Within early childhood education a common idea is that children’s”sense” of nature can be developed through nature experience(Piaget 1929, Cobb 1959, Carlson 1965).EE has focused on their close connection to nature and educate them “in” the nature(Lucus 1972, Robottom & Hart 1993).But concerning about Education for Sustainability(EfS),as one of the important effects in early childhood, children could be considered as a part of the ecological system which means not only nature but also social environment. In this sense, it would be the important aims on EfS in early childhood is to encourage their national abilities and facilitate their “sense”of living “in” our sustainable earth and connect to this “Sense” to the “Science” through the“Model” of Sustainability. Furthermore, it would be necessary to facilitate “Practice” for it with“Group-ethics”(Brunner,1996, Asano, 2009).
Klaar and Öhman (2013) point out the multiple effects of combining natural experience with a democratic approach as a role of preschool practice that facilitates sustainable societies. Here importance of educational method as not to teach children, but allow them to ”grow” (Dewey 1916). In this sense, it seems to be important to rethink the value of ”play” which is a prominent activity for human-being(Hoijinga, 1938). Bruner,J(1960) points out the character of lerning as “observation” and the effects of “play” as “social leaning”.Lave＆Wenger(1993) suggests the process of participating in the “play” as “Legitimate peripheral participation”. Following these interpretation of "play", it would be necessary to focus on “Community of pracsis” as learning process in“play” to educate children for contributing sustainable societies.
This study will focus on the research question, ”How are preschool teacher in Sweden and Japan promote the growth of children’s ability for Sustainability through ”play”? which is based on the curriculum differences in Sweden and Japan;Sweden is especially linked to nature experience, democracy and Japan is especially linked to nature experience.
The actual terms,EfS are never mentioned in the Swedish national preschool curriculum (National agency for education 2011) It has been focusing more on nature experience,autonomy and solidality from perspective of democracy (Öhman 2013).It has been also more focusing on subject orientated learning of ”Natural science”, ”Mathmatics and Technology”.Recently, Folke&Löfdahl(2014) points out the lack of preschool teacher’s proffesion of care and mention that ”care seems less articulated and thus perhaps a less important aspect of preschool, seen in relation to the increasingly prominent concept of learning.”
Sundberg et al(2013) points out thatSwedish preschool children are used to be in the nature.Thus environmental teaching has traditionally been implemented through children’s encounters with nature(Ärlemalm-Hagsér 2013) and encouraged to learn the concept of Sustainability in creative activity in ”play”(Sundberg et al, 2013) And they suggests children may construct the ”Emergent science” which has been created by something else than ”school teaching”.Finally they conclude “the rules of respective preschool community is most important factor for how teachers shape activities and thereby the outcome of the activities”.
On the other hand, in the Japanese national curriculum for preschool(2008), the importance of relating ”play” activities in the nature and society is emphasised as a means for growing “sense” and learning the base of ”Science”. But in this curriculum, there is no explanation that children is a part of the ecological system or links to sustainable society which is linked to democracy. Inoue(2007) points out the subject of EE in Japan by comparing with Sweden and mentions that it would be important to facilitate children’s environmental awareness living in sustainable society and construct the curriculum and guideline.
