Abstract:

This is a desk review paper that seeks to identify research progress and gaps in literature regarding the extent of integration and mainstreaming of climate change into the Secondary Schools curriculum and how it facilitates transformative learning. Globally and nationally, the discussions and action on climate change has gained momentum, including in the Education sector, especially following the adoption of the Paris Agreement (climate agreement) in 2015. Various countries have started to prioritise the issue of climate change due to rising global average temperatures that reaching new levels almost every year that distort the climate system and as a result leave people vulnerable including compromised welfare. These climate impacts are manifest through impacts as droughts, floods, hurricanes, heat stress etc that they need to adapt to and boost their resilience. Notwithstanding its many challenges, South Africa has also realised the importance of climate change. The Reflective Teaching Approach (RTA) was used as lens of this paper.The RTA posits that a teacher should present content as some useful piece of information on which learners need to ponder and reflect as they try to make sense of it in relation to their own background knowledge. Furthermore the new learning content should be presented as a thought provoking manner or as problem which must be solved. The findings from the literature reviewed revealed the need to focus on continuous professional development for secondary school teachers and school leaders to support them in the implementation of curriculum-aligned Climate Change Education. In addition, the literature revealed that South African curriculum for Secondary Schools focuses on improving climate change knowledge, improve teaching practice, improve assessment practice and use a project based whole school development approach towards developing a school–curriculum aligned climate change. However, the curriculum should include the prevention strategies to reduce the expected negative effects from climate change which is mitigation and adaptation and control measures to reduce the vulnerability due to the influence by extreme climate events.

Keywords:

Curriculum, climate change, vulnerability, mitigation, resilience, adaptation.