The need to develop a proper global curriculum to ensure that students are from an early age able to learn about sustaining the environment and taking active steps to achieve it has become important in the twenty first century. This is because it allows for the development of environmental consciousness among students from an early stage of their education so that they can be more proactive in their seeking to ensure environmental sustainability. A lot of literature has been written concerning this subject and it has been highly revealing concerning the diverse issues that have come about as a result of the need for the creation of an adequate curriculum which can be used for the purpose of making sure that environmental sustainability is secured.
The concept of child-centered play has not been adequately used for the purpose of making sure that there is an increase in knowledge concerning the environment in children. They suggest that it is essential for environmental education to be put in the early childhood curriculum because it is the best way through which children can learn about the environment from an early age. Furthermore, it is a means of promoting environmental sustainability through the creation of play-based learning experiences which are designed to make sure that children are provided with knowledge through a pedagogical approach. Such an approach would make it possible for children to learn and develop knowledge concerning environmental conservation early enough to ensure that they grow up knowing the different problems affecting their environment and how best to sustain it for future generations. Edwards and Carter-Mackenzie, in line with Ritchie (2013), are extremely incisive concerning the manner through which environmental education should be conducted because it promotes environmental awareness from early on in the lives of individuals. The ideas presented within this article can also be considered to be the best means through which the global environmental education curriculum can be developed in such a way that it becomes possible for children to acquire environmental knowledge in their formative years. It is also a means, through the use of play, that teachers can be able to impart the knowledge that they have concerning the environment on children while at the same time keeping the latter interested in the issues involved. Furthermore, it would lead to the promotion of greater efforts through which children would be more capable of recognizing the different methods of environmental sustainability that can be applied to achieve greater awareness for the environment and the need to protect it. However, despite the numerous advantages that can be brought about through the introduction of environmental conservation in early childhood education, the means through which it can be effectively achieved are not discussed in the article. The effective implementation of this method into the curriculum would entail making sure that the subject is introduced into play in such a way that children become active participants in the process; meaning that they have to be helped through acquiring the knowledge that they need while at play so that their full attention is given to the subject.
Kennely, Taylor, and Serow (2011) state that the national curriculum that is being developed in Australia is one which puts a lot of stock on the need for teachers to ensure that they teach their students about sustainability. This is especially the case where this curriculum claims to support teachers in every way to ensure that they have the necessary experience to effectively teach sustainability to their students. However, the study conducted by these authors suggests that sustainability is not adequately represented in the curriculum to such an extent that there is a serious possibility that it could eventually be omitted from the teacher education and qualification system at all levels. The lack of proper education concerning sustainability in the educational curriculum in Australia, despite the many comments in support of it, can be considered to be extremely dangerous because students lack the necessary knowledge to ensure that they are sufficiently aware of the environment to take active action to protect it. Furthermore, the lack of emphasis concerning the best way through which sustainability can be included in the curriculum can be considered to be a serious discrepancy because it might lead to a situation where teachers are no longer required to provide environmental education; meaning that students in future will lack the necessary guidance concerning how best to conserve their environment.
This study is extremely relevant because it provides a glimpse of the possible problems that are involved in the Australian curriculum especially when it involves sustainability. Without the active role of the education system, environmental sustainability will not be as important a subject as it should be because it will no longer form an essential part of the curriculum. It is noted that within the Australian education system, teachers are increasingly no longer required to have knowledge concerning sustainability in order to qualify to teach and this is a matter of concern because sustainability is one of the most important issues of concern in the world today. The need to promote sustainability in the education of teachers, especially at a primary level should be considered an essential part of making sure that it remains a significant part of the Australian curriculum. Such knowledge among teachers would go a long way in making sure that students are also taught to have a respect for the environment in such a way that helps in their taking an active part in conservation efforts. Moreover, the addition of sustainability subjects in the development of national curriculum proposals would go a long way in making sure that teachers remain consistent in helping students know more about the environment because it will be an essential part of the education system rather than an afterthought as the current situation is. Sustainability should not only be proposed, but should also be enforced in the Australian curriculum because it will allow for a more focused approach when it comes to the cultivation of a more knowledgeable generation of students concerning the environment.
References
Edwards, S. & Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2011). Environmentalising Early Childhood Education Curriculum through Pedagogies of Play. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(1), 51 – 61.
Kennelly, J., Taylor, N., & Serow, P. (2011). Education for sustainability and the Australian curriculum. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27(2), 209–218.
Ritchie, J. (2013). Sustainability and relationality within early childhood care and education settings in aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Early Childhood, 45(3), 307-326.
