Abstract
Since the 1960s, education has gained prominence in helping to spread knowledge and protect the natural environment, which is under pressure from population growth and human activities. Several countries have incorporated EE within their school curriculum to help tackle pressing environmental concerns. The integration of EE has met varying levels of success due to various factors that influence implementation. This study assesses the status of EE in both public and private high schools of one local municipality of Limpopo, South Africa, focusing on knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP), challenges, and disparities to help bridge the gap between learners' KAP in schools and the teaching of environmental-related topics to address the persisting environmental challenges.
In line with this, the study employed a pragmatic paradigm, which advocates the use of mixed approaches. The researcher employed questionnaires and interviews to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaires were used to collect data from 152 grade 11 learners from public and private schools, while interviews were conducted to collect data from 7 teachers from both school settings. The comprehensive data collection provided a clear understanding of learners' KAP, as well as the teachers' practices anvd challenges, and disparities across different school settings.
To analyse the data, both descriptive and inferential analyses were used for quantitative data, and thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data. Findings revealed no significant difference between public and private learners' KAP on environmental issues; however, there were differences in mean scores, indicating that private learners had relatively higher knowledge and positive attitude towards the environment than public learners, and even though practice levels were low in both school settings, public schools showed slightly higher levels than in private schools. In terms of gender, there was a significant difference in the attitudes of public learners, with males demonstrating high levels. The teachers in both public and private schools employed various methods to deliver effective EE programmes and experienced different challenges. However, public teachers faced more challenges compared to private teachers, which causes disparities between the two school settings.