CHILDREN AND YOUTH AS AGENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT IN SOUTH AFRICA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/1727-7140/1609Keywords:
Climate change, Basic schooling curricula, Children as agents of change, Content analysisAbstract
When the democratic government came into power in 1994 in South Africa, it faced formidable problems stemming from the structural and historical inequalities and imbalances created by apartheid. Among the challenges included climate change. The release of the 2013 Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report indicates that climate change is a reality and its effects globally are getting worse daily. However, South African youth have not been adequately educated about climate change through formal basic schooling so that they can act as change agents.
This article argues that the curriculum has to include relevant and the most recent content on climate change so that children can become agents of climate change in their homes and communities. The article uses content analysis of the National Curriculum Statement (2012) to determine the relevance and currency of climate change content in the present basic schooling curriculum. The article also makes recommendations on how the present content can be revised and made relevant to South African schools.
References
Babbie, E. and Mouton, J. 2012. The practice of social research. Cape Town: Oxford Publishers.
Chawla, L. 2009. Growing up green: Becoming an agent of care for the natural world. Journal of
Developmental processes. Vol. 4, issue 1, pp. 6 – 23.
Department of Education. 2011a. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Life Skills in Foundation phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011b. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Life Skills in Intermediate Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011c. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Natural Sciences in Intermediate Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011d. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Social Sciences in Intermediate Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011e. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Natural Sciences in Senior Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011f. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Social Sciences in Senior Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011g. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Life Orientation in Senior Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011h. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Agricultural Sciences in FET Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011i. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Agricultural Management Practices in FET Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011j. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Life Orientation in FET Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Education. 2011k. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Life Sciences in
FET Phase. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Environmental Affairs. 2010. National Strategy and Action Plan for Sustainable Development. Draft 1. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Environmental Affairs. 2011. National Climate Change Response White Paper.
Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Environmental Affairs. 2011. National Climate Change Response Green Paper.
Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Department of Environmental Affairs. 2013. South Africa’s green economy strategy. http://www.
enviropaedia.com/topic/default.php?topic_id=342. (Accessed on 12 August 2013).
Department of Minerals and Energy. 2003. White Paper on Renewable Energy. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Dickman, L. and Melek, B. 2013. Children as agents of change in trachoma control. Atlanta: The
Carter Centre.
Diuk, N. 2014. Euromaidan: Ukraine’s self-organising revolution. World Affairs. Vol. 176, Issue 6, pp.
– 89.
Duhn, I. 2012. Making ‘place’ for ecological sustainability in early childhood education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.572162
Environmental Education Research, Vol. 18, Issue 1, pp. 19 – 29.
Economic Development Department. 2011. Green Economy Accord. Pretoria, Government printers.
Hacking, E. B. and Barrat, R. 2007. Editorial. Environment Education Research. Vol 13, Issue no. 4, pp. 419 – 23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620701581505
Houten, M. and Satner, V. 2011. Youth as actors in peace and human rights. Journal of peace education and social justice. Vol. 5, issue 3, pp. 258 – 267.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2011. Report of the 33rd Session of the IPCC.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 10 –13 May 2011.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2013. Climate Change Report. Geneva, IPCC.
International Labour Organisation. 2011. Skills for Green Jobs: A global view. Geneva: ILO printers.
International Labour Organisation (ILO). 2012. Working towards sustainable development: Opportunities for decent work and social inclusion in a green economy. Geneva, ILO printers. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 2012. Capacity building strategic framework for IRENA. Abu Dhabi, IRENA.
Kaperson, R. E. and Dow, K. 2013. Vulnerable People and Places. In: Millennium Ecosystems assessment, Ecosystems and human wellbeing: Current state and trends. Edited by: W.V. Reid et al. Washington DC, Island Press.
Krauss, S. E. and Suandi, T. 2008. The potential of youth workers as facilitators of values formation and development. Commonwealth Youth and Development Journal. Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 2 –14.
Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism. 2013. Limpopo Green Economic Plan. Unpublished paper.
Mukheibir, P. and Ziervogel, G. 2007. Developing Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP) for climate change: The city of Cape Town. Environment and Urbanisation. Vol. 19, Issue 1, pp. 143 – 158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247807076912
Muller, M. 2007. Adapting to climate change: water management for urban resilience. Environment and urbanisation. Vol. 19, Issue 1, pp. 100 – 112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247807076726
Nhamo, G. 2013. Green economy readiness in South Africa: A focus on the national sphere of government. International Journal of African Renaissance studies. Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 115 – 143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/18186874.2013.834628
Nhamo, S. and Nhamo, G. 2014. Mainstreaming green economy into sustainable development policy frameworks in SADC. Environmental Economics. Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 6 – 17.
Pasquini, L. Cowling, R. M. and Ziervogel, G. 2013. Facing the heat: Barriers to mainstreaming climate change adaptation in local government in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Habitat International. Vol. 21, pp. 225 – 232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.05.003
Republic of South Africa. 1996. South African Constitution. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Republic of South Africa. 2005. Children’s Act. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
Republic of South Africa. (1999). National Youth Policy. Pretoria. Government Printing Works.
SA Green Economy 2010. Green Economy Summit report. Unpublished report.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2009. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. Sandton: Johannesburg.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright will be vested in Unisa Press. However, as long as you do not use the article in ways which would directly conflict with the publisher’s business interests, you retain the right to use your own article (provided you acknowledge the published version of the article) as follows:
- to make further copies of all or part of the published article for your use in classroom teaching;
- to make copies of the final accepted version of the article for internal distribution within your institution, or to place it on your own or your institution’s website or repository, or on a site that does not charge for access to the article, but you must arrange not to make the final accepted version of the article available to the public until 18 months after the date of acceptance;
- to re-use all or part of this material in a compilation of your own works or in a textbook of which you are the author, or as the basis for a conference presentation.
