The Teaching of Civic Education in Zambian Secondary Schools as a Strategy for Effective Political Participation

Abstract

The core focus of this study was to investigate the teaching of Civic Education in Zambian secondary schools and how it serves as a strategy for effective political participation in the community. This study was used a qualitative case study. Twenty (20) professional teachers in Civic Education and Thirty-Five (35) learners in Civic Education classes from Five(05) selected secondary schools in Lusaka district of Lusaka province were purposively nominated through homogenous sampling. One-to-one interview was used to collect information from teachers while focus group discussion was used to collected data from learners in Civic Education classes. The study established that the teaching of Civic Education in schools is positively serving a role of training learners for effective political participation as it provide them with knowledge on governance issues. It was also established that Civic Education prepare learners for effective leadership and critical thinking which are key to political participation. Further, the study established that learners are prepared for the way of life and political tolerance as they effectively participate in political affairs of their community. It was recommended that Schools should strengthen local Continuous Professional Development (CPD); the government of the republic of Zambia to come up with a clear policy that will arouse the interest of the young people through the teaching of Civic Education to effectively participate in political activities of their community while still in school; and the Ministry of General Education to constantly call for educational conferences to sensitise Civic Education teachers on the need to prepare learners for effective political participation as outline in the 2013 Zambia education curriculum framework.