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Geography Teaching as a Tool for Enhancing Values Education in Malawi: Exploring the Promoting Sustainable Development Values in Secondary Schools

  • Nkhata Asher K. C
  • Mgomezulu Victor Y
  • 5515-5525
  • Aug 22, 2025
  • Education

Geography Teaching as a Tool for Enhancing Values Education in Malawi: Exploring the Promoting Sustainable Development Values in Secondary Schools

Nkhata Asher K. C.̽⃰, Mgomezulu Victor Y.̽⃰

Department of Curriculum and Teaching Studies, Faculty of Education, Domasi College of Education, Zomba, Malawi

*Corresponding author

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.907000446

Received: 25 June 2025; Accepted: 01 July 2025; Published: 22 August 2025

ABSTRACT

This article explores how secondary school Geography education helps to instill values, particularly Sustainable Development Values (SDVs) in Malawian citizens. The study was guided by Mezirow’s (1900) Transformative Learning Theory (TLT), adopted a mixed-method approach and fell under the pragmatic research paradigm. It involved 78 secondary school Geography teachers and 38 former Geography students as participants. This project was conducted in 35 secondary schools in two districts (Mzimba north and Nkhata bay) of Northern Education Division. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and document analyses were used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The study findings reveal that most success criteria in both junior and senior secondary school Geography syllabuses do not promote the SDVs. In addition, though most Geography teachers indicated that they are knowledgeable of the geographical values, they do not plan and consider addressing them when handling their Geography lessons.

Keywords: Values Education; Sustainable Development Values; Geographical Values; Geography education; environmental sustainability.

INTRODUCTION

Through education, individuals are trained to attain knowledge and skills they need in their future lives (Kalita, 2015). Besides that, education is also aimed at the attainment of universal values along with the values of society experienced by individuals. School life is a very important period in the acquisition process of values that continues from birth to the end of our lives (Şahin, 2021). As such, the achievements of values made at school are only truly beneficial when students transfer them to life beyond school life and view learning as a lifelong process that happens within and outside the school setting. Globally, the International Geographical Education Declarations and Declarations issued by the International Geographical Union (IGU) and Commission on Geographical Education (CGE) between 1992 and 2016 included the main values and attitudes that can be attained by individuals through Geography education (Şahin, 2021). Nonetheless, Sadie (1999) in his study called ‘Values Education in a South African Geography Classroom’ alluded that a lot of research has gone into knowledge and skills required in developing the cognitive and psychomotor domains respectively, while the affective domain which deals with the acquisition of values and attitudes remains poorly developed. Similarly, it is observed that Malawi secondary school curriculum is labeled as examination oriented since it prepares learners for national examinations at the expense of values education needed to transform their daily lives (Wadson, 2020). Nevertheless, the Malawi education curriculum is said to focus on learners’ achievement which require learners to be introduced to new knowledge, skills, values and attitudes in order to attain learning outcomes (MIE, 2013). This seems to be mere rhetoric as this is not what really happens in schools. This is the case because the performance of schools in Malawi is usually rated based on the number of learners who have passed national examinations. As such, this only assesses the retention of knowledge and skills disregarding the recognition of the acquired values.

The Concept of Values

The concept of values has different definitions in the literature. For example, Şahin (2021) defines values as enduring beliefs that indicate whether behaviours are personally or socially acceptable. According to Slater (2001), values are principles, ideals, standards, or life postures that guide general behaviour and are reference points in decision-making or the evaluation of beliefs and actions. In the most general sense, values can be defined as a reflection of the wishes, preferences, and desired and undesired situations that highlight what individuals consider important (Şahin, 2021).

Sustainable Development Values

Mondal (2017) identifies nine types of values to be addressed through values education one of which is the Sustainable Development Values (SDVs). By definition, Sustainable Development Values is a set of fundamental principles that drive an individual’s attitude, behaviour and action for the good of the present and future generations (Huba, 2006).  Therefore, it is very essential to equip people with the necessary values to enhance the understanding and the achievement of sustainable development in various societies. As such, Mkhize (2019, p. 19) provides the following advice to emphasise the need for sustainable development through education:

“If you are thinking a year ahead, sow a seed. If you are thinking years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking a hundred years ahead, educate the people”.

