Malawi becomes the seventh country to join the “Sustainability Starts with Teachers” (SST) programme with a workshop set for 23 to 24 March 2021.
With funding from SIDA, the programme responds to the fact that teacher education needs to be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and teachers need to be supported to understand and implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Malawi has a conducive policy environment for ESD implementation. However, the recent ESD scan reveals a disjuncture between policy and practice. Furthermore, a general perception of ESD as an addition to what is already a heavy curriculum for teacher education is another challenge. While the idea of ESD is to integrate and incorporate its aspects into already existing courses, for some, there is a feeling of inadequacy of time for experiential learning in a system that is exam-oriented.
The programme therefore, aims to strengthen implementation of ESD in teacher education institutions for teachers and educators from Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), primary, secondary and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
Key discussion topics will include sustainability challenges in the country, ESD and SDGs in curricula, as well as Teacher/TVET education curricula. The workshop is expected to achieve the following:
- Initiate, with stakeholders, the implementation of the SST programme in Malawi and share it’s vision, objectives and expected impact;
- Develop a shared understanding of the context for ESD in Malawi ;
- Identify available ESD resources, tools and good practices from previous capacity building efforts in the country, region and beyond;
- Initiate “change projects” in Teacher Education (TE) and TVET institutions;
- Discuss the implementation processes of the project and enable the key project-implementing partners to understand their respective roles and commitments.
More than 70 participants from various teacher education and TVET institutions across Malawi as well as ESD expert and representatives from government departments are expected to participate in the workshop.