Deadline: 30 March 2026
Contact: Mohamed Mliless
Email: m.mliless@edu.umi.ac.ma
Phone: 0700020070

Edited Volume Call for Manuscripts

Environmental Empathy in Early Childhood Education: Voices from the Global South
positions the Global South not merely as a geographical backdrop, but as a central analytical and pedagogical framework for rethinking how young children come to understand, feel, and relate to the natural world in an era of accelerating environmental change. Across regions marked by colonial legacies, economic inequality, ecological vulnerability, and cultural diversity—from tropical rainforests and arid landscapes to rapidly expanding megacities and remote pastoral communities—children in the Global South are increasingly exposed to drought, wildfires, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and extreme heat. These challenges are immediate and lived realities that shape children’s daily environments, educational experiences, and future
prospects.

Within this Global South context, fostering environmental empathy—the capacity to feel with, care for, and act responsibly toward the more-than-human world—emerges as an educational imperative rooted in local ecologies, community knowledge, and social realities. Early childhood education represents a critical period for nurturing affective relationships with place, cultivating ethical awareness, and laying foundations for lifelong environmental care, particularly where
environmental harm intersects with poverty, displacement, and social marginalization.

This edited volume invites researchers, educators, practitioners, curriculum designers, and policymakers to explore how early childhood education (ages 3–5) can meaningfully cultivate environmental empathy within culturally, linguistically, religiously, and socially diverse Global South settings. Emphasis is placed on pedagogical approaches that are locally grounded, culturally responsive, and epistemologically plural, while remaining attentive to differences in language, belief systems, abilities, and lived experience.

Special attention is given to children and communities often marginalized in dominant sustainability and environmental education discourses, including children with disabilities, nomadic or displaced learners, and those growing up in densely built urban environments with limited access to green spaces. By centering voices, practices, and knowledges from the Global South, the volume advances inclusive, socially just, and ecologically responsive approaches to environmental empathy in early childhood education.

Indicative Themes

Narrative & Language
Storytelling, picture books, and ecolinguistic framing that cultivate empathy across languages and cultures.

Inclusive & Responsive Pedagogies
Children with disabilities as co-researchers; culturally grounded approaches for mobile,
Indigenous, or transhumant communities.

Place-Based, Outdoor, & Biophilic Learning
Designing outdoor classrooms, green schoolyards, and child-centered public spaces, from coastal deltas to high-rise rooftops.

Arts & Expression
Drawing, drama, music, and play as mirrors of children’s emerging ecological identities.

Teacher Learning & Professional Growth
Reflective practice, pre-service preparation, and in-service development for empathy-centered teaching.

Policy & Systems
Aligning SDG 4.7, UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership, and national curricula with early years outcomes.

Community Partnerships
Collaborations with NGOs, museums, farms, faith organizations, and citizen-science groups that extend empathy learning beyond the classroom.

Assessment & Indicators
Child-friendly instruments for tracking shifts in environmental empathy among four- to eight-year-olds.

Guiding Questions
– How do early-years educators conceptualize and cultivate environmental empathy?
– Which practices—multilingual eco-lexicons, storytelling, outdoor play, and arts-based reflection—most effectively deepen children’s care for local ecosystems?
– In what ways do language, religion, urban density, disability, and family attitudes shape empathetic responses?
– What reliable indicators capture changes in environmental empathy across diverse schooling systems?

Submission Guidelines & Deadlines

Abstract (≤ 400 words): Outline objectives, methodology, anticipated findings/argument, and significance.

Abstract deadline: 30 March 2026
Full chapter (6,000–7,000 words, including references): 31 July 2026

Working language: English. Examples or data may appear in any language, provided an English translation is supplied.

Referencing style: APA 7th edition.
Complete manuscript submission to publisher: 31 December 2026

Please compile the abstract and a brief (≤ 90-word) author biography—listing
affiliation, email, and ORCID—into a single Word document.

Contact
For queries regarding scope, accessibility, or submission:
Dr. M. Mliless: m.mliless@edu.umi.ac.ma

Posted on January 17, 2026