CHILDREN AND YOUTH AS AGENTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Resumen

When the democratic government came into power in 1994 in South Africa, it faced formidable problems stemming from the structural and historical inequalities and imbalances created by apartheid. Among the challenges included climate change. The release of the 2013 Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report indicates that climate change is a reality and its effects globally are getting worse daily. However, South African youth have not been adequately educated about climate change through formal basic schooling so that they can act as change agents.This article argues that the curriculum has to include relevant and the most recent content on climate change so that children can become agents of climate change in their homes and communities. The article uses content analysis of the National Curriculum Statement (2012) to determine the relevance and currency of climate change content in the present basic schooling curriculum. The article also makes recommendations on how the present content can be revised and made relevant to South African schools.