Climate education in early childhood education : Finnish early childhood educators' views

Although climate change is a much-discussed topic, climate education is not mentioned in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2022). However, it can be connected to the idea of sustainable development and eco-social education. In this article, the state of climate education in Finnish early childhood education is mapped. The dataset consists of an online survey (N=26) addressed to early childhood education personnel interested in environmental education and their thematic interviews (N=7). The dataset was produced in spring 2020. Based on the results, it is suggested that a safe learning environment and the educator’s role model are important factors in climate education in the context of early childhood education. First, children need to be provided with a safe learning environment where they can share their concerns and ask questions about the environment and global climate. Second, early childhood educators act as role models for the children and, therefore, it is necessary that educators reflect their values in relation to the environment and climate change.Although climate change is a much-discussed topic, climate education is not mentioned in the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (Finnish National Agency for Education, 2022). However, it can be connected to the idea of sustainable development and eco-social education. In this article, the state of climate education in Finnish early childhood education is mapped. The dataset consists of an online survey (N=26) addressed to early childhood education personnel interested in environmental education and their thematic interviews (N=7). The dataset was produced in spring 2020. Based on the results, it is suggested that a safe learning environment and the educator’s role model are important factors in climate education in the context of early childhood education. First, children need to be provided with a safe learning environment where they can share their concerns and ask questions about the environment and global climate. Second, early childhood educators act as role models for the children and, therefore, it is necessary that educators reflect their values in relation to the environment and climate change.Peer reviewe