South african integrated environmental education curriculum trajectory

Abstract

An integrated environmental education curriculum has proven to be a highly effective approach in cultivating students' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that are essential to becoming responsible and engaged citizens who are cognizant of their impact on the environment. The inclusion of environmental education in the school curriculum is a strategic means of fostering a generation of environmentally conscious citizens who are committed to protecting and conserving the environment. By doing so, a wider awareness and appreciation of environmental issues can be instilled in students, paving the way for them to become agents of change for a sustainable future. This qualitative interpretivism study employed semi-structured interviews to purposefully seek the view of ten school principals on the pathways of incorporating environmental education into the school curriculum, hinged on phenomenological design to understand the lived experiences of respondents. The study's findings indicate the presence of Environmental Education themes across various aspects of the educational system, including textbooks, extracurricular activities, school code of conduct, and classroom teaching and learning. However, the curriculum does not command a uniform teaching technique to incorporate Environmental Education into classroom teaching and learning, leading to a hybrid teaching strategy adopted by most teachers. The selection of Environmental Education content to teach in class is based on the teachers' personal experience and the learners' interests. Regrettably, the integration of Environmental Education into teaching and learning is limited, and both teachers' and learners' perceptions and understanding of it are uninspiring. The study highlights the need for a more structured approach to incorporate EE into the curriculum to ensure its effective integration into the educational system. This approach would help to address the limited understanding and perceptions of both teachers and learners and ensure a more comprehensive and engaging learning experience.