Empathy, Reconciliation, and Sustainability Action: An Evaluation of a Three-Year Community of Practice with Early Educators

Abstract

Early childhood educators are integral to shaping the knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors of young children, which in turn contribute to a more sustainable future. This qualitative evaluation reports on a three-year community of practice of 15 early educators focusing on land-based pedagogy in early education for sustainability contexts. Findings suggest participation influenced educators’ dispositions, knowledge, and teaching practices (their ways of being, knowing, and doing). Educators also provided insight into elements that made this form of professional learning impactful. We offer reflections regarding the use of the community of practice approach, stemming from these findings, which may be useful for other providers in their efforts to plan, implement, and evaluate professional learning for early education for sustainability in culturally responsive and sustaining ways.

1. Introduction

1.1. Project Context and Supporting Literature

There is strong international interest in sustainability education for young children, due to its “enormous potential in fostering values, attitudes, skills, and behaviors that support sustainable development” [1] (p. 12). Additionally, there is growing recognition that culture is integral to children’s learning [2]. Connecting to children’s cultural knowledge and experiences to make learning more relevant is important [3]; however, the literature is shifting from culturally relevant to culturally sustaining pedagogy [4]. Culturally sustaining pedagogy refers to education that sustains community lifeways and orients learning toward enriching strengths rather than replacing deficits. While culturally relevant and culturally responsive pedagogies focus on making education relevant to children’s cultural backgrounds, culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to affirm those cultural identities, nurturing them for the future [5]. It seeks not just equity and access, but social transformation and revitalization [6].

A 2024 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (USA), titled “A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum,” offers recommendations that align with culturally sustaining pedagogy [7]. This report calls for early education that not only affirms children’s full identities but also builds on their strengths and provides the support children need to reach their potential. To reach this vision of holistic and healthy development and learning for all children, the report recommends that educators center children’s agency and incorporate the cultures, strengths, and needs of all children. Recognizing the role of culture in children’s learning and recommendations for early learning that is culturally sustaining is consistent with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and specifically Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development [8].

The intertwining of culture, education, and sustainability is further highlighted in a recent report, “Shaping Futures: Arts, Culture, and Education as Drivers of Sustainable Development” [9]. Stemming from a study commissioned by the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union, the report contends that synergizing the culture and education sectors can catalyze progress toward just, sustainable, resilient, and peaceful societies. The report describes this synergy toward sustainable development in the following way:

Education and culture are both global public goods inscribed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights… and essential cornerstones of sustainable development, making direct contributions and acting as enablers for achievement in other dimensions of sustainability, including environmental sustainability, employment, inclusion, and prosperity. They also mutually enable one another. Education is essential for the full enjoyment of cultural rights and for enabling modern, functioning cultural industries. Culture, in its widest definition, ultimately shapes education. It also enriches education and enables education systems to achieve better results that contribute to thriving and fulfilled societies.

[9] (p. 8)

Beyond harnessing synergies of culture and education, the 2022 vision statement from the United Nations Secretary General offers insight and direction toward achieving SDG 4 and Target 4.7. This vision statement calls for profound changes in education, as current educational systems are in a crisis of equity, quality, and relevance, undermining the learning outcomes needed for sustainability, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and empathy [10]. Since then, the United Nations has put increasing emphasis on the need to transform education [11], recognizing education can be the pathway to a more just social fabric through repairing past inequalities and injustices while redefining our collective relationship with the natural environment [12].

To achieve this transformation toward educational systems capable of responding to global challenges, international education policy documents point to the need to influence attitudes and values, not just knowledge and skills [13]. Among the recommendations are pedagogies that are collective and collaborative and nurture children’s empathy, solidarity, and abilities to critically reflect and understand different worldviews and perspectives [9]. These recommendations for transforming educational systems align with calls from within education for sustainability literature for educational frameworks that incorporate democratic citizenship values, while acknowledging and promoting “collective values (respect for indigenous rights, value of the common goods, and respect for non-human-others) and aesthetic values (to value cultural and environmental heritage at local and global levels)” [14] (p. 7). Further, education must do more to “instill a deep understanding of the interconnectedness between human actions and the health of the planet, as well as between the human and more-than-human world” that helps learners recognize “the intricate web of relationships and interdependencies that sustain life on earth” [9] (p. 17).

Early childhood educators play an essential role in the development of children’s sustainability knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors [15]. Within the literature on early education for sustainability, there are calls for reflection on pedagogical approaches and cultural assumptions guiding sustainability. An important theme arising in this literature is learning from, about, and with community, toward pedagogies that support young children in becoming change agents grounded in their local place. This type of learning “allows diverse forms of knowledge to be part of the pedagogical process, meaning that the knowledge present in the community should find a place in the educational process” [14]. Also surfacing are themes of supporting early educators’ competencies for arts- and project-based inquiry, as well as outdoor experiences as a basis for learning for sustainability [14].

Alongside calls for culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies [3] and the need for increasing early educators’ competencies for education for sustainability [14], there are efforts underway in the USA to strengthen early childhood educators’ skills for developmentally supportive interactions with children, stemming from research on the relationship between quality of children’s early education experiences and long-term learning and developmental outcomes [16]. In particular, developing early educators’ skills in reflective practice has been emphasized. Reflective practice, or the ability to engage in continuous learning through reflecting on one’s teaching actions, is broadly associated with high-quality early education and care [17] and, in particular, young children’s social-emotional development [18]. However, professional development for early educators in the USA faces many obstacles, due to early educators’ challenging working conditions, such as low wages, lack of access to benefits, high turnover rates, worker shortages, feelings of being undervalued, and increasingly challenging behavior of children in their care [19]. Consequently, professional development often ends up oriented toward minimally meeting training or licensing requirements, as opposed to professional development of a significant duration and quality to be impactful and perceived by educators as meaningful [20].

One form of professional learning showing promise in terms of being impactful and meaningful is collaborative reflection. Collaborative reflection provides early educators opportunities to deepen and even transform the lens through which they reflect on, interpret, evaluate, and improve their teaching and caregiving practices [21]. Collaborative reflection is an integral component of a community of practice, defined as a “group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” [22] (p. 4). This form of professional learning is grounded in the following tenets: learning has social, cultural, and physical contexts (situated cognition); people learn not just from but with others (social learning); and knowledge is accessed, created, and shared within community (knowledge management theory) [23].

Communities of practice are conducive to the reorientation of professional learning described in “Education, Arts and Sustainability Emerging Practice for a Changing World” [24], which calls for creative and empowering forms of professional learning that build a shared vision that motivates action and strengthens ownership and commitment to a more sustainable future. In a community of practice, there is inclusive and ongoing professional learning around a shared domain. While improvements in teaching practices arise from collective reflection and collaboration that deepens educators’ knowledge and skills [25], the learning is not solely focused on individuals’ acquisition of knowledge and skills. Instead, learning is viewed as a shared, social process of becoming a member of a community and what it means to learn as a function of being a part of a community. Knowledge, skills acquisition, and identity development unfold synergistically, with the former motivating, shaping, and giving meaning to the latter [26].

It is in this context—the need for high-quality professional development for early educators and the opportunity arising from the intersections of early education for sustainability and culturally sustaining pedagogy—that a community of practice with early educators was initiated and facilitated over three years. These educators were at varying career stages (from pre-service to educators with over 20 years of experience; non-Indigenous and Indigenous educators; a range of settings from private nature preschools to public preschool and Head Start programs, to nonformal education settings and family in-home providers). All were working in some way at the intersection of nature and early childhood and had responded to an invitation to participate and thus had an interest in deepening their learning and skills in this context. What is presented here are the results of an evaluation investigating the impact on participating early educators in the context of land-based pedagogy oriented toward a more sustainable future. We also offer reflections on implications for communities of practice as a form of professional learning for culturally sustaining practices for early education for sustainability, as well as for evaluating capacity-building forms of professional learning.

1.2. Project Description

Situated at the intersection of sustainability, nature-based early learning, and Indigenous cultures, this community of practice involved 15 early educators in Minnesota (USA). In terms of culturally sustaining pedagogy, this community of practice centered on Indigenous cultures, and specifically the culture of the Anishinaabe peoples. Anishinaabe refers to a group of linguistically and culturally related First Nations peoples who live in both Canada and the United States, concentrated around the Great Lakes. The reason for this was twofold. First, many adult Americans are unaware that Native Americans still exist [27]. Native American peoples have “lived in the shadows of American society” and are “usually an afterthought,” and mainstream sources of information “still peddle misinformation, stereotypes, and erasure to dominate students’ and educators’ perceptions about America’s first peoples” [27] (p. 6). Secondly, Indigenous education benefits all children, and there is a growing call for Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators to meaningfully include Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies in their classrooms [28,29]. As explained by University of Toronto professor Jean-Paul Restoule,

When Anishinaabek share traditional teachings and stories, they are meant to reveal the nature of life and human nature, not just Anishinaabek culture. The stories teach us what it means to be alive, and anyone can learn from them if they listen carefully. The building of responsibility to self, relations, community, and life has never been more significant than this time of ecological crisis that will require us to shift our consciousness ever more to attending to each other’s survival, quality of life, and the protection of endangered species and habitats, including our own. Indigenous education is in line with the movement that many are calling the ‘great turning’. The time is right for the strengths and gifts of Indigenous education to be embraced by others. To integrate all learners in relation to one another and all life, in the pursuit of full human development, is an inclusive education”.

[28] (para 8)

The first year of the community of practice was centered around deepening strategies for fostering young children’s empathy through engaging with Indigenous perspectives. Empathy was focused upon, due to its importance in calls to transform educational systems and in education for sustainability contexts [9,10]. Additionally, empathy has surfaced in the conservation psychology literature as a predictor of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors [30,31], as well as in the literature on prosocial behaviors as a mediator of early prosocial behavior and prosocial dispositions later in life [32]. Thus, empathy plays an important role in efforts toward a more socially just, sustainable society. During this first year, participating educators met monthly with an aim of expanding their collective understanding of practices for fostering empathy by honoring both Indigenous and Western knowledge on empathy. Through readings, discussion, Anishinaabe guest speakers, and reflection facilitated by an Indigenous and non-Indigenous mentor, the participating educators co-created an approach to infusing empathy in early learning settings [33].

Formative feedback during the first year of the community of practice suggested the collective desire for the continuation of the community of practice. Additionally, educators recognized that empathy was a critical starting point. However, it was necessary to go beyond empathy to meaningfully engage in outdoor learning on and with Indigenous land, as well as with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in their care. It was recognized that empathy was a starting point, not a stopping point, for building respectful and reciprocal relationships among the human and more-than-human world. This led to the focus of the second year, reconciliation through land-based pedagogy.

In this second year, the community of practice again met monthly, grounding the collective inquiry in “Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education” course material (a non-credit, open-access online course offered by the Office of Indigenous Education at the University of British Columbia [34]. In the course, reconciliation is framed as building respectful and equitable relationships between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples, as well as the more-than-human world, where non-Indigenous historic settlement has negatively impacted Indigenous cultures, languages, lands, families, and communities. In educational settings, it means working to change the structures and pedagogies that create unequal outcomes [35]. Central to this course was land-based pedagogy, or pedagogy grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems that uses experiential learning to build relationships with the land and community [34]. Learning from story is interwoven with learning from and with the land, while centering the values of respect, reciprocity, reverence, humility, and responsibility. Educator participants engaged with online course material outside of the community of practice gatherings. During the monthly in-person gatherings and through the guidance of Indigenous mentors, educators further engaged with the content through discussions, reflection, storytelling, song, art, and talking circles. This second year culminated in a learning synthesis, which included collective ideas regarding how reconciliation can be furthered through land-based learning with young children, how reconciliation can be furthered within their communities, and sources of strength to draw from in efforts toward reconciliation [36].

The third year of the community of practice grew from the recognition that reconciliation challenges us beyond empathy and even beyond a deeper awareness and understanding. The second year had evolved to become more of a pausing, or a slowing down, for intentional listening and reflection on the perspectives, stories, and knowledge shared. By the end of the year, educators were indicating a readiness to move forward from the sturdy foundation of empathy, humility, and respect that had been unfolding over the year. As one educator offered in reflection, “The second year was quieter and held the energy of the group … and because of the shelter of the community of practice, I think our community of learners is ready to walk forward with more care, intention, knowledge, and grounding.” Emerging from the talking circle at the final gathering of year two was the Anishinabe word and concept of “nimbimose,” or “walking,” reflecting a desire to move forward, slowly, together.

Year three of the community of practice was oriented around collective inquiry, reflection, and action regarding how Indigenous worldviews and learning approaches could become part of the work they do in their classrooms and communities in meaningful, respectful, and equitable ways. Educators’ learning was deepened through Indigenous guest speakers and Natural Curiosity’s four-branch framework for children’s environmental inquiry, particularly “Branch 4: Breathing with the World” [37]. This branch challenges a traditional “stewardship” model, instead using children’s environmental inquiry to develop reciprocal relationships with nature, encouraging ways of being in relationship with (part of) the natural world. Rather than acting on the environment, this reciprocal approach emphasizes developing children’s understanding of their agency and responsibility regarding the natural world. In addition to collective discussion and reflection, virtual monthly small group sessions, facilitated by an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous mentor provided participants with support for planning and implementing program/site-level projects that aimed to deepen young children’s relationship to the natural world in ways that integrate reciprocity, agency, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, hope, and a sense of responsibility. Year three culminated in educators sharing their projects and reflections on their learning experiences through a locally hosted, national gathering of nature-based early childhood educators and caregivers. A subset also shared reflections on their community of practice experience through a virtual panel presentation at the Natural Start Alliance’s 2025 annual conference [38].

1.3. Evaluation Purpose

The evaluation of this three-year community of practice was guided by the following overarching evaluation question: Did participation prompt changes in educators’ ways of being, knowing, and doing? One of the Indigenous mentors for the community of practice guided this phrasing, which honors the recognition that Indigenous peoples have and continue to “skillfully, diligently, and systematically observe, experience, reflect, and learn to create highly sophisticated ways of being–knowing–doing based on the wisdom of nature” [39] (p. 394). It also reflects a Western perspective of categorizing learning outcomes as affective, cognitive, and behavioral.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Evaluation Approach

This evaluation employed a qualitative case study grounded in a relational, culturally responsive evaluation approach. A case study is an “empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.” [40] (p. 13). A case study is useful for contributing “knowledge of individual, group, organizational, social, political, and related phenomena” with an emphasis on exploration and description [40] (p. 1). A qualitative case study was appropriate for this evaluation, as case studies can provide an understanding of a program or project as a distinct whole in its particular context, allowing for systematic investigation of impacts, while providing rich detail about the program and its impacts [41]. Case studies can be particularly useful for evaluating new or unique programs as they provide a contextual, concrete, or in-depth understanding of them [41]. In contrast with traditional designs that generally assume program implementation follows a predictable and measurable path, evaluation case studies are suited to programs that have unfolding trajectories [41]. Additionally, the in-depth and fluid nature of a qualitative case study aligns with calls for relational and culturally responsive evaluations. This approach to evaluation highlights the importance of trust, relationship, collaboration, and participation, while leveraging the voice, perspectives, and expertise of participants [42]. A culturally responsive, relational evaluation approach emphasizes meaning making through learning with and alongside participants. The deeply place-based nature of this project, created on and with the land of Onigamiinsing (Duluth, MN, USA), through a deep relationship with the Indigenous peoples and beings of this place, further underscores the appropriateness of a qualitative case study design.

2.2. Data Collection Methods

Multiple data collection approaches were used across this three-year project. In particular, approaches from Indigenous research methodologies, grounded in the belief that knowledge is relational [43], were drawn upon across the three years of data collection. Across these three years, 15 participants participated in the data collection, with the exception of the ripple effects mapping (detailed below) of which a subset of seven participated.

During the first year, a short, written reflection prompt was used to gather written individual feedback at the end of each of the monthly community of practice sessions. This not only encouraged educators’ reflection but also provided evaluation data regarding their learning and the impact of that learning on their teaching. A talking circle (a dialogue process, grounded in Indigenous traditions, where participants are seated in a circle and share respectfully and equitably) was facilitated by the Indigenous mentor at the final community of practice session of the year, followed by an open-ended questionnaire after this first year had concluded. The prompt for the talking circle and the questionnaire items centered around educators’ perceptions of the deepening of their understanding of empathy and practices for supporting it, as well as their intentions to implement those practices.

During the second year of the community of practice, several techniques were used to engage educators in processing and reflecting on their work, thereby providing additional data for this evaluation. Year two data collection prompts centered on participants’ understanding Indigenous ways of knowing and seeing the world and how the concept of reconciliation can be used as a lens for rethinking the policies and practices in places where they live, learn, and work, as well as on actions to support reconciliation in their community in the context of outdoor learning with young children. At the final community of practice session of year two, educators were invited to first reflect individually on their learning, and then collectively, through a focus group. A graphic recorder (visual notetaker) attended this final session and listened to educators’ reflections, drawing a mural that communicated both the content and tone of the participants’ reflections (see Figure 1). This aspect was intentionally incorporated as an arts-based data collection method, as it provided an opportunity “to elicit, process and share understandings and experiences that are not readily or fully accessed through more traditional fieldwork approaches” [44] (p. 2). Additionally, a written questionnaire with open-ended items was also used at the end of the second year to gather educators’ reflections on their learning.

Also in year two, a subset of seven educators participated in a ripple effects mapping process that entailed appreciative inquiry, interactive group interviewing, and radiant thinking [45]. These seven were selected based on their availability and interest in this additional evaluation component. The focus of this data collection was to further explore the impacts of community of practice participation on their teaching practices, as well as impacts more broadly; this process also provided an opportunity for collective reflection on the effectiveness of communities of practice as a professional learning strategy for capacity-building for land-based pedagogy in the context of early education for sustainability [46].

Data collection in year three centered around changes in educators’ being, knowing, and doing, from this third year of participation as well as from the project as a whole. Notes were taken at each of the small group virtual mentoring sessions as one source of data. Similarly to the second year, educators were invited to first reflect individually on their learning, and then collectively, through a focus group during the last full-group in-person gathering. A graphic recorder again attended this final session and listened to educators’ reflections, drawing a mural (see Figure 2). Additionally, a written questionnaire with open-ended items was also used after the third year had concluded.

2.3. Data Analysis

The template method technique guided the analysis, which can be particularly useful for managing large datasets [47]. This method uses a pre-defined structure (a “template”) to organize and analyze data and combines deductive and inductive approaches. First, an a priori coding template was created from a subset of the data, using the “being, knowing, doing” pre-defined structure from our overarching evaluation question. Then the remaining data were reviewed. Through a deductive process, segments that pertained to the overarching evaluation question were extracted and then coded (labeled) based on the initial coding template.

During the coding process, there was also inductive coding, with sub-themes identified during this process. The criteria for the creation of a sub-theme was not limited to extensiveness of responses, as the intensity and specificity of responses were also used to guide the emergence of these subthemes [48]. Frequencies or prevalence of particular codes or subthemes are not reported, as it could misrepresent the depth and richness of the qualitative data. Instead, these subthemes that emerged are discussed in relation to their significance with how they provide insight into the overarching evaluation question [48]. The meaningfulness and accuracy of the themes were judged by the extent to which the data that belonged in a certain theme held together in meaningful way and the extent to which differences among themes were clear. The set of themes was determined to be complete when the set had internal consistency, seemed to comprise a whole picture, and was reasonably inclusive of the existing data.

Through this combined deductive and inductive approach, the codebook was modified, with at times a narrowing of the initial coding template, and at other times, expanding or merging of the initial code set to create a final template. The resulting final template included four broad themes (changes in educators’ being, knowing, and doing, and perceptions as to what about the community of practice made it impactful), which are used to organize the results section below. Within these broader themes, clusters of impact were organized and are illustrated by participants’ quotations. Data triangulation allowed cross-validation across multiple sources of data. Member checking was used to maintain rigor during this process, with participants reviewing initial findings for accuracy.

3. Results

The purpose of the evaluation at hand is to understand more broadly the impact of the three years of the community of practice as a whole on educators’ ways of being, knowing, and doing, as well as why this approach was impactful. Results from each of the first two years of the community of practice are reported more extensively in other publications [33,36,46]. The results presented here are not meant to compare across the three years of the community of practice, but instead allow for reflection on the collective whole. The results below are organized by changes in educators’ ways of being, knowing, and doing. While in some ways distinct, it is also important to acknowledge that these changes are braided together and inseparable, as depicted in Figure 3.

3.1. Changes in Educator Participants’ Ways of Being (Dispositional/Affective Changes)

The following subthemes were identified within the data sources relating to changes in educators’ ways of being:

• Deepened connection to nature, place, and each other (their peers in the community of practice). As one educator expressed, “I would say that this community of practice has given me reason to think more of the beings that we’re sharing our space with, within our forest, … to give the spirits of our forest—the rocks, the trees, the mosses—emotions and feelings and to respect the space that they occupy…” Or as another expressed, “We are not alone; we are not meant to do this work alone.” These deepened connections may be attributed in part to an “empathy perspective” that developed and became the framing for viewing these connections with the human and more-than-human world—from the recognition that each brings knowledge and experience to the group, inspired by their connection with other teachers doing this work, and informed by Indigenous traditions of relationality, where the world is understood through relationships with humans, other living beings, and the land itself. This is illustrated by one educator’s statement that “My relationship with land, nature, animals, and children has changed and shifted. I see others in relationship differently, and I’m grateful for this community. I am a better human, teacher, partner, and friend by continuing to immerse this work into my practices at work and beyond. I am a better ancestor than I was yesterday.”
• Deepened valuing of story. Across educators’ responses and sources of data, there was a strong sense of the importance of story—the story of the land they are on, and how it is being told and shared with children and with their community. There was also an awareness of how the story of place moves through their community, and how story is woven into their hearts. For example, one educator stated how participation prompted “learning more about my own story and how to tell it” as well as “deep reflection on the place that I work, live, and teach.” Educators expressed an awareness and valuing of stories that are unfolding, unfinished, and painful—how to be a part of telling a new story. Additionally, they expressed a deepened valuing of the role of story, not just in helping children learn but also in helping children “know who they are” and affirming their cultural identities.
• An embracing of vulnerability and humility. As one educator stated, “We are coming from this earnest place of growth and trying to do better.” And as expressed by another, “This learning community has provided a safe place to learn, share, make mistakes, and grow as an educator.” The theme of vulnerability surfaced across many participants, indicating, “that our hearts are in the right place, and we are willing to learn from our mistakes, and we are committed to continuing this work.” Educators also expressed valuing humility as a way to stay in relationship and as flowing from gratitude. One educator offered a remarkable demonstration of vulnerability and humility, where, in real time during a conference panel discussion, she shared that she had just realized her mistaken word use and modeled correcting her mistake and learning.
• Viewing their sustainability work with children through a lens of reciprocity. Educators frequently alluded to seeing beauty in work at hand and feeling deeply grateful for it: “We have been given many gifts…stories, time, presence, nourishment, teachings…gifts from each other, from Indigenous Elders, from the community. And for this experience, I think I speak for us all in saying we feel deep gratitude.” From those feelings of gratitude and joyfulness has emerged a lens of reciprocity as they approach their sustainability land-based teachings with children. As another expressed, “This way of seeing the world…recognizing resources and experiences as gifts…feeling a deep sense of gratitude…wanting to show and give respect/reciprocity…then moving to action…highlights the interconnected relationships we can hold and leads to sustainability.”
• Increased sense of self-efficacy. Educators were in strong agreement regarding a greater feeling of self-efficacy in their teaching practice, including centering their relationship with the land in their teaching, engaging appropriately and authentically in outdoor learning on and with Indigenous land and Indigenous peoples, and practicing reciprocity with the land, elders, and community. In the words of one participant, “I feel more confident that I can do this work even though it is hard and scary, and I may stumble because I have an entire community of teachers walking the same journey alongside me.”
• Deepened commitment to equity and teaching through culturally sustaining ways. This sentiment was shared by many of the educators. It is expressed well in the following articulation: “We are all moving toward building a stronger, more beautiful community by acknowledging the truths of the past and present and committing to intentionally doing better. We have created a community, one in which we can lean on each other, listen to one another, and cultivate ideas and ways of knowing to then implement in our own settings.” Another expressed feeling as though she was “part of a movement, a group of educators working together, perhaps implementing individually, to be more equitable, trauma-informed, and culturally competent” rippling outward into “families that feel welcomed and validated.”

