Research Plan Sustainable Practices at an Early Education

Question: Discuss about theResearch Planfor Sustainable Practices at an Early Education. Answer: Introduction: In the view point of Davis and Elliott (2014), there are a number of pillars of sustainable development. Education is the most important pillar that provides a clear vision to seek a balance between human and economic well being along with a proper cultural tradition and respect for the environment. In order to make the situation environmentally sophisticated, one has to develop proper skills and understanding on the sustainable approach. If the education system for the children is considered, it has to be said that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has declared that the prime priority for children should provide the primary education to the Children. Reading Lorina (2015), it has been known that young children are capable of sophisticated thinking when it comes to socio-environmental issues. Thus, the learning procedure should begin from the children only. The study focuses on creating a sustainable approach towards environment. The research proposal will be carried out on work placement at an early education and care service. A detailed discussion on the purpose of the project along with the methods of encouraging participants will be discussed in this study. A systematic investigation will be carried on to understand the relevant facts on the particular research plan. Research Aim and Objectives: The aim of the research study is to develop certain practices that would teach children to develop sustainability practices. In order to gain proper understanding on the subject, a number of research objectives can be developed as below: To discover the recent happening in the sustainability situation To identify the particular needs of sustainability approach to improve the present situation To explore the factors which impact the attitudes of children, their families and staff To come up with better approaches that would improve the sustainability approach among children To evaluate the outcomes of the particular approach made towards the sustainability Rationale of the Research Since 1980s, the concept of sustainability has emerged in the socio-political rhetoric and influences the educational policies both at national and international level. As stated by Hedefalk et al. (2015), education is the vehicle that enables children to develop better understanding, values and competencies that are extremely relevant towards the changing situation of the globe. Education for sustainability has been at the recognition point in the emerging role of children and youth in the society. As commented by Richter et al. (2017), the recent environmental condition is not in human favor. Factors like global warming and declining natural resources has created alarming situation in the environment. It has become an important part in everyones life to contribute equally to improve the current degrading situation of the environment. If proper and immediate steps are not taken to combat against the declining situation of the environment, the situation would get worse. Therefore, this research shall focus on the very aspect of teaching children on the sustainability practices that would eventually improve the environmental situation. Research Question: What better sustainability practices could be adopted in early child care to teach children about sustainability? Target Group: The sustainability approach made to improve the environmental situation would be applicable to a particular group of people. As this study is based on teaching children in early child care, the target people will be children who are in their early age. Apart from the children, aged between 3 and 8 years, their parents and guardians are also the target group of people for this particular research. Stakeholders of theResearch: The research is based on benefitting the environment by increasing the concern of environmental sustainability among the children. Therefore, the benefitting stakeholders should be all the people in the society (Ernst 2014). However, members who are directly related with this research plan can be named as under. The Learning Students and the Children The Parents and the Guardians of the children The Teachers of the learning institutions The investors of those institutions Government and Private NGOs Reason for the Interest of the Stakeholders: As the entire research study revolves around the young Children, the primary stakeholders have to be the Children only. The Parents and the Guardians also hold equal importance in educating their children about environmental sustainability. Therefore, the parents can be also involved among the stakeholders. The teachers of these Children also fall under the groups of stakeholders because they are primarily responsible for teaching the Students about environmental sustainability. In fact, it can be easily said that teachers are the most important stakeholder in this particular research study. In fact, the plan that will be made on improving the teaching technique to teach children should be directly related to the teachers only. Apart from this, the investors of the learning institute should also be considered as important stakeholders because they are the major financers in case a new teaching method is applied for the Children. Moreover, as evident from various other studies that th ere are a number of NGO bodies like UN, UNESCO who takes active participation in teaching children about sustainability in environment (Davis 2014). Thus, if the plan is found to be useful among the NGOs, then these bodies can be also considered as the major stakeholders of this research plan. Participants of the Research Project: In order to carry out this particular research plan, a group of people will be