Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V31I1.137680
H. Fox, Tally Palmer, R. O’Donoghue
This paper presents a case study on the severely degraded Boksburg Lake’s (Gauteng, South Africa) social–ecological system, and on an environmental-education initiative that aimed to support the lake’s transformation with a view to its improved social and ecological well-being. In this case study, three key characteristics of the initiative which appeared to support the transformative process are discussed, namely: 1. Learning was aligned with the local social–ecological context; 2. Human-to-human and human-to-ecological connections were encouraged; and 3. The youth played a key role in initiating and effecting transformation. Apparent consequences of this particular environmental-education approach include: local people becoming involved and invested in an environmental-education process that was highly meaningful to them; a deeper connection being nurtured among participating stakeholders, as well as between the youth and Boksburg Lake; a collective identity being adopted to bring about change; knowledge of Boksburg Lake’s social– ecological system being strengthened; acknowledgement of personal culpability in the lake’s degradation; many of the youths changing their negative environmental practices; and local stakeholders, including the youth, engaging in collective action to reclaim Boksburg Lake. Furthermore, a range of new practices emerged from the Schools for a Sustainable Environment (SSE) initiative. The literature is drawn on to explain the possible consequences of this initiative. Through this paper, it is hoped that environmentaleducation practitioners will be provided with useful conceptual tools to support their work.
{"title":"Transformative Processes in Environmental Education: A Case Study","authors":"H. Fox, Tally Palmer, R. O’Donoghue","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V31I1.137680","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V31I1.137680","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a case study on the severely degraded Boksburg Lake’s (Gauteng, South Africa) social–ecological system, and on an environmental-education initiative that aimed to support the lake’s transformation with a view to its improved social and ecological well-being. In this case study, three key characteristics of the initiative which appeared to support the transformative process are discussed, namely: 1. Learning was aligned with the local social–ecological context; 2. Human-to-human and human-to-ecological connections were encouraged; and 3. The youth played a key role in initiating and effecting transformation. Apparent consequences of this particular environmental-education approach include: local people becoming involved and invested in an environmental-education process that was highly meaningful to them; a deeper connection being nurtured among participating stakeholders, as well as between the youth and Boksburg Lake; a collective identity being adopted to bring about change; knowledge of Boksburg Lake’s social– ecological system being strengthened; acknowledgement of personal culpability in the lake’s degradation; many of the youths changing their negative environmental practices; and local stakeholders, including the youth, engaging in collective action to reclaim Boksburg Lake. Furthermore, a range of new practices emerged from the Schools for a Sustainable Environment (SSE) initiative. The literature is drawn on to explain the possible consequences of this initiative. Through this paper, it is hoped that environmentaleducation practitioners will be provided with useful conceptual tools to support their work.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116864638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V1I0.136772
A. Curror
This paper describes the implemention of a programme to develop environmental awareness, with special reference to the built environment, at the pre-primary level.
本文介绍在学前阶段推行一项计划，以培养学生的环保意识，并特别提及建筑环境。
{"title":"A record of the development of an environmental education theme at a pre-primary school","authors":"A. Curror","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V1I0.136772","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V1I0.136772","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the implemention of a programme to develop environmental awareness, with special reference to the built environment, at the pre-primary level.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"78 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132855081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121967
G. Nhamo
The world is set to apply green economy as a framework for achieving sustainable development, eradicate poverty and inequality and create jobs. This reality follows the consensus on green economy by global leaders during Rio+20 in June 2012. At the centre of the green economy is the need to address negative impacts associated with one of the global challenges of our epoch, climate change. Higher education (including further education) is viewed by many as an enabling platform for the generation and acquisition of green economy knowledge and skills for the future we want. The question this paper seeks to address is: are African institutions of higher education green economy ready? This question is not only limited to the curricula, but to broader impact areas in higher education that include the institutionalisation of green economy in policy, research and research management structures, in depth understanding of the green economy concept and the manner in which it links to existing paradigms like sustainable development as well as higher education– private sector partnerships. The paper shows that there are a number of emerging initiatives that can be seen to be developing green economy education and training in higher/further education contexts, but that much more needs to be done. The paper shows a ‘slow awakening’ to the green economy call as revealed by activities from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) and selected universities and private sector initiatives.
