Research findings reveal that the participants use their teaching strategies to enhance the geography curriculum. The geography curriculum can promote learning across the curriculum in a number of areas such as spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, key skills and thinking skills. The aim of the geography curriculum is to create the type of learners that identify and solve problems, make decisions using critical and creative thinking work effectively as individuals to collect, analyse and interpret information, and show commitment towards sustainable development (Uitto & Solaranta, 2016). It is evident in the CAPS document that geography is a multidisciplinary subject that quite simply develops pupils who can analyse and understand the world around them. This results in their developing ability and
76
willingness to take positive action, both locally and globally, as geographers are the agents of change.
T1: I do a bit of groupwork where learners are expected to do research and make a poster presentation.
Teachers believe that the CAPS document is absurd if one takes into account the predictable outcomes within a specific timeframe. There is another side to this, which is that the Department’s officials that do not consistently offer guidance on how to teach certain topics.
T2: Seven years ago, I once attended an informative workshop about teaching social sciences.
There was a general feeling that the subject specialists should come on board when it comes to directing teachers on how to teach certain topics, in view of the socio-economic status of the school. Although Participant 2 revealed that there was a fruitful workshop seven years ago. it is disturbing that workshops are not conducted annually to empower the new teachers and advance the older ones. Many policies have been developed across the world to make teaching and learning possible and efficient, but the greatest challenge lies in implementing these policies (Schulman 1986 p. 93). The Departmental policymakers characterize teaching as the practice of organized, systematic learning, and typically assume they have a relatively stable schooling system with relatively predictable roles for teachers in that system. This is problematic because it does not take into account the external variables such as the classroom size, the number of learners, the availability of resources and the social background of learners. As a result, teachers have an added responsibility to try and overcome these conditions by trying to find alternative ways to teach, by critically analysing the roles of teachers.
T1: Whole class discussions are easily manageable.
The view above is expressed by participants in this research in terms of understanding the complexity of sustainable development issues, the nature, and interconnectedness of its sub- concepts, and its value-laden nature reflected in contested meanings and differing aims. These are similar in nature to features of the subject matter described in the literature from McKool and Gespass (2009) and noted in the conceptual background. The other view is the teacher’s recognition that the complexity of subject matter to do with sustainable development, including its associated concepts, presents challenges when thinking about how to teach this area. When participants were asked about this, they felt that sustainable development is time-consuming and requires a deep understanding.
77
4.4.3.2 The need to streamline pedagogical content knowledge with the sustainable development vision
Pedagogical content knowledge and sustainable development are inseparable as the latter affects our everyday lives. Hence, geography teachers need to understand that environmental issues are complex, intangible and may require different pedagogical techniques when integrated into subject teaching. In this context, an indigenous knowledge system plays a pivotal role in understanding the virtue of sustainable development. In this study, when teachers were asked what they knew about sustainable development, they showed little understanding of the information they teach. This has a significant impact on the effectiveness of sustainability in schools as it means that geography teachers lack an understanding of the content knowledge in teaching sustainability.
T2: Honestly, I heavily rely on the textbook since it is CAPS-compliant.
This view states that teachers are sensitive to subtle themes presented in textbooks, and could modify the text material based on their teaching experiences. This and other studies show that pedagogical content knowledge is highly specific to the concepts being taught, is much more than just subject matter knowledge alone, and develops over time as a result of teaching experience. However, it is questionable if teachers who teach sustainable development understand the concept, and if they are teaching correctly. When asked about this, participants had different views about what sustainable development means.
T3: Sustainable development is economic development without affecting our natural resources.
. Learners have various experiences within their families and communities at large. Therefore, empowering them to be agents of change and environmental protectors needs learners to have a strong understanding of the content that is taught in class, and values such as respect and responsibility should be enforced at school and at home. All knowledge is created as individuals and groups adapt to and make sense of their experiential worlds. In support of this, Capr (2007) argues that through collaboration teachers gain numerous advantages such as moral support, sharing workloads, eliminating duplication and increasing collective confidence about innovations. Therefore, sharing of knowledge among peers helps to shape the teachers’ pedagogy in the teaching of sustainability.
Many teachers feel that it is challengeable to implement sustainability measures within the school environment. Therefore, given this emphasis, it is not surprising that the conception of sustainable development used by geography teachers in their teaching relies heavily on the
78
Brundtland Commission Report which does not include the practical component of sustainable development and how it should be taught. According to Wilson and Shulman (1989), teaching sustainability is a civic project. This means that what learners are taught at school must be applicable to society at large. But this is not the case: most learners do not practise what they are taught at school.
T1: Although we have bins in our school, we have a lot of litter because learners are not practising what they are taught in class.
Findings from this study suggest that teachers are uninterested in the practicability of teaching sustainability. This is evident in schools where they teach. The researcher observed that there is a sustainability culture within the school premises, but the problem is that no one is there to reinforce values that sustainable development embodies. For instance, the use of bins not monitored in schools. It is teachers who are passionate about teaching sustainability who are more likely to implement sustainability measures in schools. This implies that teachers lack the skill to integrate the practicability of sustainability. Teachers need to be trained about the use of the appropriate teaching methodologies to use for each level and be able to engage the learners according to their development level. Teaching should provide learners with strategies on how to make healthy choices that contribute to a meaningful life and a healthier society. A lifestyle choice is a personal and conscious decision to perform which may result in behaviour that may have a positive or negative effect on the environment. Teachers can use multiple strategies to create this environment, but the school garden has proven to be a very useful tool.
T3: It is a fun and effective way to introduce sustainability or go-green measures and provide opportunities for nutrition basics.
Learners are empowered to develop each other by sharing their indigenous knowledge. Research conducted by King (2006) on the benefits resulting from school garden programmes has found that learners who plant and harvest their own fruit and vegetables are more likely to take responsibility for the environment.
79
Image 4. 3 showing learners planting trees on the school premises.