Integrating social sustainability in early childhood teacher education: a comparative analysis of practicum course outlines of nine university curricula in Greece

This study investigates how practicum courses in Greek university programs for early childhood pre-service teachers integrate social sustainability within initial teacher education. We conducted a content analysis of nine Early Childhood Education curricula from universities across Greece, identifying seven categories related to social sustainability with an uneven representation. Our findings reveal a primary emphasis in these curricula on professional development and learning environments. Conversely, categories like social cohesion and justice, inclusion, information and communication technologies (ICTs), reflection and critical thinking, and inter/trans-disciplinarity were less consistently represented. This suggests that while Greek Early Childhood Education Departments prioritize the development of professional competencies and educational settings for social sustainability in practicum courses, a holistic approach of teacher preparation requires greater emphasis on fostering social cohesion and justice, inclusion, ICTs, reflection and critical thinking, and inter/trans-disciplinarity. Strengthening these underrepresented areas in the university curricula could significantly enhance early childhood pre-service teachers’ critical thinking skills, ultimately improving their capacity to promote social sustainability in early childhood education.