The Effectiveness of a Community-Based Playgroup in Inspiring Positive Changes in the Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours of Children and their Parents
A Qualitative Case Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21570471 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zoe Mintoff (University of Wollongong), Peter Andersen (0000-0002-9567-3325, University of Wollongong, corresponding author), Jane Warren (0000-0001-8071-0528, University of Wollongong), Sue Elliott (0000-0001-5956-356X, University of New England), Carolan Nicholson, Helen Byfield-Fleming, Fiona Barber |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 22-34 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Environmental Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0814-0626 • E-ISSN: 2049-775X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/aee.2023.32 |
| OpenAlex | W4387959104 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 26 |
The ideal period for implementing environmental education or education for sustainability is during the early childhood years. The educational context of playgroups can be a platform for both children and their parents to learn together and together engage in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS), however there is a paucity of literature examining ECEfS within Australian playgroup contexts. The Little Explorers Playgroup (LEP) is a facilitated playgroup located in a sustainable living centre in Sydney, Australia, and provides opportunities for children and their parents to engage in ECEfS. The study purpose was to evaluate the effect of the LEP on the participating children and parents’ environmental attitudes and behaviours. This qualitative study was designed as a single critical case study employing semi-structured telephone interviews conducted with twenty-three participants, including three LEP playgroup facilitators and 20 parents. The data generated by the interviews was analysed thematically and the findings indicated that the LEP empowered and positively transformed both the children and parents’ environmental attitudes and behaviours. This was evident through the children and parents’ adoption of more environmentally responsible attitudes and behaviours. The findings demonstrate that playgroups may be an untapped opportunity for facilitating community change towards sustainable living
Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Environmental education · Geography · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Project commissioning · Publishing · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Sustainability · Telephone interview · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Medicine · Psychology
An Introduction to Qualitative Research
Research design
Education for sustainable development in early childhood education
Children’s Learning for a Sustainable Society
Knowledge, Action and Pro-environmental Behaviour
Using a Delphi study to clarify the landscape and core outcomes in environmental education
Preservice early childhood educators’ perceptions of outdoor settings as learning environments
The impact of professional development on early childhood educators’ confidence, understanding and knowledge of education for sustainability
Young children’s ideas about environment
Pre-school children’s agency in learning for sustainable development
The critical pedagogy reader
Learning with children, ants, and worms in the Anthropocene
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |