Abstract
This study is on the role of early childhood education in the implementation of sustainable development goals. The total population for the study is 200 selected residents in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up married men, married women, teachers and civil servants were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
Sustainable development nowadays becomes trademark in numerous areas including educational discourse worldwide. Huckle argues that sustainable development is a concept which refers to the way humans should behave on earth. It covers the development of economic welfare coupled with social justice for all humankind now and in the future within ecological limits of our earth (2006). As a matter of fact, it becomes phenomena since it is believed that sustainable development education has capacity to share concern for future of the planet and local communities all over the world (Jucker and Reiner Mathar, 2015). However, it is not easy to introduce sustainable development education into educational activities since sustainable issue lacks of shared meaning and stemming concerning future problems that will be faced the planet. Various countries nowadays have already concern about education for sustainable development. Those countries through their education ministry impose and implement regulation concerning education for sustainable development all educational areas (early childhood education, elementary, junior high school, senior high school and university). Furthermore, the United Nations also encourage those countries to seek ways in order to introduce education for sustainable development into school. It is presumed that children, older students and adults hold huge potential to be educated formally to act now in the interests of a sustainable future and to act internationally (ibid). Nigeria as developing country also concerns about education for sustainable development since Nigeria president at this time Joko Widodo establishes Joint Committee to implement Nigeria Sustainable Development Goals that is proclaimed by Nigeria government in 2015 (Tempo, 2015). So far, implementation of education for sustainable development in Nigeria needs to be strengthened in order to achieve the sustainable development goals that are declared. An alternative that can be taken by Nigeria government to strengthen public concern regarding sustainable development is through early childhood education. The present study aims to elaborate an effective strategy in introducing sustainable development to early childhood children in Nigeria. Indonesia Ministry of Education emphasizes the output of early childhood education into various values of basic competencies which are spiritual, social, knowledge, and skills. It can be seen from Indonesian Education ministry decree about early childhood education No. 146, 2014 (Indonesian Education ministry, 2014). Based on this decree, it can be seen that sustainable development is not priority values for early childhood education. Moreover, the present study aims to picture that introduction of sustainable development education for early childhood will bring positive impacts coupled with encourage them to be involved in sustainable society. Scholars believe that early childhood education should play an essential role in building a sustainable society since it can be seen as a first stage in fostering a sustainable lifestyle, respecting others coupled with developing a non-ethnocentric perception (Qemuge & Inner cited in Samuelsson and Yoshie, 2008). Early childhood education is the foundation for the growth and future development of all children. It is generally accepted as the education that given to under 6 years old children. This kind of education precedes the beginning of formal primary school or before the age in which children are commonly expected to attend schools (Maduewesi and Augosiobo, 2005). Therefore, introducing and including education for sustainable development into early childhood education in Nigeria can be seen as an effective strategy for our children to become the part of sustainable society in the future. In order to become a part of sustainable society, children education, and in particular early childhood children, is an essential tool for individuals as well as for public. As the growing generation, early childhood children will have increased demand for citizens who have essential knowledge and are capable in making decisions coupled with choices that will have an impact on the environment (Roth and McGinn, 1998). The present study does not aim to judge that early childhood educational system in Nigeria is wrong or not good but rather to demonstrate that sustainable development goals that is proclaimed by Nigeria government can be achieved handily by including sustainable development as basic competence values of early childhood education.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2005–2014 (UNESCO 2005) with the goal to strengthen formal, informal and non-formal education and learning processes for sustainability. The purpose of ESD is to reorient education in order to contribute to a sustainable future for the common good of present and future generations. The decade was formed to scale up the work linked to the Agenda 21 document from the Rio Summit (Agenda 21 1992). To the definition of sustainable development as a ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987, chapter 3), the task for the decade was to integrate values, activities and principles that are inherently linked to sustainable development into all forms of education and learning, to achieve a change in attitudes, behaviours and values to ensure a more sustainable future in social environmental and economic terms. On this background the researcher wants to investigate the role of early children education in the implementation of sustainable development goals.