{"title":"Reviewing Some Implications of the Green Economy for Higher and Further Education Institutions","authors":"G. Nhamo","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121967","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121967","url":null,"abstract":"The world is set to apply green economy as a framework for achieving sustainable development, eradicate poverty and inequality and create jobs. This reality follows the consensus on green economy by global leaders during Rio+20 in June 2012. At the centre of the green economy is the need to address negative impacts associated with one of the global challenges of our epoch, climate change. Higher education (including further education) is viewed by many as an enabling platform for the generation and acquisition of green economy knowledge and skills for the future we want. The question this paper seeks to address is: are African institutions of higher education green economy ready? This question is not only limited to the curricula, but to broader impact areas in higher education that include the institutionalisation of green economy in policy, research and research management structures, in depth understanding of the green economy concept and the manner in which it links to existing paradigms like sustainable development as well as higher education– private sector partnerships. The paper shows that there are a number of emerging initiatives that can be seen to be developing green economy education and training in higher/further education contexts, but that much more needs to be done. The paper shows a ‘slow awakening’ to the green economy call as revealed by activities from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) and selected universities and private sector initiatives.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128606617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122271
T. Mokuku, L. Ramakhula, M. Jobo
The article explores peer tutoring in the context of outdoor learning at a primary school in Lesotho. The peer-tutoring approach was trialled to explore its effectiveness in promoting learning in large class sizes which characterise primary and secondary schools in Lesotho. An urban primary school was purposively selected for the study. The study involved 104 Class 6 learners as tutors, 86 Class 2 learners as tutees, and 8 teachers as facilitators. To determine the learners’ perceptions on the peer tutoring and outdoor activities, focus-group discussions were employed. It is concluded that both the tutors and tutees responded positively to the outdoor learning activities and peer tutoring, but that the approaches need to be investigated further to establish tutor and tutee processes of interaction.
{"title":"Learners’ Experiences of Peer Tutoring in the Context of Outdoor Learning: The Case of a Primary School","authors":"T. Mokuku, L. Ramakhula, M. Jobo","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122271","url":null,"abstract":"The article explores peer tutoring in the context of outdoor learning at a primary school in Lesotho. The peer-tutoring approach was trialled to explore its effectiveness in promoting learning in large class sizes which characterise primary and secondary schools in Lesotho. An urban primary school was purposively selected for the study. The study involved 104 Class 6 learners as tutors, 86 Class 2 learners as tutees, and 8 teachers as facilitators. To determine the learners’ perceptions on the peer tutoring and outdoor activities, focus-group discussions were employed. It is concluded that both the tutors and tutees responded positively to the outdoor learning activities and peer tutoring, but that the approaches need to be investigated further to establish tutor and tutee processes of interaction.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130274216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V34I0.172216
S. Clausen
Climate change is due to the accelerated greenhouse effect caused by modern Western ways of living, in which factors like the burning of fossil fuels for energy and the high consumption of beef are perceived to be an essential part of living, but which emit increasing levels of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide [CO2] and methane) into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases prevent long-wave radiation from escaping the Earth’s atmosphere, thus causing a rise in the global temperature. People living in different places around the world may or may not experience the various consequences of this temperature rise in their daily lives. Depending on where one lives, these consequences might range from extended droughts to an increased number and intensity of storms, precipitation and flooding. This two-sided problem, people’s modern way of living influencing the global climate and their living conditions in turn being highly influenced by climate changes, is exemplary for the subject of Geography, which is about humans’ interaction with nature (Physical Geography).
{"title":"Think Piece: Action Competence through Ethno-Geography","authors":"S. Clausen","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V34I0.172216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V34I0.172216","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is due to the accelerated greenhouse effect caused by modern Western ways of living, in which factors like the burning of fossil fuels for energy and the high consumption of beef are perceived to be an essential part of living, but which emit increasing levels of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide [CO2] and methane) into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases prevent long-wave radiation from escaping the Earth’s atmosphere, thus causing a rise in the global temperature. People living in different places around the world may or may not experience the various consequences of this temperature rise in their daily lives. Depending on where one lives, these consequences might range from extended droughts to an increased number and intensity of storms, precipitation and flooding. This two-sided problem, people’s modern way of living influencing the global climate and their living conditions in turn being highly influenced by climate changes, is exemplary for the subject of Geography, which is about humans’ interaction with nature (Physical Geography).","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129221088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Environmental knowledge is often regarded as difficult to define and position in education in general and in teacher education in particular. This presents challenges for both knowledge production and for curriculum development for teacher education programmes. While many ‘traditional’ disciplines have well-defined knowledge bases developed over time, environmental education does not, and is also less easy to integrate into teacher education programmes. In this paper, the policy framework for teacher education in South Africa is explored so as to develop ideas for knowledge selection and inclusion in environmental education for professional (teacher) education in South Africa. The works of Short (2002) on mission/practical knowledge and of Ball, Sleep, Boerst and Bass (2009) on high-leverage practices in teacher education curricula are used as ways of doing in order to enable environmental education. It is contended that these processes can provide ideas to exploit the generative spaces that exist in national policy for inclusion of contextualised, issue-based knowledge for curriculum organisation and of practice-based processes in order that environmental issues and sustainability goals may be included in teacher education curricula in South Africa.
