Encouraging eco-pedagogical awareness through play amongst early childhood development educators: A reflection on the South African context

Abstract

I was six when I became a teacher. My first classroom was at the back of our semi-attached two-bedroom home where I grew up with my other seven siblings and our parents. My self-created classroom under our willow tree in the backyard consisted of paraffin tins, which served as my learners’ chairs; while a cork slate board served as a blackboard to write on. In my classroom, I feverishly narrated stories of the plants and animals as told to me by my paternal grandmother. She had a small vegetable garden in the corner of our backyard where she grew herbs and vegetables for family consumption. In her absence, my little sister and I had to take responsibility for watering her seedlings and plants. I have not seen any of my grandma’s teachings in my Early Childhood Development (ECD) classroom as I grew up—as if African remarkable training of their children vis-a-vis their environment has been thrown away; not even when Froebel reminded us of early childhood teacher being like a ‘gardener’ nurturing the young children like flowers growing in the garden, separate from the ‘adult’ world. The aspiration of the “adults” often overrides children’s needs for the environment. Kahn encourages us, as education practitioners, to commit ourselves to a critical eco-pedagogy that courageously embraces a new paradigm that allows for transformative ecological praxis. Hence, a praxis that is shaped by the power of human emotions, the cultural rituals of diverse ways of being, a deep respect for universal rights (especially the child’s cognitive development which happens through play), through integrating environmental consciousness in the curriculum implementation, training of ECD practitioners, sensitising relevant stakeholders, and incorporating an understanding of ecological principles and sustainability into the educational framework.