Abstract
- Globally, most developing countries face critical challenges in teaching and learning in the twenty-first century. Challenges such as paucity of educational resources, curriculum rigidity and overcrowded classrooms hamper a sustainable path in reaching goals for Education for Sustainable Development. These challenges impact the successful integration of Environmental Education in Math and Science subjects. This research discusses how Math and Science in-service teachers in a Junior Secondary School in Africa understood Environmental Education and the pedagogical strategies they employed when teaching Environmental Education. The government of Botswana, in the southern Africa region, recognizes that knowledge and skills play an important role in learners’ ability to address both local and global sustainable environmental issues. A qualitative case study research design was utilized in this inquiry. Data was collected through official documents, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. This is the first study focused on the integration of Environmental Education in Math and Science subjects in a Junior Secondary School in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. The findings suggest in-service teachers have interest in learners’ prior knowledge of Environmental Education. Although teachers experience a diversity of challenges during teaching, they constructed their teaching strategies from local community environmental resources by applying democratic education and cultural historical psychology approaches. Thus, this inquiry demonstrated the need for teachers of Math and Science to incorporate social constructivist approaches to teaching and learning thereby improving the integration of Environmental Education in the school curriculum.