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Prof Josef de Beer says the youth are our future and have the potential to be the torch bearers who usher in a new way of life, based on choices that promote a healthier planet.
It must be fun too
Prof Josef de Beer says making a subject on human impact on the environment compulsory at school level will not be enough.
“We need the buy-in of learners and to get that, the subjects will have to be interesting, enjoyable and exciting.” Josef says this can be easily achieved by not just focusing on theory and information but by incorporating technology, games and experiments into teaching.
“As an example, learners who engage in problem-based activities, such as determining the levels of pollution of local water resources, find great joy and satisfaction from being scientific sleuths.
“In the NWU’s ‘Teachers without Borders’ project, we roll out foldscope microscopes in schools, and learners enjoy the opportunity to utilise these foldscopes to determine levels of eutrophication (a form of water pollution).
“This is an example of embodied cognition, which also serves to promote environmental literacy in learners.”
Josef says these subjects have great potential as they can be vehicles for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge about the environment and thus also play a role in decolonising the school curriculum.
Dr Luiza de Sousa says it will be a step in the right direction to include climate change and biodiversity in the school curriculum by having subjects that focus specifically on it.
New school subjects may impact greatly on planet’s health
Recent media articles* have put the spotlight on the United Nations’ (UN) aim to make climate change and biodiversity integral parts of school curriculums worldwide by 2025.
The NWU & U asked our experts in education to weigh in on the impact new subjects such as these can have on how children not only view the world they live in, but also make conscious decisions from a young age to protect the planet.
What a good idea
While nothing has been formally decided in South Africa in this regard as far as he knows, apart from the introduction of marine biology as a new subject, Prof Josef de Beer of the Unit for Self-Directed Learning says adding subjects to the curriculum to educate young children about environmental issues is always a very good idea.
“Elements of climate change and biodiversity are discussed in the school life sciences curriculum, but not all learners of course choose life sciences as a subject,” says Josef, a research professor at the unit.
Make our footprint greener
“A compulsory subject on human impact on the environment, and how we as humankind can have a greener footprint, might lead to less environmental destruction.”
It is sad that so many people are not aware of the great danger that factors such as climate change pose to their future, he says. What is even more worrying is that many young people are unaware that they can make a meaningful difference in this regard.
“Environmental education is the tool to not only empower the decision makers of tomorrow but also help to find solutions to the dire condition the world is in.”
Holistic approach is needed
Dr Luiza de Sousa, senior lecturer in geography education and environmental education, agrees with Josef that it would be a step in the right direction to include climate change and biodiversity in the curriculum by having subjects that focus specifically on it.
“We teach our students the importance of systems and holistic thinking and this can be employed valuably in new subjects already at school. Systems thinking enables learners to see things as a whole. One action to an individual part of a system can affect the entire system because of the relationships between the many elements in a complex system.”
Luiza says learners will however need to understand the interconnectivity of things – how their actions can lead to change.“These subjects can do this by helping learners grasp the issues that fuel climate change, such as the continued use of fossil fuels that leads to environmental pollution, placing the Earth in a state of global warming, for example.”
She says teaching cause and effect will not only help with the understanding of complex issues but also encourage transformative learning. The United Nation’s (UN’s) 17 sustainable development goals** require teachers to transform our world.
Time will tell if the UN successfully fulfils its aim of including climate change and biodiversity as dedicated subjects by 2025 and if this will be implemented globally.
If they are able to do this, the future crop of school graduates may be empowered not only with education but also a new and enhanced sense of environmental consciousness and responsibility.
*“Klimaat dalk teen ’25 deel van leerplan”, Elise Tempelhoff, Netwerk24, 13 May 2021.
*“Putting climate change on school curriculums is imperative”, says UN, Sonia Elks, Business Day, 27 February 2020.
**The UN’s sustainable development goals include 17 interlinked global goals designed to achieve a better and more sustainable future.
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Environmental consciousness already promoted in our schools
Talking to Dr Grizelda van Wyk, senior educational specialist of the Gauteng Department of Basic Education, it seems that although climate change and biodiversity are not separate school subjects at the moment, they have been a part of school curriculums in South Africa for many years.
“They are addressed in life sciences subjects in Further Education and Training (FET) and natural sciences in intermediate and senior phases. Climate change is especially addressed in geography and biodiversity is extensively part of the life sciences offerings.”
She says it is important to be aware of global trends although there is currently no indication that climate change and biodiversity will be subjects on their own.
The department is however continuously adding new subjects to local school curricula that enhance education in the country.
Recent examples include the additions of coding and robotics, new African languages and entrepreneurship. Marine biology and nuclear power studies have also been approved as subjects at selected schools.
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