The advice goes to humans that if we want to achieve sustainable development that future generations will also benefit from, we need to educate the human race about sustainable development values.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Geography is one of the school courses that contribute to citizenship on a local and global scale through correct decision-making on environmental issues, critical thinking about the relationship between citizenship and responsibility, developing a sense of place, as well as clarifying values according to ideas about people and countries (Emas, 2015). In addition, a study conducted by Morgan and Lambert (2015) called ‘Values in Geography Teaching’ found out that roles and purposes of values inquiry in Geography education include:

  • stimulating meaningful learning and application of knowledge to address problems, issues, and questions relating to people and their environment;
  • giving active encouragement to learners to see the link between their attitudes, values and the actions they take in their own lives;
  • enabling learners to develop their values and attitudes relating to the environment in which they live and to increase awareness about community development.

Locally, the Malawian Geography curriculum has featured several topics both in junior and senior syllabi which can help learners develop in cognitive, psychomotor as well as affective domains. These topics include waste management, pollution, climate change, desertification, natural resources, population, fishing, industrialisation, settlement/urbanisation, and mining among others (MIE, 2013). Learners can acquire knowledge and skills in these areas of study, and if properly taught, they can also develop values and attitudes on how they can responsibly interact with the environment while being conscious of the future generation.

Furthermore, since Mondal (2017) established the SDVs as one of the nine types of values which can be addressed through geographical education, schools remain the ideal setting through which responsible citizens can be harnessed to preserve environmental integrity. Pedagogical content knowledge, together with progressive teaching strategies, are vital forces for Geography teachers in the quest to promote environmental sustainability, accountability, and ethical behaviour by instilling relevant values and attitudes in learners (Lorr, 2012). In essence, sustainable development as a concept is context-dependent in economic, social, cultural, and environmental situations and can be more practical if people have intrinsic values that drive their actions. As such, sustainable development should aim at meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Practically, sustainability is the creation of a social norm starting from the school premises and broadening out to the wider community (Hanifah et.al, 2015). As such, when initiating sustainable development programmes, the introduction of ethical principles within education to safeguard the environment is very paramount. The strength of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge has a significant impact on how awareness for sustainability is raised in schools. Lorr (2012) observed that through the teaching of Geography in secondary schools, the citizenry can acquire the necessary SDVs that will guide their activities as they continue to interact with their environment since values for a sustainable future are said to be a potential barrier against growing negative impacts of globalisation.

However, there can be little doubt about the importance of teaching and learning Geography content that focuses on geographical values in Malawian schools. It appears that Geography teaching in secondary schools in Malawi may be failing to help in planting relevant geographical values in learners, which are necessary to make them grow into responsible and conscious citizens during and after school life. This poses a danger as far as achieving the common agenda of realising a sustainable world in general and Malawi in particular, is concerned. Hence, the education system in Malawi has no choice but to advance geographical values. Failure to do so may endanger the very livelihood of the Malawian population. It is for realising this potential danger to a sustainable Malawi that this research sets out to explore how Geography education is used as a tool to instill values, particularly SDVs in Malawian citizens. Therefore, the main research question is: How does Geography education advance geographical values in secondary school learners in Malawi? The following specific objectives were addressed by this study:

  • to examine how SDVs are addressed in secondary school Geography syllabi;
  • to assess how secondary school Geography teachers address SDVs through the teaching of Geography.
  • to evaluate how some former Geography learners apply SDVs in their societies

METHODOLOGY

This study was guided by the pragmatic paradigm. It is suitable because it enabled the researcher to view the investigations appropriately in relation to the design of the study (Mertens, 2005). The study adopted a mixed method design and specifically, an explanatory sequential approach. An explanatory sequential design is a two-phase design. It begins with the collection and analysis of quantitative data in the first phase and is followed by a qualitative phase, which comprises the collection and analysis of qualitative data based on the results of the quantitative phase (Creswell, 2014). The researcher used three different methods and tools to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. These include interviews for qualitative data, as well as questionnaires and document analysis for quantitative data. This study was conducted in selected Secondary Schools in two districts in the Northern Education Division (NED). It involved 78 Geography teachers and 38 former Geography students as participants. Participants involved in this study were selected through purposive, systematic, snowballing as well as random sampling techniques.

