Young Children’s Conceptual Learning and Development of Sustainability in the Family Context: A Cultural-Historical Study

This study explores how young children develop understandings of sustainability within their families, addressing a significant gap in research on children’s sustainability learning. Drawing on cultural-historical theory, it reveals that these understandings emerge through embodied participation in everyday activities, emotionally meaningful experiences with nature, and parents’ intentional guidance that introduces new ideas and extends children’s thinking. The findings affirm that children are not passive recipients of knowledge but active contributors who shape family practices and shared meanings. Ultimately, this research highlights how intellectual, emotional, and enactive dimensions of learning are deeply intertwined in young children’s development of sustainability concepts.