Teacher Preparedness and Strategies Used in Teaching of Climate Change Education in the Southern Region of Malawi

Abstract

This study examined the preparedness of teachers and the strategies used in the teaching of Climate Change Education (CCE) in senior secondary schools in the Southern Region of Malawi. The mixed method convergent parallel design was employed as a scientific research methodology of examining this phenomenon. Data was collected from 422 participants consisting of 416 senior secondary school teachers in 52 schools, three inspectors of schools and three officers responsible for curriculum development. A statistical formula n = was used to arrive at the total sample in the study. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and lesson observations were used to collect field data. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS which helped to generate descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The results indicated that most teachers are not well prepared in the teaching of CCE content in senior secondary schools as 93.2% of teachers responded that they never attended any training for CCE. It was also revealed that most teachers did not use transformative teaching strategies such as projects, fieldtrips and case studies in the teaching of CCE content in senior secondary schools. It was therefore recommended that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) should prepare teachers by training them on how they can teach CCE content. There is thus a need to have Continuing Professional Development Programs (CPDs) so that teachers can share knowledge and skills on the teaching of CCE content. Teachers’ colleges and Universities should offer CCE courses to student teachers.