Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

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Science education for sustainable
livelihoods: Community development
through society-responsive science
curriculum reforms
Crispen Bhukuvhani, Bindura University of Science Education
Enna Gudhlanga, Zimbabwe Open University
Chipo Chirimuuta, Zimbabwe Open University
Abstract
With poverty deepening, environmental degradation worsening,
severe effects of climate change and natural hazards and
disasters, this literature-based paper explores, raises questions
and stimulates debate on society-responsiveness of science
education curricular for community development and
sustainable livelihoods of citizens. Scientific literacy is a
cornerstone of science education reform and twenty first century
citizenry. The ability to make decisions about socio-scientific
issues is a characteristic of scientific literacy. Science education
research, unless it emerges from praxis and is central about a
political commitment to the struggle for liberation and in defence
of human rights, will fall short of helping make sense of the
intended goal of responding to community needs and
development. As a society, we believe that schools should prepare
masses of people to exercise the rights and responsibility of
citizenship. Social responsibility is an established general
education goal, one that science education must no longer avoid
(Kyle, 2006). Science education must not be limited to the
laboratory but, to some critical extent, be an active part of our
social milieu. Science education ought to be linked to issues of
sustainable development. Current science education reform
movements have, either intentionally or unintentionally, not fully
conceptualised the task at hand.
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