This study investigates effective approaches to implementing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the play and daily lives of two-year-old toddlers through collaborative action research. It also examines the significance of this collabor...
This study investigates effective approaches to implementing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the play and daily lives of two-year-old toddlers through collaborative action research. It also examines the significance of this collaborative process for children, teachers, and researchers. The research questions established for this study are as follows.
1. What is the process of collaborative action research for the effective implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for two-year-old toddlers?
2. What changes occur in toddlers, teachers, and researchers during the course of collaborative action research on the effective implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for two-year-old toddlers?
The participants in this study were seven toddlers, one homeroom teacher, and the center director, who participated as a researcher, at Sky Daycare Center in P-si, Gyeonggi-do. The study was conducted from September 11 to December 30, 2025. Three implementation cycles were carried out through the repeated process of planning, action, observation, and reflection, using Mills’s (2018) dialectical spiral action research model as a framework for collaborative action research. Qualitative data, including participant observations, video and photographic records, formal and informal teacher interviews, researcher journals, and field notes, were collected and categorized through iterative analysis.
The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, as part of the collaborative action research process, teachers established a foundation for implementation through teacher education, resource provision, and consultative meetings in order to address their limited understanding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the difficulties of applying it in the field. A three-cycle structure was developed in which teachers and researchers implemented, reflected on, and reconstructed Education for Sustainable Development in play and daily life, integrating the core pillars of ESD: environment, socio-culture, and economy. This process is significant as an implementation model for ESD that can naturally permeate the play and daily lives of two-year-old toddlers.
Second, two-year-old toddlers were found to be active agents in forming sustainable behaviors. The toddlers explored natural objects through their senses, developed attachment to and sensitivity toward the environment, expanded attitudes of sharing and consideration for others, and gradually came to understand the meaning of resource conservation and circulation.
Third, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) that takes into account the developmental characteristics of toddlers becomes more evident when it is combined with sensory experiences, play, and basic lifestyle habits, and when it is grounded in continuity and repetition. In other words, ESD for toddlers should be approached from the perspective of the accumulation of practical experiences in daily life. Fourth, through teacher education and the collaborative action research process, teachers recognized the importance of systematic planning and provided appropriate support for toddlers based on reflective practice. Teachers enhanced their professionalism and confidence and experienced changes in their attitudes toward sustainable living as members of society. The findings also indicate that collaborative action research is an effective method for promoting ESD for toddlers, as the researcher expanded her expertise through equal collaboration with teachers.
Fifth, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for two-year-old toddlers expanded into sustainable practice through connections not only with toddlers but also with families, and its social meaning was experienced through community participation. This suggests that ESD needs to be connected to community practice beyond individual learning.
This study presents effective operational approaches to Education for Sustainable Development in play and daily life for two-year-old toddlers through collaborative action research. It lays a foundation for sustainable living among toddlers and demonstrates that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can begin in toddlerhood. Furthermore, by applying and analyzing the collaborative implementation of ESD in the field while considering toddlers’ developmental characteristics, this study suggests practical directions for field teachers to support and educate toddlers in sustainable ways of living. The findings may serve as useful data for ESD for toddlers, provide practical implications for field application, and be utilized as foundational data for institutions, communities, teacher education, research support, and national policy.