Open AccessRelevance of Education for Sustainable Development to Zambian High School Geography: A Survey of High Schools in Lusaka City
Author(s) -
Timothy Kamuzu Phiri
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of law and social sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2226-6402
DOI - 10.53974/unza.jlss.1.1.369
Subject(s) - syllabus , geography , human geography , indigenous , health geography , declaration , diversity (politics) , relevance (law) , pedagogy , mathematics education , social science , sociology , political science , medicine , psychology , health education , public health , ecology , international health , nursing , anthropology , law , biology
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.