Effects of the Changes of Curriculum on the Coverage of Environmental Content in Geography

Abstract

The South African education sector has experienced several shifts in the curriculum since 1994, thus affecting the coverage, teaching and examination of environmental impact topics in the South African Further Education and Training Phase (FET) phase. This chapter evaluates the effects of changes in curriculum on the coverage of education for sustainable development content in Geography. A qualitative research approach using an interpretative paradigm was employed in the documents used by Geography teachers in South Africa. The chapter used Margaret Archers, Realist Social Theory as a theoretical framework that guides data analysis and interpretation. Document analysis was the only method used where policy documents and examination papers were the instruments evaluated. The results show that environmental impact topics are covered in varying degrees in the South African CAPS curriculum. The level of coverage of environmental impact topics in the examination question papers fluctuates, sometimes to levels below those stipulated in the CAPS documents. The conclusion that can be reached is that the variable coverage of environmental impact topics in the examinations may have a negative effect on the way teachers address the topics of Geography. This resulted in an emergence of structural and cultural morphogenesis in the teaching of environmental content in Geography.