29 research outputs found
Pedagogical Considerations for Climate Change Education in Africa
No full textAfrica is very vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change despite contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions. This vulnerability is exacerbated by its limited capacity to predict climate change, mitigate and adapt to its impacts. Education is important for capacity building and mobilising requisite actions against climate change. This paper draws on relevant literature to discuss applicable educational pedagogical perspectives that can foster effective climate change education (CCE) and help the citizenry develop sustainability mindsets in Africa. It highlights the need for decolonised and decentred climate change pedagogies that address existing inequalities and promote context-driven capacity development and indigeneity. It contends that effective pedagogy for climate change education that will support Africa’s resilience to climate change should underscore the significance of Indigenous approaches in dealing with localised environmental issues
State Capabilities and Youth Climate Change Education
No full textStudies on youth education and engagement with climate change issues reveal that while formal education plays a significant role in driving youth engagement, adequate attention has not been given to an effective climate change curriculum and pedagogy that could bring about lasting change. In response, youths have made explicit demands of states and non-state actors at national and international levels to provide them with an effective climate change education that has the potential to lead to appropriate behavioural change or action. This chapter draws on secondary sources to discuss factors affecting the capability of African countries to respond to the demands of youths on climate change. Based on the observable nature of the extractive, regulative and distributive capabilities of many African states, the chapter argues that the continent needs to explore and build efficient and capable institutions to promote context-relevant climate change education by strengthening democracy and good governance. The resulting effect can be seen in an enhanced capacity and empowerment of civil society to act responsibly towards the environment, as effective strategies are implemented to engage young people
Why Education Matters for a Climate-Resilient Africa
No full textGiven the quest for a climate-resilient Africa, education emerges as a cornerstone in equipping individuals with climate literacy and a deeper understanding of climate change. However, current educational models on the continent, which are products of colonial legacies and subjugate Indigenous knowledge and local realities are inadequate for contributing effective solutions to the continent’s climate-related crises. There is therefore a need for a transformative pedagogical shift for climate change education, underpinned by an appropriate framework. We draw on the New Green Learning Agenda Framework to underscore the urgent need for a transformational model of education that fosters climate justice in Africa. Central to this are the crucial roles of place-based, decolonised, experiential, and holistic pedagogies. It is only through the implementation of these approaches for climate justice through education that a climate-resilient future can be guaranteed for the continent
Climate Change Education in African Higher Education Institutions:Insights into Current Practices and Future Directions
No full textClimate change education (CCE) is a vital tool for addressing Africa’s vulnerability to climate change and advancing sustainable development. Its impact is even more significant when integrated into higher educational systems. Notably, Higher Education serves as a catalyst for innovation and nation-building and, hence, an essential medium for driving sustainability efforts across present and future generations. However, evidence suggests that the adoption of CCE in African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) remains low. Few HEIs have specialized courses on the subject, while others have an integrated approach within related subjects like geography and environmental sciences. This underscores the necessity to identify the factors behind the slow uptake of CCE across the continent. Given this premise, our study seeks to explore the nature of the barriers as well as existing and future opportunities for scaling up climate change education in African HEIs. Among other factors, we identified resource limitations, institutional barriers, and socio-political challenges as the primary constraints to CCE uptake in Africa. On the other hand, the increasing climate commitment and the development of regional climate institutions equally provide a unique opportunity for capacity building, knowledge exchange and the spread of CCE across African HEI. Moreover, the rapid development of affordable digital communication and computing has the potential to increase networking and collaborative efforts between climate change learners and scientists across the region. These prospects signal a need for regional governments to multiply their efforts toward providing an environment for the development and uptake of suitable CCE programs
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Conceptual premises for climate change adaptation education in African universities
Get PDFAfrica is especially vulnerable to the deleterious effects of climate change. Unless there is a significant shift in current trends, many African countries are likely to continue facing extreme weather events that will threaten their food security, water resources, human health, and biodiversity. Consequently, there is a pressing need to ensure that climate change mitigation strategies (strategies to reduce carbon emissions) and climate change adaptation strategies (strategies to circumvent the deleterious effects of climate change) are rolled out across all courses at African universities. Universities serve as both knowledge hubs and vehicles for societal change. However, African universities have traditionally adopted a Eurocentric approach to education that delegitimises Indigenous knowledge and reinforces colonial narratives. To overcome these historical shortcomings, African universities must engage with local populations and leverage Indigenous knowledge systems to co-create place-based climate solutions that provide transformative change for all. In this chapter, we call for African universities to reposition their orientation by reconsidering their conceptualisation of climate change education
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Climate change education in Africa: setting the scene
