Innovative Pedagogies for Adolescent and Youth Focused Climate Education in Eastern & Southern Africa

• In Event: Youth-Centered Education: Climate Learning, Gender and Re-Entry, and Hopeful Language for Sustainability and Global Citizenship

Proposal

Climate change is affecting education in marginalized communities across Africa. But education itself can and should be viewed as a non-negotiable part of any climate adaptation and action strategy. The movement to understand the nexus between education and climate change is nascent but certainly growing and doing so exponentially –regionally (Agenda 2063: the Africa we want) and globally (Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 & 13). Conversations and coordination mechanisms between the two sectors are increasing. More is known now about this intersection than perhaps a decade or more ago. But there is also plenty that remains unknown. There are gaps in knowledge and evidence in innovative approaches to climate education among adolescents and youths to inform policy making, as well as the design of sector plans and new programmes. There exist too gaps in financing models chanelled towards strengthening system-level initiatives which link education and climate action.

As leaders in the making, today’s adolescents and youths are tomorrow’s business owners, philanthropists, innovators, and education influencers. How will acquiring climate knowledge, skills and capacities help to prepare them for these all-important roles? What can we do now to ensure that this ambition for a more just, peaceful and sustainable future for all adolescents and youths is realized? How can we, together, shape a more climate resilient education system which ensures that adolescents and youths can continue to learn, especially during climate and other such crises? Could this perhaps include leveraging our current work for collaborative research to generate the evidence and tools that practitioners, policy makers and donors alike need to inform our collective agenda – thus boosting capacity, increasing commitment and promoting cohesion?

Leveraging the collective interest in increasing capacity, commitment and cohesion at the intersection of education and climate change, and with support from the Center for Universal Education, CARE Zimbabwe collaborated with seven other organizations across 5 countries (Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe) in the Eastern and Southern Africa region to advance research on the innovative approaches being used to acquire as well as deliver climate education among adolescents and youths. The collaborative partnership included the following organizations: Education Development Trust (EDT), Forum for African Women Educationalists in Zimbabwe (FAWEZI), Teach for Zimbabwe (TFZ), Right to Play (TRP), Asante Africa Foundation (AAF), One Planet (OP) and Creative Centre for Community Mobilizing (CRECCOM). The research was designed to answer the following questions: How are adolescents and youths Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe acquiring climate knowledge? How have adolescents and youths Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe applied climate knowledge? What innovative approaches / pedagogies are being used to deliver climate education among adolescents and youths Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe? What are the key considerations (enablers and barriers) in the use of the innovative approaches for climate education?

The collaborative partners engaged in a research effort in geographic areas where each of the organizations already had existing active programming and thus took the responsibility of engaging the relevant authorities to ensure alignment and complementarity with government efforts. This study targeted adolescents and youths as primary respondents, as well as educators, community members and key stakeholders working at the intersection of education and climate change. Each organization selected one programming site in a climate affected region in order to enrich the findings of the research and subsequently collected data using purposive sampling. At each site, data teams were expected to demonstrate a clear effort to sample an equal proportion of males and females. Data was collected via individual interviews with adolescents and educators and key informant interviews using Kobo Collect. Focus Group Discussions were also conducted. All data collection teams were expected to undertake a 75-minute online ethics in evidence generation online training, a 75-minute free course as well as a tool orientation and training session.

This individual paper will share the findings of this collaborative research, highlighting what works for adolescents and youths in the participating districts to acquire climate knowledge. In addition, the paper will also share some of the innovative approaches being used by teachers to deliver climate knowledge and skills. It is envisaged that the findings of this research – which are currently being packaged into a toolkit – will deepen understanding of the nexus between education and climate change at the organizational, government and sector levels, while contributing towards a climate resilient education system in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Author

• Ellen Chigwanda, Care Zimbabwe