Relevance of Education for Sustainable Development to Zambian High School Geography: A Survey of High Schools in Lusaka City

Abstract

Geography is one of the subjects offered in all high schools in Zambia. At the time this
 study was conducted in the year 2010, five years after the declaration of the Decade
 of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (2005-2014), ESD had not yet been
 incorporated at high school level. The study hence sought to determine the aspects
 of Geography that were compatible with ESD to ascertain the attitude of high school
 pupils towards Geography and determine ways in which the Geography syllabus
 could be improved vis-à-vis the need for pupils to be empowered to thrive in their
 local environments. A descriptive survey research design was used and information
 was gathered through group discussions (for the pupils) and questionnaires (for the
 pupils and Geography Heads of Section). The study found that ESD could make a
 contribution to Geography in the areas of field projects, personal hygiene and health,
 sexual education, intergenerational transmission of knowledge, use of indigenous
 knowledge and localisation of the Geography syllabus. The study found that though
 pupils were interested in Geography as reflected by their general good performance in
 examinations, nonetheless negative attitudes existed towards Geography because of
 its detachment from pupils’ personal environments, excessive use of teacher-centred
 methods and the bulky nature of the Geography syllabus.