3.2. Changes in Educator Participants’ Knowing (Cognitive Changes)

The following subthemes were identified within the data sources relating to changes in educators’ knowing:

• Deepened understanding of empathy. Many educators alluded to not only greater understandings of empathy, deepened through engaging with Indigenous perspectives, but also of empathy’s importance in early childhood and of children’s capacity for empathy, as well as ways in which empathy can be supported. Educators also described a deepened understanding of the connection between empathy and reciprocal, respectful relationships with all of our human and more-than-human relatives and the power of empathy to foster community. They also expressed new understandings of how empathy and connectedness to nature are related and mutually reinforcing, as well as how empathy supports, but also flows from, a sense of place. As one educator participant expressed, “My framework for empathy has deepened in my teaching practice, for sure, but even in my relationships with my family, and with my friends, and with my relationship with nature, and my understanding of the non-human relatives that I’m with every day.”
• Increased understanding of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, knowledge of their local place, and the Indigenous peoples and traditions of this place. Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators alike expressed a deepened understanding of not only knowledge of Indigenous perspectives and the stories of their local place, but also of the importance of Indigenous knowledge in our collective efforts toward a more sustainable future. As one educator expressed, “We deepened our understanding of the importance of respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility.”
• Deepened understanding of knowledge from an Indigenous perspective. Educators also expressed an expansion in their understanding of knowledge as something that can be held by an individual and a community, often both. From this perspective, knowledge is deeply grounded in place, connected to the land, and is a process, rather than a thing. Educators expressed understandings such as “this land, all land, is alive and has wisdom to share;” “knowing can be held by an individual, a community, and often by both;” “knowing is connected to perspective and experience;” “truth is not held in one, but created by many;” and “knowledge is a gift.”
• Deepened knowledge and use of Anishinaabemowin, the language of the land. Educators have come to understand that the Anishinabe language is a gift to the land, that the land loves to be spoken to in its first language. Educators have demonstrated an increased knowledge of Anishinaabemowin words and increased confidence in the use of those words. Beyond engagement with the community of practice, several educators have enrolled in local and online Anishabemowin classes to deepen their knowledge and use of the language. One educator relayed a story of encountering an eagle with her child and remarking on what a special gift it is to see an eagle. The young child thought quietly for a moment and then, unprompted, asked how to say eagle in Ojibwe, as the educator had been modeling the use of other Anishinabe words in their day-to-day interactions. While the educator did not know the word for eagle at that moment, she responded that they would look it up together. This educator shared with the community of practice that she felt the work she was doing to share the Anishinabe language was taking root, evidenced by this child’s curiosity.
• Differentiation between cultural appropriation and relationships rooted in reciprocity. While many educators initially approached Indigenous content with apprehension due to concerns about cultural appropriation, participation in the community of practice led to a more nuanced understanding of how to engage respectfully with Indigenous ways of knowing. Guided by Indigenous mentors and scholars, participants came to recognize that Indigenous education holds immense value for all children, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Rather than centering concerns around appropriation, the emphasis shifted toward an ethical responsibility to honor and appropriately convey the teachings received. This included explicitly naming the sources of Indigenous knowledge, including who shared the teachings, as well as the contexts in which that sharing occurred [49]. Such practices signal an intentional move toward relational accountability and reciprocal engagement. Additionally, educators expressed recognition of the importance of “doing this work in relationship with” Indigenous mentors, partners, parents, and community members.

