Creating the habit of recycling in early childhood: a sustainable practice in Spain
Author
Buil, Pilar
Roger, Olga
Tintoré, Mireia
Publication date
2019-11-14ISSN
2071-1050
Abstract
Early childhood education on sustainability has been an issue of high relevance in the last
decade. In Spain, many di erent e orts have been made to increase children’s knowledge, skills, and
awareness related to sustainability issues. However, uncertainty about the e ectiveness of education
on sustainable development exists. This research reports on an exploratory study organized by the
association that promotes aluminum packaging recycling in Spain (Arpal). Seven teachers were
trained on sustainability in general and on aluminum packaging recycling in particular. These
teachers defined and implemented a teaching unit with active learning activities that involved three
preschools. Fifty-four children under 6 years of age, mainly 2 and 3 years old, along with their parents,
participated in the teaching unit. Qualitative and quantitative methods (questionnaires, in-depth
interviews, and focus groups) were carried out to assess the impact. The results proved that di erent
partners, such as children, parents, teachers, managers, and associations, can work together with
the common goal of improving education on sustainable development in early childhood, and all of
them benefit from this collaboration. Moreover, this study confirmed that education on sustainability
should be embedded in the daily routine of preschools. Furthermore, after the exploratory study, the
teaching unit was implemented in 29 Andalusian preschools.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Accepted version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
316 - Sociology
Keywords
Desenvolupament sostenible
Sustainable development
Desarrollo sostenible
Educación ambiental
Educació ambiental
Environmental education
Reciclatge (Residus, etc.)
Recycling (Waste, etc.)
Reciclado
Pages
19
Publisher
MDPI
Collection
11; 22
Is part of
Sustainability
Citation
Buil Gazol, Maria Pilar; Roger-Loppacher, Olga; Tintoré Espuny, Mireia. «Creating the habit of recycling in early childhood: a sustainable practice in Spain». Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, núm. 22, art. 6393. Disponible en: <https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6393>. Fecha de acceso: 27 nov. 2019. DOI: 10.3390/su11226393
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- Comunicació [106]
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/