Early Childhood Education and Care to Promote Transformation and Action Toward a Sustainable Society:

Analysis of Guidelines for Kindertageseinrichtungen in the German State of Hamburg

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions on childcare in Japan, aiming to realize a sustainable society by referring to the advanced effort of the German state of Hamburg. In Germany, specific and clear guidelines for childcare toward a sustainable society are provided at the federal and state levels to promote actions in the childcare field; concrete measures, including the provision of professional trainings for learning and interaction among childcare workers, have been implemented to develop educational plans more smoothly. On the basis of these efforts in Hamburg, Japan needs to establish a system that allows citizens to initiate and continue transformations and actions toward a sustainable society from their own standpoints.