{"title":"Environmental education in teacher education: a viewpoint exploring options in South Africa","authors":"C. Reddy","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V.33I1.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V.33I1.9","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental knowledge is often regarded as difficult to define and position in education in general and in teacher education in particular. This presents challenges for both knowledge production and for curriculum development for teacher education programmes. While many ‘traditional’ disciplines have well-defined knowledge bases developed over time, environmental education does not, and is also less easy to integrate into teacher education programmes. In this paper, the policy framework for teacher education in South Africa is explored so as to develop ideas for knowledge selection and inclusion in environmental education for professional (teacher) education in South Africa. The works of Short (2002) on mission/practical knowledge and of Ball, Sleep, Boerst and Bass (2009) on high-leverage practices in teacher education curricula are used as ways of doing in order to enable environmental education. It is contended that these processes can provide ideas to exploit the generative spaces that exist in national policy for inclusion of contextualised, issue-based knowledge for curriculum organisation and of practice-based processes in order that environmental issues and sustainability goals may be included in teacher education curricula in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133406683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V25I0.122762
R. Hogan
The aim of this action research case study was to engage a community of villagers, teachers, students and district officers in a participatory process to adapt a module of a school curriculum to the local context, and teach it in order to describe one way in which contextualisation, using local and indigenous knowledge and active discovery teaching-learning processes, can be done. The major research question was: Does integrating local environmental cultural knowledge into formal schooling contribute to curriculum relevance? If so, in what way? This paper summarises the background and context of the research, the motivation and the theoretical basis for the work, the methodology and methods, and the action research process itself. The results are interpreted and discussed in light of current theoretical perspectives on education and environmental education. The main findings within the case are that contextualisation improved relevance of education and thus its quality by: • Breaking through traditional frames/barriers between teachers and students, students and elders and community and teachers. • Allowing formal education to take place outside of the school. • Necessitating a change in pedagogy to more learner-centred discovery methods. • Allowing indigenous knowledge to come into the classroom. • Stimulating creativity and increased confidence. • Bringing local socio-political environmental issues into the classroom.
{"title":"Contextualising Formal Education for Improved Relevance: A case from the Rufiji wetlands, Tanzania","authors":"R. Hogan","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V25I0.122762","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V25I0.122762","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this action research case study was to engage a community of villagers, teachers, students and district officers in a participatory process to adapt a module of a school curriculum to the local context, and teach it in order to describe one way in which contextualisation, using local and indigenous knowledge and active discovery teaching-learning processes, can be done. The major research question was: Does integrating local environmental cultural knowledge into formal schooling contribute to curriculum relevance? If so, in what way? This paper summarises the background and context of the research, the motivation and the theoretical basis for the work, the methodology and methods, and the action research process itself. The results are interpreted and discussed in light of current theoretical perspectives on education and environmental education. The main findings within the case are that contextualisation improved relevance of education and thus its quality by: • Breaking through traditional frames/barriers between teachers and students, students and elders and community and teachers. • Allowing formal education to take place outside of the school. • Necessitating a change in pedagogy to more learner-centred discovery methods. • Allowing indigenous knowledge to come into the classroom. • Stimulating creativity and increased confidence. • Bringing local socio-political environmental issues into the classroom.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"81 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134010489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V21I0.122684
M. G. Jackson
Despite elaborate policies and programmes to deal with them, environmental problems in India are generally worsening. In this paper it is argued that we are not adequately diagnosing these problems. There is a tendency to focus on effects, i.e. on technical definitions and solutions, rather than on causes – which are predominantly social, economic and political. In this we have followed the lead of Western environmentalism. We must first of all, therefore, question this Western perspective. Then we must attempt to articulate an authentic Indian environmentalism. To do this we must take into account the perceptions of all those people in our society who are being marginalised by ‘development’ and globalisation and their many creative responses to the environmental problems they face. This paper describes some of these responses and reflects upon them.
