Civil society unites to put the environment at the heart of education
Civil society unites to put the environment at the heart of education
To better understand how environmental issues are integrated into teaching and learning, civil society coalitions from 5 countries came together to explore the initiatives led by teachers, civil society, and institutional partners in their countries. It lead to the study “Environmental and sustainable development education issues in Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Madagascar”.
African countries are facing some of the most extreme impacts of climate change. Over the past decade, Burkina Faso has seen 470,000 hectares of land degraded each year as a result of erosion, flooding, and drought. In Senegal, climate change could push over 2 million Senegalese into poverty by the middle of the century, while over time, erosion threatens 75% of the country’s coastline. Meanwhile, Madagascar and Togo show extremely high levels of child vulnerability to climate risks.
Given the severity of these environmental challenges, education emerges as a critical response to the climate emergency – offering school-based approaches that can drive lasting shifts in awareness and behavior.
“Children must be able to protect the environment, become eco-citizens, and raise awareness among those around them who have no knowledge of the environment,” says a teacher from Burkina Faso.
To better understand how environmental issues are integrated into teaching and learning, five civil society coalitions – CN EPT Burkina Faso, Coalition Éducation France, CONAMEPT Madagascar, COSYDEP Sénégal, and CN EPT Togo – came together to explore the concerns and initiatives led by teachers, civil society, and institutional partners in these countries.
Supported by Education Out Loud they produced a report that examines how and to what extent Environmental Education is integrated into school and vocational training programs – whether at the level of teachers, NGOs, or institutions – along with the challenges faced, including gender considerations. It also looks at cross-sectoral coordination between the education, environment, health, and protection sectors, as well as the sustainability and institutionalization of these practices.
As a result, the study titled “Environmental and sustainable development education issues in Togo, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Madagascar” is now available.
Key findings from a multi-country collaboration on environmental education
The study involved over 500 stakeholders in various consultations and adopted a multi- and cross-sector approach including environment, social protection, education and training. The innovative multi-country collaboration, funded by GPE’s Education Out Loud and France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, allowed for cross-referenced analyses, context comparison and the sharing of insights.
The study revealed that the challenges and findings regarding Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development are strikingly similar across the countries surveyed.
While Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development are increasingly seen as priorities, political commitments outlined in texts are not matched by substantial government action, resources, or dedicated budgets. In fact, none of the four countries’ education sector policies allocate a specific budget for these topics, leaving the gap between intent and implementation wide.
Taking teachers’ realities into account
Although widely supported, most of the teachers surveyed as part of this study stated that they dedicate less than two hours a week to environmental education and education for sustainable development.
This is because the effective implementation of these topics faces several obstacles in the countries studied. In Senegal, 81% of teachers surveyed stressed the lack of tools; in Togo, 71.4% of teachers said they would need more teaching time to cover these subjects; in Burkina Faso, 64.9% teachers felt that they lack the training while in Madagascar, only 18% of teachers have a teaching qualification in these subject matters.
In all four countries between 43% and 63% of teachers surveyed stated that students respond very positively to environmental education activities especially those that go beyond theoretical teaching and engage students in practical activities related to environmental protection such as environmental clubs, green schools, eco-school committees, school gardens, awareness and reforestation days. Implementing these types of activities requires[3] additional training and resources for teachers.
While some civil society organizations and institutional stakeholders wish to see the creation of an environmental education and sustainable developmentspecific subject, this view is not as widely accepted among all teachers: only 18% of teachers surveyed in Togo, 17% in Madagascar, and 26% in Senegal favor the creation of an additional subject as it would burden the school programs. Instead, teachers suggested integrating the topic into existing subjects to ensure this content is covered within the school curricula.
Education advocates are part of the solution
The civil society coalitions of the countries partnering in this study are already using the evidence collected and conclusions of this study to advocate for more and better environmental education action.
In Burkina Faso, during the results-sharing workshop of this study, the Transitional Legislative Assembly called on the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages to finance Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development. As a result of these efforts, a Transformative Climate Education Youth Network was created which launched a digital campaign on Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development.
In Senegal, the National Education Coalition is using this experience to ensure Environmental Education is at the center of their work. With the support of the CLÉ Program, the coalition has drawn up an environmental strategy to guide their work until 2028.
Key recommendations for advancing environmental education and education for sustainable development
In Senegal, the National Education Coalition is using this experience to ensure Environmental Education is at the center of their work. With the support of the CLÉ Program, the coalition has drawn up an environmental strategy to guide their work until 2028.
In France, the Ministry of National Education has made Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development a strategic priority and the government has already included this topic in the international strategy on basic education for 2024–2028 which now includes better integrating environmental issues to support the transformation of education as a strategic focus.
In the coming months, the project stakeholders will continue to strengthen their collaboration: they will develop recommendations based on the findings of the report and engage in multi-country and transnational advocacy activities to enhance the prioritization of environmental education in educational and climate policies and practices. This advocacy will target regional bodies and national governments and focus particularly on continuous dialogue with government authorities, the creation of multi-stakeholder consultation frameworks on the issue, participation in high-level meetings, and the implementation of strategic communication actions involving youth organizations.
This article was originally posted on GPE’s website. Read the original article here.
This blog is curated by GPE/Education Out Loud, but the views expressed are those of the authors alone.