Global Understanding in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa has had four school curricula changes in the post-apartheid era. The latest change occurred in 2011 when the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) were implemented in South African schools. In terms of the CAPS, geography is compulsory in the lower grades (Grades 4 to 9) and forms part of the natural and social sciences, while in the Further Education and Training band (FET, Grades 10 to 12), geography is an elective. The main global issues covered in the various sub-disciplines of geography in the FET phase include, for example, overpopulation; urban and industrial development and growth; trade and development; HIV/Aids; climate change; and ocean pollution. Unfortunately, Ecological Geography as a sub-discipline and the influence of humans on the environment are not as prominent as in the previous geography curriculum. Knowledge about geography themes alone will not generate individuals who feel part of a global community and have the necessary understanding of Earth’s large-scale problems. Instead, for geography education to effectively contribute to a global understanding, geography teachers must have the necessary subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge to encourage learners to actively engage in and take ownership of their learning experiences. This can be achieved by implementing learner-centred instructional approaches, e.g. problem-based learning (PBL), in which global issues constitute the central focus of themes being taught. These approaches will not only ensure good learning progression across school phases but also empower South African learners to become global participants in solving real-world problems.