Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: A Short History

About Eva Ärlemalm-HagsérJulie M. DavisSue Elliott

Professor Julie M. Davis is Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology. Now retired she remains an active researcher and writer in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) and embedding sustainability into teacher education. Julie has over 100 publications mostly related to teaching research and service associated with education for sustainability in early childhood education and in teacher education. Julie co-founded the Queensland Early Childhood Environmental Education Network in 1996 a state-based network for those with an interest in ECEfS and has been awarded life membership. In 2010 Julie initiated the Transnational Dialogues in Research in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability that meets either face to face or online every 2-3 years and has co-edited two volumes of research based on the work of researchers in this international network. In 2011 Julie was awarded an Australian national Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for her ECEFS work in early childhood teacher education. In 2013 she was awarded the honour of Adlerbert Visiting Professor (Gothenburg University Sweden) for contributions to Sustainable Development. Julie has edited three editions of the teacher text book Young children and the environment: Early education for sustainability (2010 2015; 2024). Julie Sue and Eva have presented and published together over many years in ECEfS.     Dr Sue Elliott is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of New England (UNE) Armidale New South Wales Australia and a visiting scholar at the University of Cincinnati Ohio USA. She is an experienced practitioner academic and author in early childhood education with a focus on education for sustainability outdoor playspaces and nature play. She has previously lectured at RMIT University and the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne Australia. Notably her sustainability advocacy work began in the 1990s when she established a professional ECEfS network and began publishing and lecturing about ECEfS in Australia. She was commissioned by a state government department in 2003 to write the first national review of Early Childhood Environmental Education in Australia (NSW EPA 2003) and this document now provides an historical benchmark. She also led a state-based government funded review of Education for Sustainability in Early Childhood (Elliott et al. 2016). Sue has extensive networks internationally as a co-convenor of both the Transnational Dialogues in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (TND) research group and the European Early Childhood Education Research Association Sustainability Special Interest Group. Sue is a consulting editor for the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education and associate editor with the journal Children Youth and Environments. Sue has enjoyed many writing collaborations with Julie Davis and Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér (Ärlemalm-Hagsér & Elliott 2021; Davis & Elliott 2024; Elliott & Davis 2023; Elliott et al. 2020); and in 2023 was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian Association for Environmental Education in recognition of her leading role in the field.     Professor Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér is a Professor in Early Childhood Education with a background as a preschool teacher. She works as a Professor in the Division of Early Childhood Education within Early Childhood Teacher Education and the Masters program of Didactics at Mälardalen University Sweden. Her research focuses on education for sustainability and childrens participation and agency within policy and practices both indoors and outdoors. Between 2008-2018 Eva was a convener of the Special Interest Group (SIG) Outdoor play and Learning within European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). In 2019 Eva initiated the Special Interest Group (SIG) Sustainability in Early Childhood Education within the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) and is now a co-convener in this Special Interest Group. She is also co-convenor and active participant in the Transnational Dialogues in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability research group since 2010. She is also a founder of the newly started scientific journal Childhood in the Anthropocene. She has many academic publications to her name and lectures at all levels in the university ranging from the preschool teacher program and into Masters and PhD courses. Eva is also actively involved in Higher Degree Research supervision.