Ethical Considerations

According to Creswell (2014), ethical consideration is about the protection of the participants and the trust between the researcher and the researched. For this reason, the researcher made sure that he obtained permission and ethical clearance from the relevant authorities such as Mzuzu University Research Ethics Committee, and EDM’s office before encountering earmarked participants. Secondly, as suggested by Ramrathan, Grange and Shawa (2017), informed consent was obtained from the participants and no force was involved to allow the participants to provide the needed data. Participants were also informed that they were free to withdraw from participating in the interview at any point of the study if they feel uncomfortable continuing and that they would be treated with maximum anonymity.

PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

This section presents and discusses both quantitative and qualitative data in line with the specific objectives.

How Geographical Values are Addressed in Secondary School Geography Syllabus

Success Criteria Addressing SDVs Success Criteria Not Addressing SDVs
Junior Secondary School Geography Syllabus 16%

 

84%
 

Senior Secondary School Geography Syllabus

 

22%

 

78%

Table 1: Summary of document analysis for success criteria in the Geography syllabuses

Based on the findings from document analysis in Table 1, most success criteria (84%) in the junior secondary school Geography syllabus do not address geographical values. Besides that, it has also been established that 78% of the success criteria in the senior secondary school Geography syllabus also do not help to instill SDVs in students. This is the case because the majority of the success criteria are not designed in such a way that they help students to acquire values. For instance, in the junior secondary school Geography syllabus, it was found that out of 19 success criteria under the topic ‘Population’ only 3 success criteria were designed to address geographical values while 16 of them were not. In addition, out of 7 success criteria in the senior secondary school Geography syllabus under the topic of ‘Minerals’, none of them were devised to address social and environmental values. The findings from both junior and senior Geography syllabuses have revealed that a greater percentage of success criteria in such documents start with verbs such as define, describe, identify, mention, locate, and others. These verbs cannot help students to learn by doing, but simply acquire information and keep it. According to Guo et al. (2018), a good success criterion that can help to instill values in students is supposed to be more practical, which should engage students in more-hands on activities. For example, good success criterion should allow students to use, apply, demonstrate, and practice outside the classroom what they have learnt at school.

In concurring with these findings, during a separate interview Respondent C, who was a Geography teacher, said: “We don’t have success criteria that focus on values. They focus much on students must be able to; for example, define ecosystem, explain climate change but not how students are going to apply this.”. This implies that even Geography teachers are finding problems with how they can interpret and use the success criteria which, in relation to values education, have been wrongly framed in the syllabus which happens to be a guide for them. This therefore, is against the TLT which holds that learning should help students to acquire necessary values that can make them change their mindset and become conscious of the world around them (Mezirow, 2009). Therefore, this denotes that although some of the topics in secondary school Geography syllabuses can help to instill Sustainable Development Values in students, the problem lies in the success criteria which guide teachers on what to achieve by the end of the lessons. Therefore, the designing of the success criteria should be in line with TLT which would allow teachers to help learners to practice what they learn at school. This would eventually impart values in them besides knowledge and skills and change their mindsets towards their environment and society at large (Mezirow, 2009).

How Secondary School Geography Teachers Address Geographical Values through the Teaching of Geography

Findings have shown that there are various ways in which Geography teachers may attempt to address geographical values through the teaching of Geography in secondary schools. For instance, it has been revealed that teachers try address geographical values through planning, selection and use of teaching and learning methods and resources, as well as through different strategies that teachers use inside and outside the classroom. Besides that, they also expressed their confidence if their learners would make use of what they learn in class in their everyday life. The table below presents quantitative findings from the teacher respondents.

