Environmental Education in Botswana: Successes and Constraints Towards the 2030 Agenda

Abstract

Teachers in secondary schools of Botswana aim at integrating environmental education in the school curriculum. However, there are various challenges that confront their quest. This chapter focuses on two priority action areas of the Global Action Program of Education for Sustainable Development, which are (1) transforming learning and training environments and (2) building capacities of educators and trainers. Environmental education has not strictly reached the goal of transforming students, local communities and educators to lead sustainable lives. The results that are presented in this chapter emerge from the data collected through a qualitative case study in the Okavango Delta ecosystem, which is one of the World Heritage Sites. Results suggested that teachers’ reference to names of local places in the Okavango Delta during instruction and utilization of school grounds as pedagogical spaces are essential initiatives towards instilling effective environmental education and sustainability. Simultaneously, constraints such as lack of teaching and learning resources and insufficient professional development practices retard the above initiatives. The chapter recommends strengthening of experiential, outdoor learning and place-based pedagogies through providing learning institutions with educational resources and availing professional development with the purpose of contributing to achievement of the 2030 Agenda of United Nations for Sustainable Development Goals.