Participatory Research as a Means for Greening the Curriculum: The Case of a Bachelor of Education Degree Programme at the University of Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper reports on a study conducted in the Department of Technical Education, at the University of Zimbabwe. The purpose was to involve Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) student-serving-teachers in an exercise designed to green their degree programme. The programme has been running since 1987, offering; Home Economics, Building Technology & Design, Metal Technology & Design, Wood Technology & Design, Agriculture and Technical Graphics. At the time of study, Technical Graphics was excluded since there were no students. In total, 76 teachers participated by analysing course outlines in their respective areas. Specifically, they scrutinized the documents to locate the points at which they could be greened by incorporating specific environmental aspects. This document analysis comprised specific guidelines. Group discussions were followed by mass gatherings, where teachers exchanged notes and shared ideas, thereby reinforcing their understanding of environmental issues. For the teachers, this was very important since they were expected to go and engage in similar discussions with pupils and colleagues back in their schools around the country, on completion of their course of studies.