INSTRUCTIONAL COMPETENCIES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TEACHERS IN ESD

Abstract

The reverberating call for the sustainability of UNESCO recognized the contribution of early childhood education (ECE) teachers since the genesis of sustainability resonates from early childhood. This study ascertained the instructional competencies of ECE teachers in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It determined teachers’ level of awareness vis-a-vis the extent of implementation on the three key components of ESD: visioning/reflecting, systems thinking, and critical thinking; and the highlights and lowlights of the implementation. The study employed a quantitative-qualitative method of research with 90 kindergarten teachers from both public and private schools in Cebu City who were chosen through stratified random sampling. Findings revealed that teachers have fairly satisfactory awareness of the three key components while the extent of implementation of ESD competencies on the three key components was moderately implemented. Statistics unveiled that teachers’ restricted awareness did not have a direct association with the level of implementation. However, teachers took up the responsibility for promoting ESD activities since they believed that the quest for sustainability resides in education which led the learners to learn and enjoy varied educational opportunities. Home, school, and community collaboration along with administrative support needed to be strengthened to foster the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of ESD activities. Teachers need to update and enhance their learning to carefully embed sustainable practices as they are the potent stewards of concretizing the mandates of ESD and transforming its concepts into plausible experiences at the early childhood level.