Implementation of Teacher Capacitation Programs to Integrate Climate Change Education: The Case Study of Geography Teaching in South African Secondary Schools

Abstract

Countries all over the world are experiencing the devastating havoc of climate change. Drastic efforts directed at integrating climate change education into the school curriculum in South African Secondary schools have been unsuccessful due to a lack of training support for teachers teaching Climate Change Education in secondary schools. The purpose of this paper was to explore the role of teacher capacitation programs in assisting Geography teacher to integrate climate change education in their lessons. Shulman’s Model of Pedagogical Reasoning served as theoretical lenses for the study. Five secondary schools out of twenty which participated in the five days’ training program conducted by one higher education institution were purposefully selected. Data for the study was generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with five participating Geography teachers in the selected schools according to the geographical location and close proximity to the training provider. It emerged from the data that teachers were lacking content and pedagogical knowledge on Climate Change Education and this capacitation program assisted in bridging that gap. The study concludes that training programs were according to selected Geography teachers’ views responsible for the improved pedagogical practices in the classroom. It is therefore recommended that teacher professional development programs on Climate Change Education for Geography teachers be organized on a continuous basis.