Title:
THE NORMALISATION OF LEARNER PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES – A BOTSWANA PRIMARY SCHOOL CASE

Authors:
Nthalivi Silo, Botswana

Abstract:
This paper seeks to illustrate how the concept of participation of learners in environmental education has been normalised in teaching and learning processes in Botswana primary schools. The study is based on one primary school, where the study investigated how learner participation was perceived by both teachers and learners in environmental education, specifically waste management activities. A case study approach was used to generate data from a group of ten learners and three teachers who were purposefully selected. Focus group discussions were used to draw data from the learners and interviews were used to get information from teachers. Content analysis and the abductive mode of inference were used to analyse data in the case study. Findings from the study reveal that participation of learners in waste management activities was largely teacher-directed. Due to culturally and historically formed views of environmental education, the study reveals that teachers have normalised litter pick-ups as learner participation in environmental education activities, as this was their primary waste management concern. While learners on the other hand, identified sanitation management in the school toilets as their primary waste management concern. Teachers had not considered this an environmental education concern. This illustrated the normalisation of learner participation in environmental education processes in teaching and learning in Botswana primary school education.