{"title":"Towards an Authentic Indian Environmentalism","authors":"M. G. Jackson","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V21I0.122684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V21I0.122684","url":null,"abstract":"Despite elaborate policies and programmes to deal with them, environmental problems in India are generally worsening. In this paper it is argued that we are not adequately diagnosing these problems. There is a tendency to focus on effects, i.e. on technical definitions and solutions, rather than on causes – which are predominantly social, economic and political. In this we have followed the lead of Western environmentalism. We must first of all, therefore, question this Western perspective. Then we must attempt to articulate an authentic Indian environmentalism. To do this we must take into account the perceptions of all those people in our society who are being marginalised by ‘development’ and globalisation and their many creative responses to the environmental problems they face. This paper describes some of these responses and reflects upon them.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"87 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134181840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121972
C. Dubé
As the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005 to 2014) ends, a lot of progress has been made at policy level in re-orienting geography education at Further Education and Training (FET) (Gr 10–12) level in South Africa, towards the teaching of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). However, there is limited research on conceptual issues facing geography teachers, regarding the meaning of EE and ESD. This paper, based on my PhD research, seeks to address this gap. The PhD project focused on how geography teachers from diverse contexts in Western Cape secondary schools are implementing EE and ESD through the geography curriculum at FET level. In this paper, I use the qualitative data generated from my PhD study to show how three of the geography teachers grapple with the meaning of environmental education, sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The data reveals that the three teachers have conceptual difficulties regarding these terms. I argue that unless these conceptual difficulties are addressed through pre-service teacher training and in-service professional development programmes, the implementation of EE and ESD through the geography curriculum is not likely to be effective.
{"title":"Environmental Concerns in the Geography Curriculum: Perceptions of South African High School Teachers","authors":"C. Dubé","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V30I0.121972","url":null,"abstract":"As the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005 to 2014) ends, a lot of progress has been made at policy level in re-orienting geography education at Further Education and Training (FET) (Gr 10–12) level in South Africa, towards the teaching of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). However, there is limited research on conceptual issues facing geography teachers, regarding the meaning of EE and ESD. This paper, based on my PhD research, seeks to address this gap. The PhD project focused on how geography teachers from diverse contexts in Western Cape secondary schools are implementing EE and ESD through the geography curriculum at FET level. In this paper, I use the qualitative data generated from my PhD study to show how three of the geography teachers grapple with the meaning of environmental education, sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The data reveals that the three teachers have conceptual difficulties regarding these terms. I argue that unless these conceptual difficulties are addressed through pre-service teacher training and in-service professional development programmes, the implementation of EE and ESD through the geography curriculum is not likely to be effective.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129525874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122261
M. Mukute
This article discusses the combined use of top-down and participatory learning approaches during the course of a 42-month organic conservation agriculture project that is being implemented in eight districts of Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe. The initial 18-month project was extended by a further 24 months in order to build on what had been achieved by deepening organic conservation agriculture practices, by increasing the understanding of, and access to, markets, and by expanding farmer agency. The top-down approach involves farmer representatives, known as ‘access farmers’ in the project, undergoing training at training centres and then returning to their respective farmer associations to train other farmers in what they have learnt. Participatory learning includes farmer-to-farmer learning within and among associations, and trainers learning from, and acting on, farmer experiences. Expansive learning, which combines, and goes beyond, both approaches and allows for joint learning, innovation and agency, has been used to support the associations to learn about, practise and benefit from organic conservation agriculture. This was stimulated by change laboratory workshops being conducted with each of the 32 farmer associations formed during the first 18 months of the project. The main argument in the present article is that combining these seemingly opposite approaches to learning is feasible and is essential for accelerating practice-oriented changes in agriculture. The concept that appears to enable this linkage is dialectics.
{"title":"Bridging and Enriching Top-down and Participatory Learning: The Case of Smallholder, Organic Conservation Agriculture Farmers in Zimbabwe","authors":"M. Mukute","doi":"10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V29I0.122261","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the combined use of top-down and participatory learning approaches during the course of a 42-month organic conservation agriculture project that is being implemented in eight districts of Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe. The initial 18-month project was extended by a further 24 months in order to build on what had been achieved by deepening organic conservation agriculture practices, by increasing the understanding of, and access to, markets, and by expanding farmer agency. The top-down approach involves farmer representatives, known as ‘access farmers’ in the project, undergoing training at training centres and then returning to their respective farmer associations to train other farmers in what they have learnt. Participatory learning includes farmer-to-farmer learning within and among associations, and trainers learning from, and acting on, farmer experiences. Expansive learning, which combines, and goes beyond, both approaches and allows for joint learning, innovation and agency, has been used to support the associations to learn about, practise and benefit from organic conservation agriculture. This was stimulated by change laboratory workshops being conducted with each of the 32 farmer associations formed during the first 18 months of the project. The main argument in the present article is that combining these seemingly opposite approaches to learning is feasible and is essential for accelerating practice-oriented changes in agriculture. The concept that appears to enable this linkage is dialectics.","PeriodicalId":272843,"journal":{"name":"The Southern African Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128802464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：