Early Childhood Environmental Education (EECE) and Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) are becoming increasingly integrated into preschool curricula, highlighting their key role in shaping environmentally conscious and sustainably oriented generations from an early age. The mentioned concepts represent the theoretical starting points of this empirical quantitative study, the aim of which is to examine the differences in the implementation of ESD, as well as the differences in the achieved outcomes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in kindergartens with and without eco-programs, based on the preschool teacher's assessment, and to identify the specifics of the implementation of ESD in kindergartens with an eco-program in Slovenia. The research was conducted in 2024, on a sample of 114 preschool teachers employed in Slovenian kindergartens. The results confirm that in kindergartens with an eco-program, ESD's ecological, social and economic dimensions are successfully connected, and an integrated approach is applied. In kindergartens with an eco-program, ECEfS is implemented more prominently in the regular curriculum, and the outcomes of ECEfS are achieved to a higher degree than in kindergartens without an eco-program, which indicates the success of the program from the point of view of sustainability. Keywords: early childhood education for sustainability, early childhood environmental education, eco-school/eco-kindergarten program, ECEfS outcomes

The article outlines the emergent cooperation between generations in the local environment. The aim of the research was to identify the key characteristics of learning ecologies that may be used to promote new practices. The theoretical framework was constructed through the concepts of learning ecology, community education, and postformal education. A qualitative research approach was used. Data was collected by means of 10 individual and one focus group interviews. The research revealed that the networks of different actors in the local community are effective approaches for developing intergenerational practices. It is important to connect different types of knowledge (intangible cultural heritage, local knowledge and scientific knowledge, social and emotional knowledge), skills and values, as well as different groups and organizations in the local environment to act and learn together.

In an empirical quantitative study, the aim of which was to examine more thoroughly the representation of recognition and appreciation of the individual abilities of children in preschool education from the point of view of students, 321 respondents participated – students of the first and second cycles of preschool education programmes of faculties from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. The main findings of the study indicate that although students highly vaalue the recognition and appreciation of individual abilities in working with children, the degree of recognition of children’s abilities is higher in relation to their appreciation in practice, as well as a more optimal appreciation of the individual abilities of children without than with developmental difficulties.

Although the importance of Education for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood (ECEfS) is widely acknowledged, its implementation varies across different national, institutional, and individual contexts. This quantitative study involved 398 ECE teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia. The aim of the research was to identify differences in the implementation of specific dimensions of ECEfS and in the achieved sustainability outcomes among children, with respect to three levels of ECE teachers’ professional context: national, institutional, and individual. Data were collected via an online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and t-tests. While the study was limited by reliance on self-assessment and purposive sampling, it provided valuable insights into how professional context shapes early sustainability practices and outcomes and raised questions for future research. Findings indicate the existence of differences among respondents from different countries in the level of implementation of certain aspects of early childhood education for sustainable development, as well as in children's sustainability outcomes. Similar differences were identified between ECE teachers working in eco and non-eco kindergartens, and between those familiar and unfamiliar with the activities of the ECE Academy. The results highlight the importance of institutional context and professional development in supporting sustainability practices in early childhood education settings. Keywords: early childhood education for sustainable development, eco-program, ECE Academy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia

An exploratory study is part of a project of a quantitative nature conducted in 2021 on a sample of 105 preschool teachers of preschool institutions in the Banja Luka region, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its goal was to examine whether elementary knowledge and sociodemographic variables of preschool teachers (work experience and year of completion of formal education) play a role in the prediction of intergenerational learning in a kindergarten context. The theoretical framework of the study is the concept of both intergenerational learning and professional development. Using multiple regression analysis, preschool teachers’ elementary knowledge was singled out as a predictor of intergenerational learning in kindergarten. The predominance of elementary knowledge about intergenerational learning for its implementation in relation to other variables that do not carry individual action, confirms the importance of a constructivist approach in pedagogical work and indicates that the active construction of individual knowledge through various types of education is crucial. The findings of the study indicate the need for more emphasis on the design and implementation of education on intergenerational learning through formal, non-formal education and informal learning in order to acquaint preschool teachers with this concept and ways of its implementation in everyday life and work through various programs and projects.