No full textThe continent of Africa has enormous resources and potential to meet its long-term development needs. However, the challenges posed by climate change in the continent are frequently worsened by underlying vulnerabilities, intensifying their influence on the progress of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Africa remains disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change despite having the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this chapter, we advance opportunities and solutions that could be maximised to strengthen the continent’s resilience and sustainable future. In particular, we draw attention to climate change education and policy drives across the continent to promote climate literacy as demonstrated in the African Union’s Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022–2032). While it is not out of place to assert that there are some policy drives across Africa for climate change literacy and education, the gap between policy and practice needs scrutiny. An insight into existing policies and practices in Africa as they relate to climate change can bring to light the gaps in educational frameworks intended to support a climate-resilient future. A framework for an impactful climate change education in Africa is advanced. The framework recommends that Indigenous knowledge holders can play a crucial role by working with other holders of knowledge such as academics with Western insights to accentuate a CCE in the continent that is critical of imposed systems, is relatable to places, promotes collective participation and is holistic in nature. The latter part of the chapter introduces the different chapters
Practices, Perceptions and Prospects for Climate Change Education in Africa
Get PDFThis open access book presents peer-reviewed chapters that introduce the subject of climate change within formal and informal sectors of education in Africa, as key to building the capacity of current and future generations to address the most pressing global issue. An insight into existing practices, perceptions, and prospects for climate change education in Africa can bring to light relevant frameworks that can support a climate-resilient future in the continent. Among others, the book contends that there is a need to rethink current practices of climate change education in the continent by optimizing Indigenous knowledge systems and context-relevant pedagogies as important strategies. Governments, civil society, and other stakeholders in Africa can draw on the rich insights captured in this book as they consider feasible approaches to resolve the current climate crisis
Discrepancies in academic perceptions of climate change and implications for climate change education
No full textClimate change is arguably the most severe threat faced by humanity today. In an attempt to understand how humanity can manage this phenomenon for planetary health, it is fundamental to have an understanding of what it is. This aligns with a critical gap in the extant literature, that is, how different perceptions of climate change among facilitators of learning (in this case, academics) can enable the establishment of a framework of critical consciousness that could boost climate change education and contribute to climate change management. To this end, the study that underpins this paper set out to capture the perceptions of climate change among a selection of academics at a local university in Cameroon. Following a comprehensive analysis of the data, different views on the subject emerged, aligning with scientific, observational, and cultural definitions. Drawing on theoretical insights into critical consciousness, the findings of this study have wider implications for climate change education at universities. A framework is suggested to support educators as they foster critical thinking among learners, as this can facilitate their ability and the wider community to make informed decisions on mitigation and adaptation strategies in light of climate change and the threats it carries
Towards a critical pedagogy of place for environmental conservation
No full textThis paper considered the changes in education that are needed in response to the rapidly deteriorating state of the Earth’s environment. We argued that such changes should be focussed on developing an effective education that equips inhabitants of the Earth to understand their environment towards contributing to its conservation, especially with respect to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is crucial because previously colonised people and their environments are marginalised in their Eurocentric education systems. To escape ethnocentricity, education should be transformed using a polycentric approach that legitimises all knowledge systems and places. Therefore, this study employed a qualitative approach to explore teachers’ perceptions of the extent to which their education system is based on local knowledge and places, and how the concept of place might be engaged as the foundation for learning. A selection of teachers participated in the study, which employed in-depth interviews. Factors that contributed to the place-detachment of participants’ practice were analysed, along with a discussion of educational reform ideas that included place-based approaches and indigenous methods. The correlation between these ideas and a critical pedagogy of place has implications for environmental conservation in local and global contexts
The Decolonisation of Climate Change and Environmental Education in Africa
No full textThis study examines key considerations for the decolonisation of climate change and environmental education (CCEE) in Africa. It draws on insights into epistemic inclusivity to systematically assess journal articles that drew on primary studies and were published between 2015 and 2022. The findings of the review depict that there are persistent epistemic exclusion and alienation of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in CCEE. This lack of recognition of ILK contributes to negatively affecting the quality of what is learnt in educational centres across Africa as learners’ lived experiences in their socio-cultural environments are not contextualised to enhance the relatability of the subjects of their learning. Decolonisation efforts must address exclusion and alienation and promote inclusion and epistemic agency. This paper captures various strategies to achieve these in the continent, as well as some opportunities and challenges. It maintains that multidimensional approaches to decolonisation are required to promote African-centred climate change and environment education. This includes the interrogation of existing theories and depictions of subjugation of ILK, as well as seeking ways to halt or mitigate the prevalence of ongoing epistemic exclusion in different educational contexts and locations. It also requires policymakers and education managers to commit to developing epistemically inclusive education policies, curricula, and learning frameworks that highlight the significance of place-based knowledge.</p
