Sustainable play: Agricultural education and technologies for children in Uruguay

Guided by Knowledge Building theoretical principles (Damşa et al., 2010; Ke & Schwartz, 2020; Lai & Campbell, 2018; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006), this ethnography investigates how educators and young children draw from technologies and local cultural knowledges to develop the necessary skills for enhancing food security through sustainable agriculture. The field site for this study is the Sustainable Retreat School also referred to as S.R.S. in Rocha, Uruguay. This ethnographic study provides a much-needed contribution to agricultural education and environmental education as it proposes to deeply analyze the underexplored possibilities of combining technology and culture to address one of the most pressing challenges of our current world, food security, and sustainable food systems. This research is of significance, as available research on early childhood in both environmental education and agricultural education is limited (Ardoin et al., 2017; Hollweg et al., 2011; UNICEF, 2007). There is additionally limited research on children who are under 10 years old and their interactions with technology while participating in natural science and/or environmental education (Herodotou, 2017, Hougham, 2016). Early Childhood is the period of most significant development in a person’s life and is regarded as the foundation upon which the rest of their life is constructed (Davis, 2009). Therefore, the early years are a critical time to actively promote sustainable approaches to living in current and future generations (Davis, 2009, Green 2015, United Nations, 2020).

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Bryan Silva, Kutasha

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sanders-Smith, Stephanie C.
• Mercier, Emma
• Krist, Christina
• Lindgren, Samantha

• Food Security
• Food Sovereignty
• South-north
• Knowledge Building
• Early Childhood
• Agricultural Education
• Environmental Education
• Sustainability
• Education For Sustainable Development
• Technology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022, Kutasha Bryan-Silva

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117743

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F117743