Promoting Sustainability Through Multimodal Storytelling

Abstract In recent years, sustainability has been increasingly recognized within the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context. Early childhood educators’ capacities to design meaningful learning opportunities for young children have been underlined. The article reports on a study of student teachers’ learning during a project about multimodal storytelling and sustainability in ECEC teacher education. The study explores how multi-modal storytelling might contribute to the capacity to conduct education for sustainability in the context of ECEC. The participants were first-year student teachers at a Finnish university. The results show that multimodal storytelling can contribute to addressing challenging issues linked to sustainability through holistic learning processes. Hereby, multimodal storytelling opens for the exploration of existential issues and complex aspects of sustainability education. It contributes to the reflection and discussion of values, knowledge and skills that are vital for the capacity to conduct sustainability education in the early childhood.