required who shall be available and contribute their help whenever required. The stakeholders identified are the main participants for the particular research plan. Apart from them, the professors and the lecturers are also expected to participate in the complete research project. Method for Encouraging Children: In order to encourage children, the most important thing is to involve them in practical activities that would directly result in understanding the topic related to sustainability. For this purpose, short videos can be made using animated characters. The stories shall depict the importance of sustainability and how the Children could participate in order to overcome these issues (O'Leary 2013). In addition to this, the Children could be trained and the basic behaviors should be taught to them. Moreover, weekly or bi-weekly some programs can be held like, Planting programs or Save Water Program and so on. Ethical Consideration Undertaken: It is very important to carry out the complete research process in an ethical manner. Therefore, ethical approach should be kept in every step of the research plan. For instance, at the time of carrying out the secondary research, no plagiarism activity should be involved. It is important to cite the references amidst the information. In case of the primary research, none of the participants should be forced for participating in the research. Their participation should be voluntary (GOK and GOK 2016). The survey paper should not contain any logo that would denote any kind of promotion or advertisement. Moreover, the consent form should be filled by the participants whenever and wherever required. Resources Required for the Project: The resources required can be mentioned as below: Financial resource: In order to make the plan a success, financial needs will arise and thus, financial resource is the foremost requirement. Human resource: There is the need for human participants as well because a plan cannot be made successful without the help of a few participants. Technical support: Technical support like the availability of computers, internet and other resources is a must need for the successful completion of the research plan. Other resources: Other materials like stationeries or any other things that are required on a daily basis also acts as important resources for the particular research plan (Trainor and Graue 2014). Research Methodology: The complete research shall be based on both primary and secondary researches. For the data collection method, various books, journals and other resources that are available both online and offline will be carried on. The theories and models related to the topic will be analyzed. Several previous studies on the same subject will be evaluated to get a proper understanding of the topic and that the research plan can be made effectively (Mackey and Gass 2015). For the primary research, a survey will be conducted among the parents, investors as well as the teachers to understand the willingness of the major stakeholders to participate in the research plan. The secondary research data can be evaluated by a thematic approach while for evaluating the primary data an analytical approach has to be taken. It is expected that the numbers obtained shall be converted to tables and graphs that a better conclusion can be derived easily. Timeline: Activities 1st to 3rd Week 4th to 10th week 11th to 13th Week 14th to 17th Week 18th to 21st Week 22nd to 23rd Week 24th Week Selection of the topic Data collection from secondary sources Creating layout Literature review Analysis and interpretation of collected data Findings of the data Conclusion of the study Formation of draft Submission of final work Table: Timeline (Source: Created by the author) Conclusion: The study has focused on creating a research plan for creating sustainable practices among children at primary learning level as well as at the day cares. A detailed plan has been made that could encourage children to participate in the plan. Focus has been made on both primary and secondary sources. Special focus had been made on carrying out the research in an ethical manner. A timeline has been provided as well. References: Davis, J. and Elliott, S., 2014.Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations. Routledge. Davis, J., 2014. Examining early childhood education through the lens of education for sustainability.Research in early childhood education for sustainability: International perspectives and provocations, p.21. Ernst, J., 2014. Early childhood educators use of natural outdoor settings as learning environments: an exploratory study of beliefs, practices, and barriers.Environmental Education Research,20(6), pp.735-752. GOK, T. and GOK, O., 2016, June. Methodology of Research. InAsia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching(Vol. 17, No. 1). Hedefalk, M., Almqvist, J. and stman, L., 2015. Education for sustainable development in early childhood education: a review of the research literature.Environmental Education Research,21(7), pp.975-990. Lorina, D., 2015 Sustainability Practices in Childcare Available at: https://aussiechildcarenetwork.com.au/articles/childcare-articles/sustainability-practices-in-childcare [Accessed on: 7-2-2017] Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015.Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. O'Leary, Z., 2013.The essential guide to doing your research project. Sage. Richter, L.M., Daelmans, B., Lombardi, J., Heymann, J., Boo, F.L., Behrman, J.R., Lu, C., Lucas, J.E., Perez-Escamilla, R., Dua, T. and Bhutta, Z.A., 2017. Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development.The Lancet,389(10064), pp.103-118. Trainor, A.A. and Graue, E., 2014. Evaluating rigor in qualitative methodology and research dissemination.Remedial and Special Education,35(5), pp.267-274.