Table 2: summary of how teachers address geographical values when teaching Geography

 

S/N

 

ITEM

YES NO TOTAL
ƒ % f % f %
1 Do Geography teachers understand geographical values? 57 81 13 19 70 100
2 Do Geography teachers promote geographical values in learners? 62 87 8 11 70 100
3 Do Geography teachers explain geographical values to learners? 38 54 32 46 70 100
4 Do Geography teachers plan practical work? 38 54 32 46 70 100
5 Do Geography teachers explain sustainable development to learners? 55 79 15 21 70 100
6 Do Geography teachers select success criteria that promote geographical values? 51 73 19 27 70 100
7 Do Geography teachers select resources that promote geographical values? 52 74 18 26 70 100
8 Do Geography teachers select methods that promote geographical values? 41 59 29 41 70 100
9 Do learners understand the importance of acquiring geographical values? 34 49 36 51 70 100
10 Will learners practice SDVs? 52 74 18 26 70 100
  Total (f and average %) 480 69 220 31 700 100

Key:    f = frequency;  % = percentage;    S/N = Serial number

During Planning      

In Table 4.2, item number 4 shows that 54% of Geography teachers indicated that they include practical activities when they are planning for their Geography lessons. This entails that to a certain extent; some Geography teachers are mindful of instilling Geographical values when they are planning their lessons. This is in line with LePage et al. (2011) who hold that instilling values requires the teacher to plan for lessons that will engage students in more practical activities that will make their mind absorbed in what they are doing. As such, this can help students to have transformed line of thinking and become mindful of their environment as advocated by TLT (Mezirow, 2009).  

However, when interviewed to find out if they consider issues of values when planning for Geography lessons, most teachers declined and others were uncertain. For instance, this is what Respondent E said in a separate interview: “Values mmmh no… Time ‘amwene’, our periods are not enough. I can’t do all that stuff in 35 minutes, that’s difficult”. This response shows that some teachers do not consider values when they are either writing lesson plans or schemes of work, citing that they have few minutes in a teaching period (that is 35 minutes), as such, they only consider knowledge and skills. In addition, the findings have revealed that some teachers don’t plan for values since during examinations only knowledge and skills are assessed. Hence, there is no need to plan for values that are not even assessed in any way. In line with the same, this is what Respondent C had to say: “frankly speaking, as a teacher when I am planning schemes and lesson plans, usually I just focus on knowledge and skills. Values are not assessed and it is very difficult because that work is not indicated in the syllabus so that when the teacher is planning should also take note that here are also values to be included”. This agrees with Sadie (1999) who discovered that very few Geography teachers plan individual value-laden lessons, let alone a whole unit. This makes teachers only to concentrate on imparting knowledge and skills sidelining and forgetting to embed values in their Geography lessons. As such, this kind of planning does not support TLT which stresses that teachers should plan and use action learning strategies that allow students to learn by doing to transform their line of thinking (Mezirow, 2009).

Selection and Use of Teaching and Learning Methods

Table 3: Summary of teachers’ views on how frequently they use selected teaching methods

S/N Teaching Methods Always Often Rarely Never

 

 Total
ƒ % ƒ % ƒ % f % f %
1 Lecturing 14 20 26 37 23 33 7 10 70 100
2 Discussion 35 50 30 43 5 7 0 0 70 100
3 Question & answers 44 63 24 34 2 3 0 0 70 100
4 Debate 2 3 18 26 45 64 5 7 70 100
5 Case study 5 7 32 46 32 46 1 1 70 100
6 Project 0 0 3 4 48 69 19 27 70 100
7 Field trip 0 0 7 10 45 64 18 26 70 100

