Snapshots of Crıtıcal Partıcıpatory Actıon Research Based on Undergraduate Research Experıences Projects: Economic, Social, Cultural and Political Sustainability

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the experiences of early childhood pre-service teachers while planning, designing, implementing and concluding the critical participatory action research based on their experiences in undergraduate research projects targeting different sustainable development goals (SDGs) to initiate a transformation in their environment. During the process, they designed their projects based on initial need assessments to describe what SDG(s) were more suitable for their projects and participants. They also determined possible target institutions (e.g., universities, local government) and people (i.e., parents, early childhood pre-service and in-service teachers) to cooperate. Then, they communicated their projects and what the partner roles were in the project to these possible cooperation partners. Following approvals from the partners, they finalised their projects to share them with their classmates and their lecturers/co-researchers. After the necessary revisions of their projects based on the feedback, they reached their participants and implemented the projects for at least 4 weeks. Finally, the students shared their project reports and outcomes, as well as their experiences, with their classmates and lecturers/co-researchers at the end of the semester. They also elucidated their understanding and stances related to Education for Sustainability (EfS) during the interviews. The analysis of the interviews indicated that early childhood pre-service teachers’ project experiences helped change their perceptions pertinent to EfS and EfS pedagogies.