Inclusion-oriented educational practices for sustainability: first findings from the field

The contribution focuses on sustainability education practices that promote inclusion emerging from research, conducted within MUSA project, which involved early childhood educational services of the Municipality of Milan. Education for sustainability is often understood in a compartmentalised way (Eizenberg, Jabareen, 2017), whereas how environmental, economic and social aspects are interconnected highlights the importance of understanding sustainability as a holistic concept (Riva, 2018). In accordance with the 2030 Agenda (UN, 2015) and studies related to ECEfS (Davis et al., 2024), it is crucial to promote education that is sensitive to human rights, gender equality, peace and appreciation of diversity. The research is conducted within a qualitative ecological paradigm (Mortari, 2020; 2007), using a participatory method (Ang et al., 2015). All services in Milan were invited to participate and were free to join the research. Data were collected through a questionnaire with open-ended questions, completed by 47 services, and through workshops with 39 early childhood teachers, and were analysed through thematic analysis (Braun, Clarke, 2022). Consent form and information sheet were provided to all participants, who could withdraw at any time. A point of attention was that the collected documentation did not portray children’s faces and did not contain sensitive data. The collected data show several educational practices, among those recognised by the services as sustainable practices, that promote inclusive education. The research opens the discussion around sustainability practices that can be implemented daily to orient ECEfS not only to the environmental and economic dimensions but also to the social one.