3.3. Changes in Educator Participants’ Doing (Behavioral Changes)

The following subthemes were identified within the data sources relating to changes in educators’ practices and behaviors:

• Implementation of co-constructed empathy strategies deepened through engagement with Indigenous perspectives. Educators described changes in the ways they interacted with children in their care. These changes included increased listening and observing, more storytelling, greeting more-than-human relatives by their Anishinaabemowin name, modeling the honorable harvest [50] (harvesting in respectful ways that further sustainability and reciprocity), and letting children ask questions rather than asking the questions themselves. They indicated modeling empathy, coaching, and supporting children as they practice empathy, affirming empathy expressions from children, and holding space for children to notice, wonder, inquire, and choose their own empathy actions. As one educator noted, “We are defining and redefining our approaches, strategies, and values. We’re redefining what it means to be an educator to all children and all relatives.” This educator continued her reflection, stating, “Year after year, we have access to these amazing, beautiful, capable young children. We can help plant the seeds of empathy and understanding and create a connection to the land, helping them see themselves in both the smaller and bigger stories of this world and their own lives and all our relatives.”
• Transformed interactions with children, families, and the more-than-human world. Participants described notable shifts in how they engage with children, characterized by deeper listening, greater emotional attunement, and an increased willingness to be open and vulnerable. Educators reported approaching their work with dispositions of curiosity, gentleness, and empathy, which supported children in developing and expressing empathy in return. Their pedagogical stance increasingly reflected a relational and reciprocal view of teaching, including learning alongside children about more-than-human relatives. Educators also extended this relational approach to families, sharing stories of children’s empathy encounters, communicating about Indigenous teachings and traditions, and creating programming to engage families more deeply in this work. One educator, upon reflecting on these transformed interactions, described them as allowing her and her peers in the community of practice to be “better people, in all areas of life, and kinder and gentler across the board.”
• Embracing a slower, less hurried pace. One of the most significant behavioral shifts involved embracing a slower, more intentional rhythm throughout the day. Teachers described making space for what our Indigenous mentor called the “Indigenous pause”—a practice of waiting, watching, and deeply listening before responding or acting. This shift allowed educators to observe more carefully, follow children’s lead, and respond more thoughtfully to both human and more-than-human encounters. Educators reported using fewer transitions, minimizing whole-group time, and trusting the pace of the child. In the words of one educator, “We don’t rush to fix anymore. We sit in it together.” And another described this slower pace allowed them to “hold significant space for nature as teacher.”
• Expanded and intentional use of Indigenous protocols. Educators also spoke of increased understanding of Indigenous protocols, particularly what respectful engagement of Indigenous family and community members in schools and programs entails, as well as protocols for including Elders in classrooms. As one educator noted, “I learned the importance of relationships. I turned to and really received guidance from a depth of Ojibwe mentors, and my community of practice group walked this journey with me, too. I also learned to turn to Indigenous parents and community members in education, to artists, writers, and storykeepers. I worked to be especially respectful and patient along the way...for example, asking our Indigenous mentor how to ask knowledge holders, and which questions to ask and how to ask in a good way, while practicing reciprocity through gifts, shared food, and monetary support for shared time, travel, and teaching.” Educators also indicated offering asema (tobacco) to Indigenous knowledge keepers and working with the children in their care to prepare gifts to share with Indigenous speakers to honor the knowledge and stories offered.
• Deepened incorporation of Indigenous perspectives, affirmation of children’s identities, and land-based pedagogy. Educators reported a growing ability to meaningfully integrate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into their teaching while affirming children’s full identities, particularly their cultural identities. This shift was accompanied by more intentional efforts to recognize children’s strengths and center their agency through land-based pedagogy and environmental inquiry. Participants described learning with and from children, including moments when Indigenous children were invited to share cultural knowledge in ways that were voluntary and non-tokenizing. For example, when one educator asked the class what they knew about asema (tobacco), an Indigenous child confidently shared an extended explanation about asema’s ceremonial and everyday roles in expressing gratitude, prayer, and respect—demonstrating a depth of understanding and cultural pride that was affirmed by the classroom community. This pedagogical moment highlighted the role of the educator not as the sole authority but as a facilitator of reciprocal learning rooted in trust, respect, and relational accountability. These practices reflect a pedagogical orientation that positions land and children as co-teachers and affirms Indigenous presence and knowledge as vital to early learning.
• Commitment to ongoing reflexive practice. Educators continued to reflect critically on their use of empathy and land-based teaching strategies, asking questions about how these approaches were working and how they might evolve. They described wondering about children’s responses, how to deepen their learning, and how to refine their approaches to better support children’s relationships with one another, their communities, and the natural world. Educators emphasized the importance of time and space to reflect not only individually, but in community, and that in doing so, a sense of the collective impact of the community of practice arises. This reflexive stance underscored the dynamic nature of the learning process and the educators’ commitment to continual growth.

3.4. Educator Insights on the Value and Effectiveness of the Community of Practice

This section explores educators’ reflections on the effectiveness and meaningfulness of the community of practice approach as a professional learning space, drawing on insights shared across all three years of the project. The following subthemes were identified within the data sources:

