Perspectives of Secondary School Principals on Their Support for the Implementation of Climate Change Education

Abstract

The inclusion of climate change education in the educational system has been suggested at conferences and meetings of global leaders. Most nations worldwide are attempting to include climate change education in their curricula. However, in South Africa, there seem to be little efforts that are focusing on supporting the implementation of climate change education at the school level. This paper investigated the perspectives of secondary school principals on their support for climate change education. This case study was based on a qualitative research method and four principals were purposively selected from the twenty secondary schools which participated in the climate change education project. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The Deming Cycle model was used as the theoretical lenses of the study. It emerged from the data that though, through different strategies, all principals were using motivation as a strategy to support the implementation of climate change education in their schools. It can be concluded from this study that although principals used divergent strategies to support the implementation of climate change education in their schools and they were serious about climate change, a component that was key to sustainable schools. It is therefore recommended that clear guidelines on principals’ support for the implementation of climate change education in schools which among other things clarify the principals’ roles be developed by the Department of Basic Education.