Barriers to environmental education in Ethiopia: do they differ from a global analysis?

Abstract

Environmental education in primary schools plays a critical role in fostering pro-environmental values and behavior among young children. However, multiple contextual barriers hinder the teaching of environmental issues in schools. Drawing on the evident gap observed in Ethiopian primary teachers’ beliefs and actual practices, the study elucidates the major barriers teachers encounter in teaching environmental issues. Interviews, grounded in phenomenology, were conducted with teachers in four primary schools. The analysis outlined four ranked categories: training and capacity, administrative and logistical, safety concerns, and attitudinal. Most teachers feel hindered by their lack of pedagogical knowledge for teaching children. While most of the barriers are common in global analyses, the current study also identified noble barriers. Suggestions for tackling the barriers and areas for further inquiry are discussed.

Keywords:

• Barriers to teaching
• environmental education
• Ethiopia
• phenomenological study
• primary school teachers
• pedagogical knowledge

Acknowledegment

I am grateful to Jørund Aasetre, my supervisor, for his insightful comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.