• A trusting, relational learning community. The community of practice was consistently described by educators as a safe, nurturing, trusting space that fostered vulnerability, authenticity, and deep connection—characteristics that were not often experienced in more traditional professional development settings. This relational environment enabled honest dialogue, risk-taking, and personal growth. One educator shared, “To be in the safekeeping of our small and vulnerable sharing space, my colleagues held space for me, and helped to reassure and reflect with me how the work I am doing is still so very present. But that it is also ok to honor stillness.” Educators reflected that the community of practice fostered a culture of care and reciprocity that encouraged them to slow down, reflect, and support one another, reinforcing the understanding of learning as deeply social and relational.
• Learning as a social, slow, and reflective process. Many educators noted the importance of time, slowness, and community as conditions for deep learning. Over the three years of the community of practice, they engaged in a process of unlearning that stepped outside of Western conceptualizations of urgency, in favor of a slower, more caring, and intentional approach, as noted above. Educators reported that the community of practice affirmed the idea that learning happens in and through relationships with people, place, and self, and that this learning unfolds and deepens when given adequate time and space for reflection. One educator reflected, “We talk so much about slowing down in the community of practice, and I have worked hard to embrace this in my world at home and school.” This educator further expressed that by doing so, she feels more balanced and also sees that her children also find more balance.
• Sustained motivation and accountability. Educators reported that consistent meetings across the three years supported continuing and built momentum, countering the isolation some educators feel in their day-to-day settings, where they may be one of only a few educators. The structure and cadence of the community of practice meetings created a sense of accountability, both externally and intrinsically driven by a desire to show up for the group and contribute meaningfully, as one educator articulated, this accountability translated directly into deepened action “I noticed that when I saw another community of practice meeting on the calendar, I wanted to be able to share my progress with my peers. It engaged me and motivated me to DO more. I wouldn’t have accomplished a fraction of what I did this last year without the support of this community.”
• Inspiration and modeling within the group. Core to the community of practice approach is the affirmation that each participant has something meaningful to contribute and to learn from and with the community. Educators reported learning not only from Indigenous mentors but also from witnessing the significance of fellow community of practice members’ work and growth. Peers served as models of practice, especially when navigating how to respectfully share Indigenous perspectives with children and families. As one educator shared that the biggest support in her practice of Indigenous ways of being–knowing–doing had been witnessing the work of a fellow community of practice member, she reflected that this peer “has been the most amazing example of how to bring these Indigenous ways into the classroom in so many different ways every day. I see her deeply collaborating with Indigenous family and community members and sharing the journey behind what she has been doing in the small group. Witnessing the impact her intentional work has had on her students has given me so much more confidence in my own practice.”
• Identity development, confidence, and commitment. Participation in the community of practice supported educators in deepening their professional identities, building confidence, and clarifying their commitment to equity- and relationship-based teaching. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, the community of practice created space for educators to engage vulnerably with complex topics, reflect on their practice, and be affirmed by peers. These relational experiences fostered confidence and grounded educators in their values, even in moments of stillness or uncertainty. Educators also described a renewed sense of purpose and direction, not only individually but as part of a larger movement toward more just and culturally sustaining early childhood education. Witnessing one another’s practices, particularly those grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, strengthened their belief in what was possible. As one participant wrote, “Hearing the experiences and examples from other programs also helps show me how to move in the right direction one step at a time.” This collective identity was not only sustaining but motivating. Educators spoke of carrying the work into their classrooms and communities with a sense of clarity, courage, and commitment to “doing better for children, families, the land, and future generations.”
• Commitment to broader impact and rippling effects. Educators described the community of practice teachings as gifts they now carry forward, not only in their classrooms and programs, but in their personal lives with family, friends, and the broader community. They have reflected a sense that the community of practice is not an isolated professional learning experience, but part of wider and larger work toward sustainability, healing, and justice. One educator expressed it this way: “We are now sharing our gifts, our teachings, our experiences within our community circles. The rippling effects are powerful.”

4. Discussion

4.1. Limitations

Before reflecting on the findings, it is important to situate them within the limitations of this evaluation. First, it is important to restate that a case study was intentionally chosen for this evaluation, due to our focus on this single context of a deeply place-based community of practice over its three-year span. Consequently, the findings stemming from this evaluation may not apply to other contexts, places, and groups of participants. Yet it is also important to note that generalizability was not the aim. Additionally, the data collection methodologies and the overarching case study design yield perceived impacts and potential contributing influences on those impacts, not empirical causal links. It is also necessary to bring forward that these educators, as community of practice participants, are closest to the project at hand and thus an ecologically valid source of information; yet, because they are so close, there is the potential for social desirability bias. Further, this evaluation entailed a relatively small group of participants, characterized by a commonality of views and goals. That may be why there were no major discrepancies or divergent findings. The responses and experiences collected are representative in the sense that the findings are rich, credible, and applicable. Through immersion in the data, we suspect they also are representative in the sense that the insights that emergence are generally shared by participants, even though that was not the aim of the analysis.

4.2. Discussion of Findings

This evaluation case study aimed to understand the broader impacts of the three years of the community of practice as a whole on educators’ ways of being, knowing, and doing, as well as to explore potential aspects of the community of practice approach that contribute to its effectiveness. Collectively, the findings from this case study and its multiple data sources suggest a shift in educators’ ways of being (dispositions) as educators engaged in land-based learning. Educators articulated a deepened sense of connection to place, peers, and the more-than-human world, accompanied by a deepened ethic of humility, vulnerability, and reciprocity. Findings also suggest that participation impacted educators’ knowing (cognitive shifts). Educators’ understandings were profoundly influenced by sustained engagement with Indigenous perspectives. Participants came to view knowledge as relational and place-based. They expressed increased confidence in their application of Indigenous language and protocols in their teaching, in ways that support all children. Participation also impacted educators’ doing (their teaching practices). The behavioral shifts surfacing in the data reflect an intentional and ongoing alignment between what educators were learning and their actions with children, families, the land, and themselves as they embraced and put into practice land-based pedagogies with impacts that rippled forward into children and their families. These findings are in strong alignment with calls for the role of education in instilling (in children and educators alike) deeper understandings of the interconnectedness between the human and more-than-human world and of the intricate web of relationships that sustain life on earth [9]. These findings also suggest this community of practice was responsive to calls for early educators to learn alongside the children in their care from, about, and with community and through diverse forms of community-held knowledge [14].

Over these three years of community of practice implementation, it has become evident that both the structure and ethos of the community of practice have created conditions for profound individual and collective growth, increased confidence and self-efficacy, and a shared identity of land-based educators committed to culturally sustaining pedagogy that contributes to the work of sustainability, justice, and healing. As such, this project is also responsive to calls for transforming not only formal education systems, but also for transforming professional learning in ways that are culturally sustaining and oriented toward a more just, sustainable future. This community of practice reflects the type of reorientation called for that builds a shared vision that empowers and motivates action, strengthening educators’ ownership and commitment to a more sustainable future [24].

