The Emergence of Education for Sustainable Development in Namibia’s Senior Primary English Language Curriculum: A Morphogenetic Case Study

Abstract

Senior Primary English Language Teaching is an important site for implementing Namibia’s Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (EE/ESD) Policy. Language Teaching lends itself to ESD pedagogies and can be responsive to sustainability-oriented content. This article summarizes a qualitative case study of ESD implementation through the Senior Primary English Language curriculum between 1990 and 2018. Data included documents, a questionnaire with 43 Senior Primary English Language teachers in the Khomas Region of Namibia and in-depth interviews with 12 teachers. Framed by Margaret Archer’s social realist theory of Morphogenesis, the study’s findings point to a policy–practice disjuncture of relevance to policy makers, teacher educators and other ESD partners. The article recommends building English Language teachers’ agency for ESD implementation in Namibia by strengthening the EE/ESD foci in pre- and in-service teacher programmes, expanding and strengthening networks and school cluster subject groups, and prioritizing making environmental content knowledge more accessible through textbooks and other teaching resources.