“Empowering teachers to think and teach differently beyond markets, profits and economic growth”.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) “empowers (teachers and) learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity” (UNESCO, 2019[1]). While it is very easy to pursue economic growth without thinking about its impact on the environment, our current reality is that climate change has become a global concern. In view of this challenge, the need to understand the notions of sustainability, green economy and green entrepreneurship, and integrate these into the South African school curriculum is very urgent. The commerce subjects (Accounting, Business Studies and Economics) are viable school subjects in which these notions could be better integrated. Within the South African school contexts, Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) (Grades 7-9) and Business Studies (Grades 10-12) are identified as school subjects that present the opportunity to integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Three South African universities (University of Witwatersrand through the Centre for Researching Education and Labour [REAL], North West University (NWU) and Rhodes University through the Environmental Learning Research Centre, ELRC) have collaborated with the Fundisa for Change programme and GreenMatter on a three-year research project to enhance teachers’ capacity to teach Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) (Grades 7-9) and Business Studies (Grades 10-12) in South African schools. Through the collaboration, two exemplars are developed aimed at enhancing teachers’ professional development. The exemplars are aligned with the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) documents. They are complementary documents for educators to teach notions of sustainability, green economy and green entrepreneurship in South African schools.


Access to full article: https://fundisaforchange.co.za/fundisa-for-change-green-economy-and-entrepreneurship-project/