ERIC Number: EJ1076400
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jul
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0814-0626
EISSN: N/A
Food Reciprocity and Sustainability in Early Childhood Care and Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
Ritchie, Jenny
Australian Journal of Environmental Education, v31 n1 p74-85 Jul 2015
This article offers a perspective from early childhood care and education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It draws from the data of four recent studies to demonstrate pedagogical practices informed by Indigenous (Maori) perspectives. Maori values, such as "manaakitanga" (caring, hospitality, generosity) and "whanaungatanga" (relatedness), are shown featuring in routines focused on provision of food and serving as a key focus of early childhood education for sustainability. It is argued that providing opportunities for children to become engaged with growing, cooking and sharing food enables them to operationalise compassion towards themselves, others and the environment, reconnecting with the source of their food and demonstrating generosity and care to others (both human and more-than-human) in their communities. This can be viewed as a pedagogical response to the increasing encroachment of neoliberalism, with its incumbent individualism and lack of collectivist consciousness or concern for the environment, into education settings. Furthermore, drawing upon Indigenous perspectives honours traditional, localised wisdom regarding sustainability practices.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Early Childhood Education, Teaching Methods, Indigenous Populations, Pacific Islanders, Culturally Relevant Education, Social Values, Food, Sustainability, Environmental Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A