Education for Sustainability in the Early Years (12006.1)
Available teaching periods | Delivery mode | Location |
---|---|---|
View teaching periods | On-campus |
Bruce, Canberra |
EFTSL | Credit points | Faculty |
0.125 | 3 | Faculty Of Education |
Discipline | Study level | HECS Bands |
Academic Program Area - Education | Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit | Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021) Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021) |
- ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education, and
- ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable development
To achieve these outcomes early childhood teachers must be confident and capable in programming and delivering high quality pedagogies and curricula in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) during the early years. Students will explore all four dimensions of sustainability (economic, natural, social and political) and the Sustainable Development Goals. Students will investigate the ESD Rating Scale developed by the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education and plan, implement and reflect on learning experiences that promote and support ESD.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:1. Explain the different components of sustainability and the importance of education for sustainable development in early childhood;
2. Evaluate how sustainability impacts society and the role early childhood teachers have in promoting sustainable development;
3. Model and advocate sustainable practices particularly in regards to natural or environmental sustainability; and
4. Create, implement and reflect on learning experiences that promote education for sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Graduate attributes
2. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives2. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
4. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - apply their knowledge to working with Indigenous Australians in socially just ways
4. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - use Indigenous histories and traditional ecological knowledge to develop and augment understanding of their discipline
Prerequisites
Students must have passed 24 credit points.Corequisites
None.Incompatible units
None.Equivalent units
None.Assumed knowledge
None.Year | Location | Teaching period | Teaching start date | Delivery mode | Unit convener |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 | Bruce, Canberra | Semester 1 | 03 February 2025 | On-campus | Mrs Katy Meeuwissen |
Required texts
ECA Essentials: Sustainability in Early Childhood by Sue Elliott and Julie Davis. NOTE: students in 2025 will be given a copy of this resource.
Students who wish to purchase their own copy may do this through Early Childhood Australia.
Additional readings will be available via ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Learn
Submission of assessment items
Extensions & Late submissions
Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.
All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's Assessment Policy.
Artificial Intelligence
Students are not allowed to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit.
GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:
The Unit Convener has authorised its use for that assessment;
The student uses it in the way that the assessment instructions allow for;
The student fully acknowledges its use, with appropriate citations and references. Each¿referencing guide¿provided by the Library provides advice on how to appropriately reference the use of GenAI in-text.
Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not allowed for that assessment. If students are unsure, they should seek advice from the Unit Convener.
Students should be aware that the University of Canberra utilises GenAI detection software. Suspected instances of unauthorised GenAI use may lead to a Learning Validation Conversation' designed to provide assurance that a student is able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills to meet required learning outcomes. Students who are suspected of having misused GenAI in assessment may be required to attend a summary inquiry for suspected misconduct.
It is strongly recommended that students keep records of the development process for all works submitted for assessment, or drafts of work submitted for a work-in-progress review, in a learning portfolio or equivalent. Failure to provide evidence of the development process for assessment may influence a suspicion of GenAI misuse or other forms of academic misconduct.¿
The¿GenAI for Students Library Guide¿provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.
Special assessment requirements
Normally an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.
Provision of valid documentation
Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.
Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.
Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.
Information is provided in the , , and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.
Learner engagement
Reading and private study: 50 hours
Workshop and online participation: 50 hours
Assessment tasks: 50 hours
Participation requirements
There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation and engagement with online activities will enhance your understanding of this unit's content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items.
Required IT skills
Artificial intelligence services must not be used for assessment or assessment preparation by students unless explicitly allowed in the assessment instructions for an assessment task published with the assessment task and/or in the unit outline. That is, an artificial intelligence services may only be used if:
- its use is authorised by the unit convener as part of a specified assessment task, and
- it is used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and/or unit outline, and
- its use is appropriately referenced, meaning that students must reference the use of AI in their assessment in the same way as they reference other source material.
In-unit costs
none
Work placement, internships or practicums
none