Education for sustainable agriculture: the old and new curricula for agricultural sciences in South African schools

Abstract

This article explores the support given to Education for Sustainable Agriculture (ESA) bythe South African Agricultural Sciences school curricula. It compares two post-apartheidcurricula: the current Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and the phased-outNational Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Agricultural Sciences in terms of content,knowledge requirements, cognitive processes and philosophies of education for sustainableagriculture, as well as the role of assessment and the stated purpose of the curricula. Whilethe NCS had a vision of sustainable agriculture and of a progressive curriculum, these aimswere not supported in the detail of the curriculum. The CAPS presents a shift back to moretraditional, discipline-based agriculture, with a detailed curriculum, which provides moresupport for ESA in terms of fundamental ecological knowledge as well as sustainableagriculture strategies. However, the CAPS, has fewer requirements for practical agriculture,higher order learning and engagement with broad socio-economic issues. The paperconcludes with recommendations for supporting ESA, through teacher education andamendments to the assessment requirements.

The evolution of the institutional structure of the agricultural education in Russia

“…The study of the institutional organization of the structure of education to meet the needs of the agronomic business, the identification of vectors and mechanisms for the transformation of relevant institutions, the progress and consequences of institutional reforms, the internal structure and the influence of external institutions on the reform of agricultural enterprises and education are currently attracting special attention of researchers [10,11,12,13].…”