ERIC Number: EJ1455127
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: EISSN-1469-5871
Enhancing Preschoolers' Creativity through Art-Based Environmental Education for Sustainability
Marianthi Kalafati; Evgenia Flogaiti; Maria Daskolia
Environmental Education Research, v31 n1 p46-73 2025
Creativity is key in developing students' environmental competence so that they come up with working and sustainable solutions to address environmental issues in daily life. However, these remain under-investigated in both Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) research. Here, we report an action research study conducted in a Greek kindergarten, supporting and exploring little-c creativity in a group of preschool students during an art-based EE/ESD project. Visual art had a two-fold role in the study: it was applied as the pedagogical approach in the project and also functioned as a complementary art-based research method, to focus on the conditions that enable young learners' creativity within an educational intervention. The findings show that preschoolers' creative thinking is enhanced when encouraged to identify environmental problems in their school and leads to actions towards sustainability. This supports the idea that creativity in preschool EE and ESD requires a pedagogical framework that is receptive to innovation, alongside a supportive teacher who incorporates imaginative, collaborative and reflective approaches to unfold and develop students' creative potential.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Preschool Children, Preschool Curriculum, Preschool Education, Preschool Teachers, Creativity, Environmental Education, Sustainable Development, Art Education, Interdisciplinary Approach, Kindergarten, Visual Arts, Art Activities, Teaching Methods, Creative Thinking, Authentic Learning
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece (Athens)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A