Exploring the congruence between the Lesotho junior secondary geography curriculum and environmental education

• Published in: International research in geographical and environmental education Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 303 - 321
• Main Authors: Raselimo, Mohaeka, Irwin, Pat, Wilmot, Di
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.11.2013
• Subjects: action competence; Classification; Course Descriptions; Curriculum; Curriculum development; Environmental Education; Foreign Countries; Geography; Geography Instruction; Geography teaching; Junior High Schools; Lesotho; Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP); Ocimum basilicum; school geography; Secondary education; Secondary school curriculum; Student Centered Curriculum; Subject integration; Sustainable Development; Teaching Methods; Teaching process; Lesotho
• ISSN: 1038-2046; 1747-7611
• DOI: 10.1080/10382046.2013.826547

In this article, we analyse the Lesotho junior secondary geography curriculum document with the purpose of exploring the congruence between geography and environmental education. The study is based on a curriculum reform process introduced by the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP) in 2001. we draw theoretical insights from Basil Bernstein's concepts of classification and framing to analyse environmental knowledge integration and structure of pedagogy as expressed in the geography curriculum document. For further analysis of relationship between geography and environmental education, we use a model of action competence. The analysis reveals that while the curriculum document is generally congruent with environmental education in terms of its content, it still retains traditional disciplinary knowledge of geography. The analysis also highlights some differences between the pedagogy intended for teaching geography and the learner-centred pedagogy envisaged in LEESP.