4.3. Implications

While our intention was not generalizability, we offer reflections on these findings from which other providers of professional development might draw in their work to design and implement professional learning for early education for sustainability. Beyond the general implication of the potential for and appropriateness of using the community of practice approach for meaningful and impactful professional learning in early education for sustainability contexts, we offer the following for consideration toward professional learning that itself is culturally sustaining:

• Professional learning that recognizes the social and relational nature of learning. The findings highlight the value of professional learning that affirms the social and relational dimensions of knowledge construction. Rather than positioning educators as passive recipients of externally determined knowledge, the community of practice approach facilitated reciprocal learning relationships, where participants were recognized as co-constructors of meaning and holders of diverse expertise. One educator noted, “It is through connection that this work and this way of being gets strengthened and is long-lasting. Without others, the fire would fizzle. We need to grow in this work together, and we are doing this work together.” This reflection underscores the role of collective engagement in sustaining professional growth. In recognizing learning as emergent and relational, the community of practice approach also challenged conventional, linear models of professional development [51]. Instead of advancing toward pre-defined goals through fixed stages, participants described an unfolding process shaped by ongoing dialogue, reflection, and shared inquiry. As one participant reflected, “I realized that Indigenous perspectives weren’t so linear, but instead had more of a compounding reality that contains so many things all at once. And now, I’m finding that the edges of what I am trying to do in my teaching are expanding in that same way, and I’m starting to feel much more comfortable with the idea that I don’t know what’s in all those directions.” This orientation invites a more expansive, non-linear view of both pedagogy and professional growth—one that opens space for complexity, emergence, and the honoring of multiple ways of knowing.
• Professional learning that affords sustained engagement and reflection. The findings suggest that meaningful professional learning is supported by sustained engagement and opportunities for intentional reflection. Rather than prioritizing efficiency or rapid implementation, the community of practice moved at a deliberately slow and thoughtful pace, allowing educators to pause, process, and integrate new ideas into their practice over time. This slower approach fostered deeper connection and authenticity, creating the conditions for transformative learning. One educator articulated this impact, describing the experience as one of being “part of a movement, a group of educators working together to be more equitable, trauma-informed, and culturally competent.” The sustained duration of the community enabled such shifts to take root, with participants noting how this gradual and collective approach to learning fostered more inclusive, welcoming environments for families. In this way, the work was described not as isolated or episodic, but as expansive and ongoing, “rippling outward” into relationships with children, families, and communities.
• Professional learning that supports identity development, confidence, and commitment. Educators did not passively receive knowledge; they actively engaged in listening, reflecting, sense-making, and co-constructing meaning. This collegial inquiry unfolded within a trusted relational space, where the knowledge shared by Indigenous mentors and learning materials was held alongside the internal wisdom and lived experiences of participants. As a result, identity, confidence, and commitment emerged, linking new understandings to sustained shifts in practice. Participants articulated how their participation in the CoP became part of who they are, both as educators and as individuals. One teacher shared, “It has become a piece of who we are—there is no going backward.” This suggests that professional learning grounded in identity development fosters enduring transformation, not only by deepening knowledge but by reshaping how educators see themselves and their work. As such, time, trust, and community are not peripheral supports: they are the foundation of change.

Beyond those implications for providers of professional learning, an additional implication stemming from this evaluation case study is the appropriateness of selecting an evaluation approach that aligns with the nature of the project at hand. We were intentional in our use of a relational evaluation and learning design for our community of practice. Relational evaluation designs and approaches differ from the more traditional and often transactional nature of evaluation relationships and approaches; instead, they emphasize “relationship, trust, reciprocity, and respect” while noticing and learning alongside participants and allowing “space and time for meaning-making and learning to emerge” [52] (p. 18). Relational evaluation approaches align or realign data collection methods or approaches to “support deeper engagement and connection to noticings and surfacings as the evaluation unfolds” [52] (p. 18). The very nature of the community of practice and its context and aims called for data collection approaches that engaged participants, prompted reflection, and inspired application. The data collection approaches used in this case study facilitated reflective practice and thus became part of the learning process, with participants engaging in interpreting, reevaluating, discussing, and even ground-truthing their practices over the three years. Participants described this evaluation as not only meaningful, but “deeply engaging” and, in the words of one of the educators, a part of the overall “life-giving learning process.” As participation in the community of practice unfolded to be so deeply meaningful to participants, to have evaluation processes perceived by educators that were less than meaningful would have run counter to the very groundings on which this community of practice was built. In essence, the data collection processes became seamless extensions of the community of practice, aiding in participants’ reflexive thinking and in their engagement with the work at hand.

Additionally, relational evaluation approaches are conducive to honoring the Indigenous approach of viewing knowledge as relational and the Anishinaabe tradition of shared learning and knowledge, by which each of us knows something, but none of us knows the whole. The qualitative nature of the various data collection approaches seemed to successfully recognize, uplift, and celebrate the voices and expertise among the educators. We also found the arts-based approach of visually communicating educators’ learning in an aesthetically powerful way to have much potential for moving away from what often is a sole reliance on textual documentation of impact in Western evaluation and research activities.

5. Conclusions

Given the importance of early education for sustainability for young children and the crucial role early educators play in high-quality learning experiences for young children, these findings speak to the potential of the community of practice approach for meaningful, effective, and even transformative professional learning. Collectively, the findings from this case study suggest this approach influenced educators’ ways of being, knowing, and doing in the context of early education for sustainability, and particularly in land-based, culturally sustaining pedagogy. Due to the deeply place-based nature of this project, this work would likely look different when practiced elsewhere; yet other education for sustainability and/or early childhood organizations may find this approach useful in their efforts to build educator capacity for land-based pedagogies. In doing so, professional learning, too, can be situated within place, people, and community, so that respect and reciprocity ground the understandings, dispositions, and skills that follow.