco-certified preschools were interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative datawere analysed using content analysis and Orthogonal Partial LeastSquares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), respectively. Findings revealedthat most of the children had acquired some knowledge about theenvironmental impact of various transport modes, although somechildren were not familiar with the word‘environment’. Although thecomplexity of children’s justifications for the environmental impact ofdifferent modes of transport tended to be higher at eco-certifiedpreschools compared to non-eco-certified preschools, no statisticallysignificant differences were found. Parents were reported to be a majorsource of knowledge.
|
|
| 3102. |
|
|
| 3103. |
- Borg, Farhana
(författare)
-
Preschool children’s understanding of transport use and environmental issues in Sweden
- 2015
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: As humans we influence the climate system and our current emissions of greenhouse gases are higher than ever. Nearly two thirds of the greenhouse gases in the transport sector come from motor cars. Driving car is not only harmful for the environment, but it also contributes to health problems. Issues related to climate change and transport are part of a large challenge of sustainability. Children as future global citizens are the potential victims of these consequences. Raising awareness about the hazardous environmental issues does not ensure a change in human behavior or practice. Rather, alternative forms of education and learning are needed to develop such understandings, attitudes and capacities. As we develop our values, attitudes, behaviors and skills when we are very young, special attention needs to be given to include sustainability issues in early childhood education. However, knowledge is scarce in the field of preschool children’s understanding of transport use and its relation to environmental and sustainability issues.Objectives: To explore preschool children’s understanding of transport use and its relation to environmental and sustainability issues, and investigate the sources of their understandings.Methods: A pilot study was conducted with eight children, aged 5-6, in a preschool in Sweden in 2014. Semi-structured questions with colored illustrations of a bus, a car, a bi-cycle and a child walking to school with an adult were used. The interviews were audio recorded. The five levels of Biggs and Collis’ SOLO (Structure of the Observed Leaning Outcomes) taxonomy was used to organize, categorize and analyze the responses.Results: All children mentioned that walking to preschool is best for the environment when someone lives close to the school. Some children could tell that going by bus is better than going by car, but the reason was unknown to them. Thus, they could connect single to multiple aspects of various modes of transport, but relationships between these connections or their effects on the environment were missing. One child responded at a relational level by telling that walking is good for health and going by car is bad for the nature. Another child responded at an extended level by mentioning that driving car is bad for health and for the environment, while walking is good for health, because one gets fresh air. Two children mentioned that it is not enjoyable to travel by bus during winter when it is freezing cold and one has to wait for the bus. Guardians and teachers were mentioned as the main sources of children’s understandings of transport and the environment.Conclusion: The findings indicate that children understand different modes of transport and their relation to environmental issues and health. However, their levels of understanding vary. The findings also suggest that both preschool teachers and guardians play instrumental roles in children’s understandings of sustainability issues and can help them grow as agents of change.
|
|
| 3104. |
- Borg, Farhana, Lektor, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
-
Principals´ Views on and Descriptions of Preschool Education for Sustainable Development
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Applied Technical and Educational Sciences jATES. - 2560-5429. ; 10:2, s. 18-40
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Principals have an important role to play when it comes to making decisions on organizational reforms and priorities in preschool; however, there has been little focus on their views on education for sustainable development (ESD) at the preschool level, which is a reform that needs to be prioritized. Furthermore, there is little insight into similarities and differences when it comes to how different types of preschools incorporate ESD, especially from the point of view of management. For this reason, this study aims to find out about the views on ESD that principals of eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools have. A further aim is to examine whether there are any differences between the two types of preschools – eco-certified and non-eco-certified – as made evident in the principals’ descriptions of ESD. This qualitative study applies a cross-sectional design. Seven principals, who headed a total of 22 preschools located in six municipalities in Sweden were interviewed: these interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and a thematic analysis was conducted. The findings demonstrate that the principals consider ESD to be crucial in early childhood education and feel ESD needs to be integrated into preschool education. Going by the principals’ descriptions, it seems that the eco-certified preschools prioritize ESD in their daily educational practices more than non-eco-certified preschools do. Further studies are needed to explore the attitudes and actions of principals when it comes to heading ESD in preschool, since attitudes guide both actions and behavior.
|
|
| 3105. |
- Borg, Farhana, Lektor, 1967-
(författare)
-
Sustainability in preschool educational activities : A case study of an eco-certified preschool in Sweden
- 2018
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One challenge of our time is to find ways of living in harmony with people and the nature without further damaging our planet. To promote sustainability, Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is about ensuring quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. To achieve the SDGs by 2030, they have been integrated in Swedish national policy documents, such as the preschool curriculum. However, research on how preschools include education for sustainability (EfS) in daily educational activities is limited.This paper presents findings from a case study in an eco-certified preschool that works explicitly with EfS. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the preschool’s activities with EfS from a whole-school approach model. The preschool has 36 children aged one to six, and eight preschool teachers (of whom two are child-carers). Since 2009, the preschool has maintained the requirements for the Green Flag award by the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, which is part of the eco-preschool program of the Foundation for Environmental Education.Data were collected from the director and preschool teachers through group discussions, observations, informal conversations, structured interviews, reading of reports and attending planning meetings. A whole-school approach model in EfS and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory were utilized to interpret the findings.Teachers encouraged children to take part in planning and decision-making activities. Together they selected different sustainability themes, such as, friendship, health of people and the planet, energy consumption, and recycling. Teachers used songs, stories, plays, films, illustrations, drawings and different experiments when they work with EfS. Older children took part in group discussions to reflect on different issues. Teachers connected environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability in educational activities. For instance, under the theme health, teachers integrated what is good for our health and what is good for our planet to survive. Some children transferred knowledge about the use of water and electricity from preschool to home.There were areas that the preschool could improve, e.g., newly employed staff and kitchen staff had less opportunity to be involved in EfS; one reason being that not much time was allocated for collegial learning and reflection. It is important to collaborate within the whole organisation, as sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. The preschool may think of keeping record of its ecological footprint and monitoring impact of their EfS activities to provide an incitement. This study helps developing our knowledge about how to integrate EfS at preschool level.
