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

Introduction
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) has led international efforts towards
scientific literacy, particularly, in developing countries, cognizant
of the crucial role of science and technology in national
development. Lately, international emphasis is on education for
sustainable development, with 2005-2014 declared as the United
Nations Decade for Sustainable Development. Like scientific
literacy, sustainable development is laden not only with concepts
but also skills and values such as the development of human
potential, moral, cultural and gender sensitivity, participatory
democracy, collaboration, unity and peace.
Why the advocacy for a Society-Responsive Science Curriculum
Globally, higher education is poised to become more responsive to
societal needs (Narasimharao, 2011). Kyle (2006) also rightly
notes that science education ought to be connected to issues of
sustainable development, a critical ingredient to the realisation of
peace in any given nation. Throughout our global science
education community, the rhetoric of 'science education for all' is
juxtaposed to the reality of 'science education for the privileged.'
Science educators must articulate a vision of and assume agency
for an education in science that creates opportunities for self-and
social-empowerment whereby all learners are able to engage in
participatory action-taking in a democratic society (Kyle, 1991,
1999, 2002). Levelling the playing field for all the learners will
greatly work towards limiting the chances of the creation of a
volatile environment where learners from different social strata
are provided with fertile ground for possible conflict and therefore
threaten the realisation of sustainable social development. A
science/technology curriculum built around the concept of
equity and the dire need to address pertinent societal issues of the
day is a pivotal point for school science (Yager, 1984). Trends
toward viewing science as a discipline concerned with the study of
the interaction and impact of science on society are apparent
(NSTA, 1978).The dominance of technology in society today
reaffirms these philosophical orientations and necessitates that
today's students achieve a level of scientific and technological
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