Key: S/N = Serial number; f = frequency;   % = percentage

In terms of teaching and learning methods, Table 3 indicates that 50% (on item 2) and 63% (on item 3) of Geography teachers always use discussion and question and answers respectively. In addition, on item 1, 57% of the Geography teachers prefer teaching using the lecturing method when teaching Geography lessons. When asked through separate interviews, most teacher participants said that they prefer using these methods because they are not time-consuming, easy to use, and cheap (that is to say, they do not need a lot of resources). In this view, in a separate interview Respondent A said: “I usually use group work, pair work, projects, discussion, but I don’t use these methods all the time. We use them rarely because of the challenge of time and the syllabus is long. If you stick to these methods that means you will not complete the syllabus”. These findings are in line with Ndlovu (2012) who asserts that most teachers prefer using traditional methods of teaching unlike methods like case studies, projects, and experiments which are seen to be time-consuming. Nonetheless, these traditional methods such as discussion, explanation, as well as question and answer cannot help students to learn by doing which help to instill values that they can use in their everyday lives, instead they only aid students to acquire knowledge and sometimes skills. This is in consistence with Thungu (2008) who argues that the lecture method limits student participation in the lesson and does not promote reasoning abilities in students. These methods are not in line with transformative learning which holds that the learning process should assist students to have a transformed way of thinking and be conscious of the world around them (Mezirow, 2009).

On the contrary, in his study Semali (1999) found that 67% of Geography teachers in secondary schools in Uganda prefer to use case studies when teaching Geography. Case studies may help students to be exposed to different scenarios where they can analyse and interpret circumstances which will eventually instill some geographical values in them. Aydoğdu (2016) also proposes that values education can be established in students through field trips, case studies and drama so that positive and desired behaviours, and empathy should be encouraged among students. In agreement with this notion, Mondal (2017) found out that excursion is one of the major methods which promote values among students in practical ways. This is in agreement with Mezirow (2009) who claims that students can develop values in the process of learning that can transform their convictions about the environment they live in.

Selection and Use of Teaching and Learning Resources

In line with teaching and learning resources, on one hand, the findings confirm that majority of Geography teachers do not necessarily plan and select these resources to instill values besides knowledge and skills. For instance, in a separate interview, Respondent C said: “I use locally available resources, for example, local environments, vegetation, springs, chart papers and illustration from students’ books. I just select them for knowledge sake”. In agreeing with him, Respondent G also said: “When selecting and using them, basically I focus on achieving success criteria and not values… So, whether it is going to achieve values or not, depends on the nature of success criteria to be achieved.” These resources do not support transformative learning that help to change students’ mindset and grow into responsible citizens (Mezirow, 2009).  On the contrary, Sadie (1999) holds that with proper use of teaching and learning materials during the teaching and learning process, teachers can also effectively transfer values in their students. Similarly, Mkhize (2019) also supports that through newspaper article analyses, slide shows, and videos, students can express their values and attitudes clearly. On the other hand, although results in Table 4.1 item 6, showed that some Geography teachers (74%) try to select teaching and learning resources while being conscious of addressing values, they face a lot of challenges in the process. For example, inaccessibility to the required resources and inability of teachers and schools to source them. In line with this idea, Respondent A had this to say, “I use pictures, projectors and film in a flash where they are available. However, the challenge is that projectors are not easily found in most schools. The most commonly accessible teaching and learning resources in schools are textbooks of which it is very difficult to address values through them”. In agreement, Aydın and Yaşar (2020) assert that Geography textbooks offer direct teaching of concepts (indoctrination approach) instead of value explanation (value clarification approach).

Use of Other Teaching and Learning Strategies

The study results have shown that the majority of Geography teachers indicated that they do not plan and use any other strategy in a deliberate attempt to address geographical values besides knowledge and skills. Some cited reasons are that since values are not assessed, so there is no need for them to waste time on values instead of imparting students with knowledge and skills, which they will need during local and national examinations. Evidently, Respondent B had this to say, “For the sake of imparting values mmm no (Laughter)…, I don’t consider values, it’s all about time, its serious business, no time to play. So, values take time for learners to learn yet they are not examinable. Honestly, Values are just time wasters”. This kind of teaching promotes rote learning in which students do not retain information soon after examinations, unlike promoting transformative learning in which they are also equipped with values that should guide their daily endeavours. This practice is contrary with what Freire (2005) affirms that educational approaches should enhance students’ confidence and strength to address their problems instead of just accepting information and solutions offered by others.

Nevertheless, in some cases, a small percentage of exceptional Geography teachers demonstrate the possibility to address geographical values both inside and outside normal Geography lessons. For instance, in an interview, Respondent E had this to say: “If we talk about hidden curriculum, yes, we have trash bins around and we tell them not to put plastic materials in them because they don’t decompose. We also tell them to reuse some of the materials they have already been used. In that way, we are indirectly instilling values of environmental conservation”. If such practices are done by most Geography teachers in Malawi, it is highly probable that secondary school Geography could played a very significant role in transmitting values to students, hence transforming them into responsible citizens as advocated by TLT (Mezirow, 2009). Agreeably, Co-curricular activities can prove to be an effective tool for the inculcation of values and fostering creative talents if they are planned accurately and accomplished properly (Brooks & Bianca, 2013). For this purpose, clubs like wildlife clubs, environmental conservation clubs, nature clubs, and Geography clubs among others, many run parallel with normal teaching and learning programmes at school to help in values education. In essence, Freire (2005) concludes that education should aim at transforming individuals and not just treating them as mere banks of knowledge.

Teachers’ Confidence that their students have Acquired Values

In Table 2, item number 10, over 74% of Geography teachers responded that their students would practice SDVs outside school. Yet, when asked during interviews on how to express their confidence that their students would apply the SDVs in their homes, most Geography teachers were skeptical. For instance, Respondent D said: “I am 30% confident that my students will apply what they learn in class, the reason may be because of poverty, we are missing a lot of things. Secondly, is the way our concepts are outlined in the curriculum, most of them are not considering issues of values. Our curriculum is just more exam-oriented”. This agreed with what they responded on item 9 where 51% of Geography teachers denied that their students understand the importance of acquiring geographical values. Similarly, Respondent D said: “…it is very difficult for students to apply that knowledge outside because their aim and when teaching we just emphasise on examinations…we just tell them to work hard so that they should pass exams”. Therefore, most Geography teachers expressed a lack of confidence in their students that they could practice what they learn in class when they get to their homes. This is the case because the main focus of both teachers and their students is the regurgitation of knowledge and skills during the examination, and not transforming them in order to apply values in their societies. This agrees with what Wadson (2020) found out that most Geography teachers in Malawi teach mainly to make their students pass the examinations to put their schools on the map since the performance of secondary schools is rated on how students pass and how many are sent to universities. This is contrary to TLT which require that students should learn to have transformed mindsets that might help them to become conscious of the world around them (Mezirow, 2009).

How Some Former Geography Students Apply Geographical Values in their Societies

Both qualitative and qualitative data was also collected from former Geography students on the application of geographical values they thought they acquired through learning Geography at secondary school level. They were also asked to suggest other sources of geographical values they are applying now besides secondary school Geography.

Application of Values by Former Geography Students

On this objective, former Geography students were asked to indicate if they were able to apply some of the concepts inform of values they acquired at schools in their everyday lives. Figure 1 below shows the responses these former students:

Figure 1: Percentages on how former geography students apply values

The findings revealed that 63% of the former students were able to apply most of the social and environmental concepts in their everyday life, 16% were not certain and 21% were not able to apply them in their homes and workplaces. This signifies that most former Geography students had acquired the SDVs and can practice them. Yet, the question was whether these values were acquired from secondary school Geography or not.

When probed during interviews, qualitative findings on the application of values showed that some former Geography students agreed that they were able to apply selected geographical values in their homes and work places. For instance, some respondents indicated that most of the environmental issues that they undertake today were learned from secondary school Geography such as avoiding the burning of fossils, protecting and conserving aquatic life, as well as avoiding deforestation so as not to disturb the hydrological cycle. Nevertheless, it was noticed that there are a number of intervening factors that influence the application of such values. This probed the researcher to make further enquiry on how and where students may acquire Geographical values besides school Geography.