|
|
| 3106. |
- Borg, Farhana, Lektor, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
-
Teaching Sustainability in Swedish Preschools : Challenges encounter by teachers and child-minders
- 2022
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our planet is facing unprecedented transnational challenges that cannot be solved by a single country or entity. Considering the intensity of the situation, the United Nation (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focusing on people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. Education for sustainability (EfS) has become an integrated part of all education, from preschool to higher education. Target 4.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals states that education should ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainability by 2030. The preschool curriculum Lpfö 2018 in Sweden explicitly requires the integration of sustainability in educational practices. This study set out to explore:· What competence do preschool teachers have in teaching EfS?· What challenges do they encounter while integrating EfS in their educational practices? This study was part of a school development and research project in Sweden conducted from October 2017 to December 2019. A holistic approach, in which environmental, social and economic dimensions are interconnected, was used together with pluralistic and transformative perspectives. Eighteen preschools with 140 preschool teachers participated in the project. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, group discussions, EfS-network meetings and informal interviews.Two of three preschool teachers did not have any education or competence development training on EfS. Most of the teachers defined EfS as taking care of the environment, the natural cycle of the environment, recycling, or energy consumption. Challenges that preschool teachers experienced include: · Absence of educational materials with practical examples· Lack of professional development training· Shortage of time for planning· Insufficient collaboration between preschools· Lack of support from the preschool leadershipThe project was funded by the Pedagogiskt Utvecklingscentrum Dalarna (PUD), Sweden (Ref. Nr. HDa 4.2-2017/658).
|
|
| 3107. |
|
|
| 3108. |
|
|
| 3109. |
- Borg, Kajsa, 1943-, et al.
(författare)
-
Ny nätdistribuerad slöjdutbildning
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Tänk efter, tänk nytt, tänk om. - Umeå : Universitetspedagogiskt Centrum, Umeå universitet. - 9172640685 ; , s. 246-253
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- De huvudsakliga motiveringarna till att introducera slöjdutbildningar på distans var två. Det ena motivet var att söktrycket till grundskollärarutbildning med inriktning mot slöjd minskat de senaste 10 åren, trots kommunernas stora behov av att nyanställa lärare med utbildning i slöjd. Det andra motivet var möjligheten att utveckla en annan distributionsform för lärarutbildning i slöjd med stöd av IKT. Slöjdlärarutbildningar på distans innebär nya förutsättningar, nya möjligheter och nya problem. Den största pedagogiska utmaningen är att bryta en tradition och helt tänka om från en lärarledd utbildning som har sin grund i hantverksutbildningar, till att utveckla nätanpassade arbets- och examinationsformer både för ämnesutbildning och för VFU-momenten. I den nätbaserade utbildningen måste IKT bli en integrerad del i lärandeprocessen och datorn ett arbetsredskap i likhet med hantverksverktygen. Ett problem har varit att varken lärarutbildare eller studenter har haft särskilt stora egna erfarenheter av liknande arbets- eller examinationsformer i slöjd. Adekvat stöd för lärandet i form av digitalt material saknas. Slöjdämnet i grundskolan såväl som slöjdande i allmänhet samt lärarutbildningen bär med sig en inbyggd genusproblematik av traditionellt slag. Att utveckla nätdistribuerade utbildningsmöjligheter kan vara ett sätt att neutralisera invanda förebilder och föreställningar.
|
|
| 3110. |
- Borg, Kajsa, et al.
(författare)
-
Sloyd education in Sweden – current trends and future possibilities
- 2009
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sloyd education in Sweden – current trends and future possibilitiesWith the school subject ”sloyd” means work in mainly textiles, wood and metal in elementary and lower secondary levels. The subject is still one of the most popular compulsory subjects among the students, while some parents ask why such ”old fashioned” subject is needed today. Other asks for education in computer knowledge instead of Sloyd and Home Economics. It seems that even if the subject has changed both aims and teaching and learning methods, from focusing mainly craft techniques to stress creativity and problem solving, people in general base their opinion on their own memories from the past. The pedagogical idea behind sloyd teaching seems to be more or less forgotten.Another problem is that also teachers have a wage idea about the basic philosophy of Sloyd. Some sloyd teachers seem to prefer to rely on personal memories and ideas than the national syllabus. It is common that they have chosen their occupation because of their own interest in craft. As teachers they just change their focus from making craft themselves to teach others the same thing. They follow their own intuition with the explanation that the syllabus is difficult to understand or that it is so wage that any activity could fit. Next problem is the lack of commonly used scientific and professional language for sloyd knowledge and sloyd science. When it comes to assessing the students, the teachers find it hard to put into words what is required and preferable.On the other hand there are important values embedded in the Sloyd subject. Young persons are very interested in sloyd activities. They feel very proud when they have finished a sloyd project, they learn a lot and they enjoy the activity very much. Through sloyd lessons they learn about material, craft techniques and tools through exploration, experience and reflection, instead of being taught facts before hand. The society need people who are creative and inventive and have the initiative to act, which is practised during sloyd lessons. There is a growing interest in creating a sustainable society and recycling, which is also trained in sloyd. The sloyd subject in Sweden need to get a solid scientific base through research results, the subject also need be redefined and explained not only as cultural heritage, but also as a very useful subject in a modern society. New possibilities (and other problems?) will come with a new national plan for teacher education and a new national syllabus for all school subjects in 2011.
|
|
