A Study on Japanese-Style STEAM Practices about “Paper” for Early Childhood Education Focusing on the Sustainability Competencies

In Japan, interest in STEAM education, which adds an “A” to STEM, has grown recently. The point of Japanese-style STEAM is that the “A” is not limited to the arts but includes a broad range of liberal arts, such as life, economics, etc. The background to the interest in STEAM education is the international focus on sustainability competencies for realizing such as SDGs. Early childhood education in Japan has long been conducted as a well-rounded education. Thus, by reviewing its value, we may obtain essential clues regarding developing sustainability competencies that will be newly required for global early childhood education. This study examined four Japanese-style STEAM education practices about “paper” for young children from the perspective of UNESCO's eight key competencies for sustainability [1]. As a result, it was found that though it is not explicitly shown in the Course of study for Kindergarten, learning about environmental issues, sustainability, ecology, ecosystems, etc., and support for developing sustainability competencies were already in place. On the other hand, however, these practices are still dependent on the competencies of individual early childhood educators, and it became clear that systematic curriculum building based on good practices and teacher training are issues to be addressed.