Abstract
M.Ed.
Following the ascendance to power of a democratically elected government in South Africa, many things had to be restructured to fit the realities of the time. Education was one of the areas where many changes occurred. The previous education system was replaced with a new system dubbed Curriculum 2005. The new system was outcomes based. Environment is one of the themes included in the new education curriculum which was not in the previous education system.
Environment is a cross-curricular theme in the new education system which means it is taught in all the learning areas. Each educator or teacher is expected to integrate the theme in their areas of specialisation. This has compelled the government departments, institutions of higher learning and NGOs to retrain teachers to cope with this challenge.
The implementation of Curriculum 2005 is in its third year now. Despite the training efforts that has been put in, teachers still find it difficult to cope with. This study explores the causes of the problems experienced in the formal education system in an attempt to implement EE.
Chapter one.(1) outlines the problem and claims that teachers' problems in implementing EE in schools in South Africa emanates from their training. It also outlines the social problems associated with the current problems in formal education if they are not checked. The chapter concludes that it in important for the study to be undertaken so as to isolate the problems that stifle the progress in implementing this theme.
Chapter two (2) reviews existing literature in teacher education, theories of learning and environmental education. The links between community education are also reviewed. The chapter attempts to establish whether the existing theory is considered in the practice of EE. An array of problems are revealed as contributing to the current problems affecting the implementation of EE in schools in South Africa and worldwide. The chapter concludes that there is a gap between theory and practice.
In chapter three (3) an attempt is made to collect data from the field using four methods namely: oral interview, group focus interview, document analysis and observation. The chapter elaborates how this was done and how the relevant data was collected in order to support or refute the claim made in chapter one.
In chapter four (4), data is categorised, coded and analysed. The data is then discussed. It is discovered that field data strongly supports literature reviewed in chapter two (2). The chapter concludes that there are problems that hinder the effective implementation of EE in formal education in South Africa and makes a number of recommendations to be implemented urgently for the situation to be arrested.