Sources of Values

Respondents were asked to indicate sources of values that they are now applying in their real life. Figure 2 below presents some of the sources of such SDVs that some former Geography students claimed to practice:

Figure 2: Sources of values for former Geography students

Results showed that the majority of former Geography students (76%) indicated that they acquired the values they are currently applying elsewhere besides secondary school Geography while only 24% indicated that they acquired the values from secondary school Geography. Out of 76% of those who acquired the values elsewhere besides secondary school Geography, 33% claimed that they acquired the social and environmental values from their parents, while 43% indicated that they got these values from other sources.

When asked during separate interviews, respondents indicated that they acquired the said values from different other sources besides secondary school Geography. These sources include media, experience, instinct, civic education from different government institutions and non-governmental organisations, training and workshops, as well as other subjects that also deal with environmental issues such as Agriculture and Biology. For instance, Respondent Z said: “Besides Geography, many issues contributed towards value acquisition. We talk of media, school clubs and societies such as wildlife clubs, and awareness campaigns among others”. Furthermore, Respondent Z added that “…it is not only Geography that has played a role, it is a joint effort from different fields, such as, we learnt the same in Agriculture, sometimes in Biology, we also get some of this information from extension workers, even on radio and TV.”

This means that in as far as secondary school Geography plays a role in helping students acquire Sustainable Developmental Values that they apply in everyday life, the study has revealed that it does not contribute enough on its own as it stands. This has been shown by the contradiction made by the former Geography students who indicated that they are applying social and environmental values, when probed through interviews, they revealed that most of the SDVs they are now using are not from Geography. They claimed that there are other different sources they acquired such values from besides secondary school Geography. As such, this is not in line with Transformative Learning Theory which advocates that learners must acquire values in course of their studies so as to have transformed mindsets that helps them to become conscious of the environment (Mezirow, 2003).

CONCLUSION

This study has clearly shown that secondary school Geography education in Malawi has a lot of challenges in as far as promoting values education, especially the SDVs, is concerned. For instance, although the secondary school Geography curriculum is said to address all domains such as knowledge, skills, values, and attitude, this study has revealed that more emphasis is channeled on imparting knowledge and skills leaving issues of values and attitudes aside.  In addition, the current trend has also shown that Geography teachers do not put much effort in an attempt to address Geographical values when preparing and carrying out their lessons. This retards the efforts to instill values besides knowledge and skills so as to transform students into responsible citizens. However, secondary school Geography course in Malawi still remains a tool through which values particularly SDVs can be transferred to students. In terms of students, it cannot be claimed that secondary education in general, and Geography subject in particular, can be accredited to be the only source of Geographical values.  Evidently, it appears that secondary school Geography does not contribute enough towards the promotion of SDVs in the Malawian students.

Based on the results of the study, the following are what the researcher can recommend:

  • Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) should consider revising the success criteria of both, junior and senior Geography syllabuses so that they promote learning through practice. Success criteria should start with action verbs that can help to transform students and hence instill in them values in the process;
  • MIE & Ministry of Education (MoE) should revisit the entire Geography curriculum so as to put more emphasis on values and values education;
  • Teacher training colleges and universities should consider imparting teaching skills in teachers on how to teach values besides knowledge and skills;
  • The ministry of education through divisional offices, secondary school’s managements, and other relevant educational authorities and stakeholders should encourage and support field trips and educational visits to expose Geography students to the real practical world rather than just mere theoretical classroom-based lessons;
  • MoE should train and deploy more Geography teachers in secondary schools so that Geography should not be taught by teachers who did not specialise in the subject;
  • MoE and other stakeholders should also provide more resources in schools that may help to promote values education in students.

Therefore, it remains the obligation of Government through MoE and MIE to make sure that secondary school Geography curriculum, as well as the teaching of Geography in secondary schools help learners acquire values besides knowledge and skills, so as to promote transformative learning in schools.

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