Environmental education for sustainable communities by adult practitioners in a black urban community
Schreuder, D. R.
Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.
Environmental education -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
Basic education -- South Africa
Sustainable development -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Within the broad theoretical context provided by debates and policies on&#xd; curriculum development and current approaches in adult and environmental&#xd; education, this study attempted to improve my own practice by making a&#xd; meaningful contribution towards the professional development and conceptual&#xd; understanding of student teachers who have registered for a three-year National&#xd; Diploma in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) at the Peninsula&#xd; Technikon in Cape Town. Although these students have no teaching&#xd; qualifications, they are involved in community literacy education for&#xd; disadvantaged people in various communities and in non-governmental&#xd; education centres. The professional development and conceptual understanding&#xd; of the students with regard to sustainability as a key environmental concept was&#xd; effected by focusing on the concepts, and applying the processes of&#xd; environmental education for sustainability (EEFS) in the teaching and learning&#xd; process.&#xd; In an attempt to integrate theory and practice the student teachers took action in&#xd; community-based environmental projects organised by the Tsoga Environmental&#xd; Resource Centre in Langa, Cape Town. The idea was that they should apply&#xd; their acquired skills and understanding of sustained environments and teach&#xd; adult learners to transform their local environments through their literacy classes.&#xd; This means integration of adult literacy with environmental or ecological literacy&#xd; The interviews and observations of the students at work in the community were&#xd; not only aimed at providing feedback for the purposes of future programme&#xd; design but also at monitoring what the students did with their learning&#xd; experiences regarding EEFS as a theme, in a different teaching situation (adult&#xd; literacy classes). In the final analysis, the present study attempted to clear up conceptual&#xd; misunderstandings and to show that education processes are as important as its&#xd; content and outcomes. It has attempted to operationalise curriculum approaches,&#xd; recommended for environmental sustainability, in a practical way. The study as a&#xd; whole is set within the general literature of both adult and environmental&#xd; education, and particularly that of curriculum and student development for social&#xd; transformation.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Binne die breë teoretiese raamwerk van diskoers en nasionale&#xd; beleidsdokumente ten opsigte van kurrikulumontwikkeling, en huidige&#xd; benaderings tot volwasse en omgewingsopvoeding poog hierdie studie om my&#xd; eie praktyk te verbeter deur 'n betekenisvolle bydrae te lewer tot die&#xd; professionele ohtwikkeling, en konseptueie begrip van studentonderwysers wat&#xd; ingeskryf is vir 'n drie-jaar Nasionale Diploma in Volwasse Basiese Onderwys&#xd; aan die Skiereilandse Tegnikon in Kaapstad. Alhoewel hierdie studente oor&#xd; geen formele onderwyskwalifikasies beskik nie is hulle betrokke in&#xd; geletterdheidsopvoeding onder benadeelde gemeenskappe en in nieregeringsentra.&#xd; Die professionele ontwikkeling en konseptueie begrip van die&#xd; studente ten opsigte van volhoubaarheid as 'n sentrale omgewingskonsep is&#xd; ondersoek deur te fokus op die kernbegrippe, en die aanwending van prosesse&#xd; eie aan omgewingsopvoeding vir volhoubaarheid (OOW) in leer en&#xd; onderrigprosesse.&#xd; In 'n poging om teorie en praktyk te integreer is studente aangemoeding om&#xd; betrokke te raak in verskeie gemeenskapsgebaseerde projekte wat deur die&#xd; Tsoga Omgewingsentrum in Langa, Kaapstad georganiseer word. Die idee&#xd; hiermee was dat hulle ontwikkelende vaardighede en begrip ten opsigte van&#xd; volhoubare gemeenskappe sal aanwend deurdat terwyl hulle volwasse leerders&#xd; leer lees en skryf, hulle terselfdertyd sal bydra tot die transformasie van hulle&#xd; gemeenskappe. Dit beteken integrasie van volwasse geletterdheid met&#xd; omgewings of ekologiese geletterdheid.&#xd; Onderhoude met, en waarnemings van die studente tydens hulle werk in die&#xd; onderskeie gemeenskappe is gedoen nie alleen met die oog op&#xd; programontwikkeling nie, maar ook met die oog op monitering van die&#xd; verskillende wyses waarop studente hulle eie leerervarings in (OOVV) hulle&#xd; praktyk in 'n ander konteks (volwasse geletterdsheidsklasse) beïnvloed en verryk.&#xd; By wyse van samevatting kan gesê word dat hierdie studie ondersoek ingestel&#xd; het na wanpersepsies ten opsigte van omgewingskonsepte en hoe dit&#xd; aangespreek kan word, en aangetoon het dat ook in hierdie konteks, onderwys&#xd; prosesse net so belangrik soos inhoud en uitkomstes is. Verder is&#xd; kurrikulumbenaderings wat vir OOW ontwikkel is ondersoek en in konteks van&#xd; Volwasse Basiese Onderwys geoperasionaliseer. Die studie as geheel is gesetel&#xd; binne die algemene literatuur van beide volwasse en omgewings opvoedkunde,&#xd; en in besonder die van kurrikulum en studente ontwikkeling vir sosial&#xd; transformasie.