Developing a Pedagogy of Education for Sustainable Futures - Experiences and Observations from Danish Preschools

Oct 15, 2026

This article proposes an education-for-sustainability approach grounded in play and science activities within Danish preschools. Drawing on multiple action-research projects and direct observations across preschool settings, it develops a “scientific playworld” to support emergent science and sustainability. The method is value-oriented and aims to help children balance pessimism and optimism when engaging with major societal themes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Backgrounds about education for sustainable development in Danish early childhood education

A play-oriented Danish curriculum

Developing a Pedagogy of Education for Sustainable Futures: Experiencesand Observations from Danish Preschools Stig Brostr¨om Aarhus University Thorleif Frøkjær University College Copenhagen ECNU Review of Education 2019, Vol. 2(4) 475–496 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531119893306](DOI: 10.1177/2096531119893306)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531119893306)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This article aims to outline an approach to education for sustainability based on play and science activities. Design/Approach/Methods: While deviated from traditional academic articles, this article has combined knowledge drawn from various action research projects and personal observations from a number of preschool settings. Findings: The article results in the development of an educational method: a scientific playworld to support emergent science and sustainability. Originality/Value: The constructed educational approach is value-oriented and challenges children to strike a balance between pessimism and optimism in addressing major societal themes. Keywords Action research, play, playworld, science, sustainable development Date received: 28 March 2019; accepted: 12 November 2019 Corresponding author: Stig Brostr¨om, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Tuborgvej 164, Building D, 106, 2400 København NV, Denmark. Email: [stbr@edu.au.dk](stbr@edu.au.dk) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Backgrounds about education for sustainable development in Danish early childhood education During recent decades, the prevalence of education for sustainable development in early childhood education has increased in Denmark and the other Nordic countries. This growth is caused by several factors, such as the publication of a number of critical documents on sustainable development by the United Nations, including the so-called Brundtland Report, Our Shared Future (United Nations [UN], 1987), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and sustainable development goals report (UN, 2015, 2016) . Moreover, several Organisation Mondiale pour l’Education Pre´scolaire (OMEP) publications have inspired preschool teachers1 (Engdahl, 2015; Hgglund & Pramling Samuelsson, 2009; Siraj-Blacthford et al., 2010) . In addition, the work completed by the Danish National Network for Education for Sustainable Development and the general political and societal pressure to strengthen climate consciousness among future generations has inspired both researchers and practitioners to prioritize education for sustainable development within early childhood education and care (Lysgaard et al., 2012) . As a result, there have been some small-scale research projects conducted in Danish preschools (Frøkjær & Husted, 2019), as well as a broad array of developmental work, where preschool teachers implement approaches to education for sustainable development, and the research projects have been widely disseminated among early childhood professionals. As an example, the Danish Ministry of Education published what they called an inspiration catalog presenting 70 educational activities focused on themes like reusing and recycling rubbish, water conservation, energy consumption, food waste, and environmental awareness (Kryger & Kardyb, 2015) . In general, teache

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the article?

To outline an education-for-sustainability approach built on play and science activities.

How is the approach developed in the study?

It combines knowledge from various action research projects and observations from multiple preschool settings.

What is the key outcome of the article’s findings?

An educational method featuring a “scientific playworld” that supports emergent science and sustainability.

Oct 15, 2026

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