Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Environmental Sustainability Education: Driving Towards Achieving SDG 4 Through Teacher Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sustainability in Developing Countries

Abstract

Notwithstanding the continued emphasis that Botswana has placed on the crucial role of teacher education in being instrumental to the implementation of education reforms, there has been a consistent outcry from all spheres of society on the poor quality of education. Teacher education is key to responding to this outcry that is evident in the rising challenges associated with the national education system which consistently seems to fall short of equipping learners with appropriate skills and competences to respond to the environmental and socio-ecological risks that plight the nation. The environmental socio-ecological risks include water scarcity, energy matters, lately governance issues and an uncertain political climate change and variability, an uncertain economic landscape, quality and relevance of education. Poor quality education has been reflected among others, in poor academic performance in school children, youth restiveness, juvenile delinquency and other anti-social behaviours predominantly in the youth, all of which are aspects contrary to the main objective of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) which is seen as the key enabler goal for the implementation of the other sixteen (16) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which embrace all these environmental and sustainability issues, as it is oriented to achieving inclusive and equitable quality education within the lifelong learning framework. Teacher education can draw largely on SDG 4 and the Global Action Program (GAP) priorities to realize the 2030 framework’s agenda of sustainable development. Using the case of the University of Botswana Faculty of Education Environmental and Sustainability Education unit, the chapter provides some insights into how teacher education can drive SDG 4 implementation through curriculum innovations and professional development to enhance education quality and relevance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • African Union. (2013). Africa agenda 2063: The Africa we want. Addis Ababa: Africa Union Commission. Retrieved from https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview on 01.12.2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baraedi, D. (2016). A look into Botswana’s environmental predicaments: Do we look up to a revival or expect the worst? BHSD Retrieved from http://www.bshdngo.org/?p=454 on 29.11.2019.

  • Bell, S. (2010). Project-based learning for the 21st century: Skills for the future. The Clearing House, 83, 39–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botswana Government. (1994). The Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE). Gaborone: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botswana Government. (2015). Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP 2015–2020). https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/planipolis/files/ressources/botswana_etssp_2015-2020.pdf

  • Botswana National Commission for UNESCO. (2018). Botswana national implementation plan for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – Education 2030. Gaborone: Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research/Science and Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(3), 168–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2011). Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise. International Journal of Educational Research, 50, 33–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, N. S., Stevenson, R. B., Lasen, M., Ferreira, J., & Davis, J. (2017). Approaches to embedding sustainability in teacher education: A synthesis of the literature. Teaching and Teacher Education., 63, 405–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iloanya, J. (2014). Quality teacher education in Botswana: A crucial requirement for effective teaching and learning, Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal (LICEJ), Special Issue, 3(1), 1743–1749.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, B. B. (2002). Knowledge, action and pro-environmental behaviour. Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 325–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ketlhoilwe, M. J. (2007). Environmental education policy implementation challenges in Botswana schools. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 22, 171–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketlhoilwe, M. J., & Jeremiah, K. (2015). Mainstreaming environment and sustainability at the University of Botswana: Change project approach. In H. Lotz-Sisitka, A. Hlengwa, M. Ward, A. Salami, A. Ogbuigwe, M. Pradhan, M. Neeser, & S. Lauriks (Eds.), Mainstreaming environment and sustainability in African universities: Stories of change (pp. 91–102). Grahamstown: Rhodes University Environmental Learning Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketlhoilwe, M. J., & Maila, M. W. (2008). Exploring issue of relevance and quality in the context of a university programme. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 25, 132–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketlhoilwe, M. J., & Silo, N. (2016). Change project-based learning in teacher education in Botswana. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 32, 105–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2013). Conceptions of quality and ‘learning as connection’: Teaching for relevance. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 29, 25–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotz-Sisitka, H., & Lupele, J. (2017). ESD, learning and quality education in Africa: Learning today for tomorrow. In H. Lotz-Sisitka, O. Overson Shumba, J. Lupele, & D. Wilmot (Eds.), in Africa (pp. 3–24). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotz-Sisitka, H., Wals, A. E. J., Kronlid, D., & McGarry, D. (2015). Transformative, transgressive social learning: Rethinking higher education pedagogy in times of systemic global dysfunction. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16, 73–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makwinja, V. (2017). Rethinking education in Botswana: A need to overhaul the Botswana education system. Journal of International Education Research, 13(2), 45–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandikonza, C., & Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2016). Emergence of environment and sustainability education (ESE) in teacher education contexts in Southern Africa: A common good concern. Educational Research for Social Change (ERSC), 5(1), 107–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandikonza, C., & Mukundu, C. (2017). Enhancing agency and action in teacher education in Zimbabwe. In Schooling for sustainable development in Africa (pp. 245–257). Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moleele, N. M. & Ntsabane, T. (2002). Environmental issues and management in botswana have the national conservation plans worked? (Environmental Forum Publications Series, no. 5). Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa. Retrieved from http://www.ossrea.net/publications/images/stories/ossrea/env-bots-part-1.pdf. on 29.11.2019

  • Moswela, B. (2006). Teacher professional development for the new school improvement: Botswana. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 25(6), 623–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukundu, C., & Mandikonza, C. (2018). In H. Lotz-Sisitka, O. Overson Shumba, J. Lupele, & D. Wilmot (Eds.), Schooling for sustainable development in Africa. Cham: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noronha, C. (2019, May 23). Botswana lifts ban on elephant hunting, raising poaching fears Associated Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silo, N. (2011). Children’s participation in waste management activities as a place-based approach to environmental education. Children, Youth and Environments, 21(1), 128–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silo, N. (2017). Integrating learners’ voices into school environmental management practices through dialogue. In H. Lotz-Sisitka, O. Overson Shumba, J. Lupele, & D. Wilmot (Eds.), Schooling for sustainable development in Africa (pp. 153–174). Cham: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Slade, S. (2017). What do we mean by a quality education? Global outreach, ASCD. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-do-we-mean-by-a-qual_b_9284130 on 28.11.2019.

  • Tabulawa, R. (2003). International aid agencies, learner-centred pedagogy and political democratisation: A critique. Comparative Education, 39(1), 7–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabulawa, R. T. (2009). Education reform in Botswana: Reflections on policy contradictions and paradoxes. Comparative Education, 45(1), 87–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tikly, L., & Barrett, A. M. (2013). Education quality and social justice in the global south: Challenges for policy, practice and research. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2014). UNESCO roadmap for implementing the global action programme on education for sustainable development, paris. Retrieved 29/11/2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf. Retrieved, 04/09/2019.

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    Ntha Silo & M. J. Ketlhoilwe

Authors
  1. Ntha Silo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. J. Ketlhoilwe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ntha Silo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana, Maun, Botswana

    Susan Osireditse Keitumetse

  2. Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business-Administration, Sumy State University, Sumy, Ukraine

    Luc Hens

  3. University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    David Norris

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

Âİ 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Silo, N., Ketlhoilwe, M.J. (2020). Environmental Sustainability Education: Driving Towards Achieving SDG 4 Through Teacher Education. In: Keitumetse, S.O., Hens, L., Norris, D. (eds) Sustainability in Developing Countries. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48351-7_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48351-7_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-48350-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-48351-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation