**Meet the editor**

Dr. Chaouki Ghenai is a Professor at the Ocean and Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Ghenai received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Orleans University (France) in 1995. After his Ph.D., He worked as a visiting research professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and University of Cal-

ifornia Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. In 2001, he joined the Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University in Miami as a Combustion Manager. In 2006, he joined the Ocean and Mechanical Engineering Department at FAU, Boca Raton, Florida. Dr. Ghenai is leading the combustion, alternative fuels, and renewable energy research programs at FAU. He has published more than 100 papers in professional journals and proceedings. Dr. Ghenai is an honorary fellow of the Australian Institute of High Energetic Materials and FAU faculty honor fellow. He is a member of the Combustion Institute and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a reviewer for the ASME Journal, Combustion and Flame, Combustion Theory and Modeling, Combustion Science and Technology and Experiments in Fluids Journals. His research interests are combustion, energy efficiency, biofuels, alternative fuels, clean combustion technologies, renewable energy, sustainability, sustainable development, thermal-fluids, air pollution, and waste to energy process.

Contents

**Preface IX** 

**Part 1 Sustainable Education 1** 

Anders Breidlid

Chapter 3 **Alternative Perspective** 

Shina Olayiwola

Hans-Joachim Rätz

Chapter 7 **Sustainable Building in Malaysia:** 

Chapter 1 **Indigenous Epistemologies, Sustainability** 

**and Schooling: The Case of South Africa 3** 

Chapter 2 **Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 13** 

**to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 27** 

**A Case Study of the International Logistics Industry 41**  Anna Larsson, Ronald Muyingo, Dmytro Serebrennikov,

**Risk Management and Decision Making in Water Sector 81** 

**The Development of Sustainable Building Rating System 113** 

Mageswary Karpudewan and Zurida Ismail

**Part 2 Sustainable Business and Management 39** 

Shohana Ahmed and Cecilia Mark-Herbert

Chapter 5 **The Obligation of Sustainable Fisheries Management: Review of Endured Failures and Challenges in Exploitation of the Living Sea 61** 

Chapter 6 **Modelling for Sustainable Development: Inundation** 

Sellami Mohamed Habib and Siddiki Ezeddine

Ar Zuhairuse MD Darus and Nor Atikah Hashim

**Part 3 Sustainable Building, Construction and Environment 111** 

Chapter 4 **Sustainable Business Development –** 

## Contents

#### **Preface XI**

	- **Part 2 Sustainable Business and Management 39**
	- **Part 3 Sustainable Building, Construction and Environment 111**

X Contents


## Preface

The technological advancement of our civilization has created a consumer society expanding faster than the planet's resources allow, with our resource and energy needs rising exponentially in the past century. Securing the future of the human race will require an improved understanding of the environment as well as of technological solutions, mindsets and behaviors in line with modes of development that the ecosphere of our planet can support.

Some experts see the only solution in a global deflation of the currently unsustainable exploitation of resources. However, sustainable development offers an approach that would be practical to fuse with the managerial strategies and assessment tools for policy and decision makers at the regional planning level. Environmentalists, architects, engineers, policy makers and economists will have to work together in order to ensure that planning and development can meet our society's present needs without compromising the security of future generations. Better planning methods for urban and rural expansion could prevent environmental destruction and imminent crises. Energy, transport, water, environment and food production systems should aim for self-sufficiency and not the rapid depletion of natural resources. Planning for sustainable development must overcome many complex technical and social issues.

This sustainable development book is organized into the following four sections:


The first Section of this book starts with a collection of articles about sustainable education or education for sustainable development. The papers present research and practices of teaching and education as essential tools for achieving sustainable development. Alternative perspective to funding public schools and Universities are also presented in this section. The goal is to foster the increased quality of teaching and learning and help countries make progress toward development. Papers presented in Section 2 of this book are about sustainable business and management: how to balance business considerations with environmental resources issues. The goal is to provide

#### XII Preface

tools for leaders to improve both the environmental performance and overall competiveness by reducing materials, energy and water utilization. Section 3 collects articles on buildings, architecture, construction and environment. These papers describe environmentally conscious design technique in the field on buildings and architecture: how to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing the energy efficiency, water efficiency, use sustainable (renewable or recyclables) materials of construction. Section 4 is a collection of articles related to sustainable agriculture and food security: systems of food production that provide secure supply to meet the world growing population. The papers analyze a range of subjects that includes the value of food and farming in the national economy, farming and the environment, and the strategies for food security.

#### **Dr. Chaouki Ghenai**

PhD, Ocean and Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, USA

## **Part 1**

**Sustainable Education**

**1** 

**, Sustainability** 

Anders Breidlid *Oslo University College* 

*Norway* 

**Indigenous Epistemologies\***

**1. Introduction** 

renaissance" (Mandela, 1994).

epistemologies/knowledges

worth living, who we relate to and how (Mbeki, 2002).

construction.

 \* **and Schooling: The Case of South Africa** 

The concern I want to raise in this chapter is related to the relationship between indigenous identities, knowledge systems and indigenous values and world views compared to world views found in South Africa's new curricula after new dispensation. What are the values the indigenous pupils meet at home? Do they concur with those of the new curricula after 1994? The rationale for this focus is related to the question of whether the South African primary school is 'their school', i.e the school for the majority of South African children in terms of culture and knowledge. Moreover, does the epistemological basis of South African schools promote a sustainable future for the 'new' nation? The interest in and focus on indigenous identities and knowledge systems has been fuelled by the emergence of the African Renaissance rhetoric as proposed by Nelson Mandela and more consistently and frequently by former president Thabo Mbeki. Their focus is related to wishing to build a nation where African values, knowledges and African heritage are central. While the rhetoric around a new birth for Africa and African Renaissance is much older (Zeleza, 2009), in this chapter I am primarily concerned with the use of the concept in South Africa after the 'liberation' of South Africa in 1994. Already in 1994 Mandela referred to African renaissance at a summit of the Organization of African Unity in 1994: ''Africa cries out for a new birth. We must, in action, say that there is no obstacle big enough to stop us from bringing about a new African

Former President Mbeki followed this up in 2002 by stressing the importance of self-

We have a duty to define ourselves. We speak about the need for the African Renaissance in part so that we, ourselves, and not another, determine who we are, what we stand for, what our vision and hopes are, how we do things, what programmes we adopt to make our lives

While African renaissance takes a step back to focus on the past (as well as exploring the present) to construct an African identity/ identities based on African heritage and African values and indigenous epistemologies and knowledges the concept is also future- oriented 'who we should be': a new beginning for Africa yearning for a better future. The return to

Epistemologies and knowledges are used in the plural to denote the multiplicity of indigenous

#### **Indigenous Epistemologies\* , Sustainability and Schooling: The Case of South Africa**

Anders Breidlid *Oslo University College Norway* 

#### **1. Introduction**

The concern I want to raise in this chapter is related to the relationship between indigenous identities, knowledge systems and indigenous values and world views compared to world views found in South Africa's new curricula after new dispensation. What are the values the indigenous pupils meet at home? Do they concur with those of the new curricula after 1994? The rationale for this focus is related to the question of whether the South African primary school is 'their school', i.e the school for the majority of South African children in terms of culture and knowledge. Moreover, does the epistemological basis of South African schools promote a sustainable future for the 'new' nation? The interest in and focus on indigenous identities and knowledge systems has been fuelled by the emergence of the African Renaissance rhetoric as proposed by Nelson Mandela and more consistently and frequently by former president Thabo Mbeki. Their focus is related to wishing to build a nation where African values, knowledges and African heritage are central. While the rhetoric around a new birth for Africa and African Renaissance is much older (Zeleza, 2009), in this chapter I am primarily concerned with the use of the concept in South Africa after the 'liberation' of South Africa in 1994. Already in 1994 Mandela referred to African renaissance at a summit of the Organization of African Unity in 1994: ''Africa cries out for a new birth. We must, in action, say that there is no obstacle big enough to stop us from bringing about a new African renaissance" (Mandela, 1994).

Former President Mbeki followed this up in 2002 by stressing the importance of selfconstruction.

We have a duty to define ourselves. We speak about the need for the African Renaissance in part so that we, ourselves, and not another, determine who we are, what we stand for, what our vision and hopes are, how we do things, what programmes we adopt to make our lives worth living, who we relate to and how (Mbeki, 2002).

While African renaissance takes a step back to focus on the past (as well as exploring the present) to construct an African identity/ identities based on African heritage and African values and indigenous epistemologies and knowledges the concept is also future- oriented 'who we should be': a new beginning for Africa yearning for a better future. The return to

<sup>\*</sup> Epistemologies and knowledges are used in the plural to denote the multiplicity of indigenous epistemologies/knowledges

Indigenous Epistemologies, Sustainability and Schooling: The Case of South Africa 5

modernist insistence of identity as something always fluid, with hardly any boundaries, does not quite fit the terrain of our ethnographic research in Xhosa territories. While there are border crossings among the Xhosa in terms of identity construction there is also an anxiety "about the breakdown of barriers supposedly containing an identity?" (Massey, 1994: 122). It is also worth noting that the Xhosa does not constitute one group where all members were uniform in terms of beliefs, traditions, impact of foreign influence etc. Nevertheless there is a sense that the recovering of an African heritage is linked to tradition, not necessarily in terms of nostalgia for a utopian past, but in terms of the lived lives in the

In my research in the Xhosa communities two rural (Eastern Cape) and one urban community (township in Cape Town) were explored, with a particular focus on which elements constitute the identity construction of the Xhosa. Even though there are obvious differences between rural and urban Xhosa communities, certain fundamental issues seem to transcend the urban-rural divide, most notably linked to identity construction. I will first argue that the identity construction among the Xhosa is very much linked to the notion of place and territory. Then I move on to analyze the link between place and indigenous religious practices and identity construction. Finally I argue that despite what I call the Xhosa multiple identities, with their interplay and intertextuality between various cultural and religious practices, these identities are to a large extent defined in terms of an

Place, defined as "the experience of, and from, a particular location with some sense of boundaries, grounds, and links to everyday practices" (Escobar 2001, 152) constitutes an important reference point in the construction of Xhosa identities, both in the rural and urban areas, most notably, but not exclusively in terms of indigenous, religious practices. The focus on the concreteness and territorialization of place, as opposed to the more abstract notion of space can be interpreted both as a defense of status quo and a way of sustaining or reconstructing alternative worlds. This tradition and place –related identity seems to represent resistance to the erasure of place and rootedness in (post-) modern thinking, and

Whatever the rationale, conscious or unconscious, the importance of place and boundaries as a sanctuary and a location of identity construction in the Xhosa world is unmistakable. It does not mean that the construction of identity is fixed or unchangeable, but it means, particularly among the rural Xhosa, that identity construction very often is also bound to a

Place is both a physical location and a carrier of meaning which is, I argue, more prevalent in the Xhosa communities than in most Western societies. According to Giddens the emphasis on place indicates a culture bound up in tradition whereas modern societies transcend place and is more space oriented (Giddens, 1991). It follows from the spaceorientation of modernity that place and territory do not carry a significant meaning as an identity marker, and are thus open to conquest and exploitation. While there are, as noted, border crossings by members of a more traditional society like the Xhosa the border

While identity construction among the Xhosa is very much linked to place as a constitutive factor, place again is linked to indigenous epistemologies/worldviews realized in spiritual

indigenous place or territorial specificity not worked over by modern values.

the conservation and protection of place and territory as something sacred.

crossings seem less frequent than in so-called modern societies.

Xhosa communities.

geographical place or location.

the past is a way of signaling that what was negated during the apartheid regime, the 'Africaness' of South Africa, the indigenous knowledge systems and values, also meant a negation of African identity which now needs to be restored to effect a viable future. African Renaissance, in Mbeki's rhetoric, means that (South) Africa and African identities are to be "shaped by African philosophies and not be limited by Western constructions"(Mbeki, in Kubow (2009), 47). African philosophy and indigenous knowledges seek to affirm core African values in the face of and as a response to globalization, and to establish an indigenous identity/indigenous identities for a sustainable future.

An African Renaissance which does not degenerate into essentialism has, according to Mbeki, the potential to change the lives of many Africans who have been ravaged by the continuing legacy of colonialism. African Renaissance thus embraces the view that Africa is destined to make considerable progress in economic, political and spiritual values by suggesting some sort of a rebirth where South Africa has a leading role to play.

It is this dialectics between African past/ presence including indigenous knowledges, identities and spiritual values on the one hand and the political, future –oriented world on the other that may seem to constitute this rebirth.

In this chapter I want to further explore the 'cultural world' of African Renaissance, i.e. African heritage/identity and African, indigenous knowledge systems as a constitutive element of Africa's 'rebirth' and a new, sustainable future. What are the characteristics of indigenous knowledges as found in the Black communities in South Africa? To what extent do they differ from the values and the knowledge production in the West? To what extent do they constitute a sustainable alternative or supplement to the West?

My own ethnographic research in South Africa was an exploration of the culture, cultural values and indigenous knowledges among the Xhosa in Western Cape and in Eastern Cape (see also Breidlid, 2002).

Qualitative data collection techniques were used and both community leaders, teachers, parents and parents in the communities in Cape Town and Eastern Cape were interviewed. Since the data used in this chapter are from the locations of our fieldwork, other Xhosa communities and people may have deviating cultural practices/world outlook. It must be said, though, that the findings of the research fit well with the literature in the field. While not a static or monolithic group there are certain basic features of Xhosa cultural values, indigenous knowledges and identity construction which reoccur and which seem to cut across location, age group and gender.

The results from the journey we undertook do not claim authenticity *per se* since any essentialisation of Xhosa culture and knowledge systems would be to deny their complex historicity. All notions of fixed or essentialist identities are problematic, also in the case of the Xhosa, not the least because not even the most traditional indigenous societies are static and are exposed to external influences. The focus in the following is on the religious and spiritual influence, not the least because it impacts heavily on the Xhosa identity construction and world outlook.

The journey underscored what Hunter (1979) claims is a difference between Bantu culture and European culture(s) where the Xhosa to a very large extent is born into traditional ties where choice and agency are limited, and where tradition and place are guarded. The postSustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 4 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

the past is a way of signaling that what was negated during the apartheid regime, the 'Africaness' of South Africa, the indigenous knowledge systems and values, also meant a negation of African identity which now needs to be restored to effect a viable future. African Renaissance, in Mbeki's rhetoric, means that (South) Africa and African identities are to be "shaped by African philosophies and not be limited by Western constructions"(Mbeki, in Kubow (2009), 47). African philosophy and indigenous knowledges seek to affirm core African values in the face of and as a response to globalization, and to establish an

An African Renaissance which does not degenerate into essentialism has, according to Mbeki, the potential to change the lives of many Africans who have been ravaged by the continuing legacy of colonialism. African Renaissance thus embraces the view that Africa is destined to make considerable progress in economic, political and spiritual values by

It is this dialectics between African past/ presence including indigenous knowledges, identities and spiritual values on the one hand and the political, future –oriented world on

In this chapter I want to further explore the 'cultural world' of African Renaissance, i.e. African heritage/identity and African, indigenous knowledge systems as a constitutive element of Africa's 'rebirth' and a new, sustainable future. What are the characteristics of indigenous knowledges as found in the Black communities in South Africa? To what extent do they differ from the values and the knowledge production in the West? To what extent

My own ethnographic research in South Africa was an exploration of the culture, cultural values and indigenous knowledges among the Xhosa in Western Cape and in Eastern Cape

Qualitative data collection techniques were used and both community leaders, teachers, parents and parents in the communities in Cape Town and Eastern Cape were interviewed. Since the data used in this chapter are from the locations of our fieldwork, other Xhosa communities and people may have deviating cultural practices/world outlook. It must be said, though, that the findings of the research fit well with the literature in the field. While not a static or monolithic group there are certain basic features of Xhosa cultural values, indigenous knowledges and identity construction which reoccur and which seem to cut

The results from the journey we undertook do not claim authenticity *per se* since any essentialisation of Xhosa culture and knowledge systems would be to deny their complex historicity. All notions of fixed or essentialist identities are problematic, also in the case of the Xhosa, not the least because not even the most traditional indigenous societies are static and are exposed to external influences. The focus in the following is on the religious and spiritual influence, not the least because it impacts heavily on the Xhosa identity

The journey underscored what Hunter (1979) claims is a difference between Bantu culture and European culture(s) where the Xhosa to a very large extent is born into traditional ties where choice and agency are limited, and where tradition and place are guarded. The post-

suggesting some sort of a rebirth where South Africa has a leading role to play.

do they constitute a sustainable alternative or supplement to the West?

indigenous identity/indigenous identities for a sustainable future.

the other that may seem to constitute this rebirth.

(see also Breidlid, 2002).

across location, age group and gender.

construction and world outlook.

modernist insistence of identity as something always fluid, with hardly any boundaries, does not quite fit the terrain of our ethnographic research in Xhosa territories. While there are border crossings among the Xhosa in terms of identity construction there is also an anxiety "about the breakdown of barriers supposedly containing an identity?" (Massey, 1994: 122). It is also worth noting that the Xhosa does not constitute one group where all members were uniform in terms of beliefs, traditions, impact of foreign influence etc. Nevertheless there is a sense that the recovering of an African heritage is linked to tradition, not necessarily in terms of nostalgia for a utopian past, but in terms of the lived lives in the Xhosa communities.

In my research in the Xhosa communities two rural (Eastern Cape) and one urban community (township in Cape Town) were explored, with a particular focus on which elements constitute the identity construction of the Xhosa. Even though there are obvious differences between rural and urban Xhosa communities, certain fundamental issues seem to transcend the urban-rural divide, most notably linked to identity construction. I will first argue that the identity construction among the Xhosa is very much linked to the notion of place and territory. Then I move on to analyze the link between place and indigenous religious practices and identity construction. Finally I argue that despite what I call the Xhosa multiple identities, with their interplay and intertextuality between various cultural and religious practices, these identities are to a large extent defined in terms of an indigenous place or territorial specificity not worked over by modern values.

Place, defined as "the experience of, and from, a particular location with some sense of boundaries, grounds, and links to everyday practices" (Escobar 2001, 152) constitutes an important reference point in the construction of Xhosa identities, both in the rural and urban areas, most notably, but not exclusively in terms of indigenous, religious practices. The focus on the concreteness and territorialization of place, as opposed to the more abstract notion of space can be interpreted both as a defense of status quo and a way of sustaining or reconstructing alternative worlds. This tradition and place –related identity seems to represent resistance to the erasure of place and rootedness in (post-) modern thinking, and the conservation and protection of place and territory as something sacred.

Whatever the rationale, conscious or unconscious, the importance of place and boundaries as a sanctuary and a location of identity construction in the Xhosa world is unmistakable. It does not mean that the construction of identity is fixed or unchangeable, but it means, particularly among the rural Xhosa, that identity construction very often is also bound to a geographical place or location.

Place is both a physical location and a carrier of meaning which is, I argue, more prevalent in the Xhosa communities than in most Western societies. According to Giddens the emphasis on place indicates a culture bound up in tradition whereas modern societies transcend place and is more space oriented (Giddens, 1991). It follows from the spaceorientation of modernity that place and territory do not carry a significant meaning as an identity marker, and are thus open to conquest and exploitation. While there are, as noted, border crossings by members of a more traditional society like the Xhosa the border crossings seem less frequent than in so-called modern societies.

While identity construction among the Xhosa is very much linked to place as a constitutive factor, place again is linked to indigenous epistemologies/worldviews realized in spiritual

Indigenous Epistemologies, Sustainability and Schooling: The Case of South Africa 7

to be tampered with is a necessary corrective to rational science's excessive exploitation of nature and the contemporary ecological degradation of the planet with the accompanying global warming. Indigenous knowledge challenges the epitomisation of scientific truth and rationality that has excluded values which transcend the so-called rationality dogma of the West. This denial of epistemological diversity and the privileging of European epistemic monoculture is still hegemonic and perceived as a sign of development and modernity whereas it in reality upsets the relationship between man and nature through ecological degradation, seeking to possess the earth in the same way as a master exploits his slave. While colonialism and the capitalist world system have been beset with territorial, political and economic conquest Western science is based on the same idea of conquest, not respecting the earth's ecological limits. The unsustainability of such an epistemological perspective is challenged by the knowledge that the majority children bring from home in South Africa.

Since Xhosa pupils originate in an environment where knowledge is linked to spirituality, the encounter with modern schooling and the rationality of Western epistemic hegemony is often problematic. There is a tension here since, I will argue, the potential lack of recognition of their own epistemological and spiritual background impedes the development of the pupils' full potential. Taking cognizance of the indigenous pupils' spirituality Ver Beek points out that indigenous people's spirituality gives them "a sense of power and hope"

In the next subsection I therefore focus on the new curricular situation after the 1994 revolution in South Africa and to what extent the curricula addresses epistemological issues

The introduction of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) in South African schools in 1997 (DoE 1997a and b) and the Revised National Curriculum Statement for GET (the General Education and Training Band (up to Grade 9)) in 2002 (DoE, 2002) was looked upon by the South African

C2005 was well received, "falling on fertile ground ripe for alternatives to the divisive apartheid curriculum…Quite simply, the nation, particularly teachers and the media, embraced the story it told and the *ideological* (my italics) turn it promised" (DoE 2009, 12). Both versions of the curriculum (C2005 and the Revised National Curriculum Statement for GET) are clearly *in principle and rhetorically* ideologically counter-hegemonic to the dominant hegemony of the apartheid days. As we have seen this was stated quite explicitly in the preamble of C 2005. The apartheid hegemonic ideology and culture has been replaced by an

The important question for the purposes of this chapter is however what happened to the African Renaissance rhetoric and Mbeki's focus on African heritage and local, indigenous knowledges? Has African Renaissance in any way functioned as an ideological compass for the curriculum writers? Is there an ideological difference between C2005 and the Revised

In the South African context after 1994, and particularly in relation to C2005, the government interpellated the population into believing that the transformation of the educational system is under way by bombarding the people with important ideas like

government as an important tool in the transformation of the South African society.

related to the background of the majority of the children in the country.

**Education and sustainability in South Africa** 

anti-racist and anti-sexist curriculum.

Curriculum Statement in this respect?

(Ver Beek 2000 : 32).

and religious ceremonies, rituals and other practices. Even though there are aspects linked to indigenous cultural practices other than religion or spirituality, religion and spiritual practices are the *sine qua non* of Xhosa identity, thus underlining the sanctuary and sacredness of place and territory.

The holistic nature of the interrelationship between place/territory/nature, man and the supernatural is foundational in the Xhosa communities, and differs from the western perception of knowledge which separates people from place and nature physically and through the systems of knowledge, belief, politics and economics which it imposes.

In the indigenous religious system the ancestors stand out as probably the most important pillar. The informants underlined the importance of rituals in their veneration of the ancestors. As one informant told us:

In our tradition we worship the ancestors. That is our connection with God. We believe something is superior- ancestors. I must do things for the ancestors. Spiritually I have to go to church, but the traditions must also be there. If you don't do what you are supposed to do, bad things happen. (rural male teacher)'

The various types of rituals function as communication channels to the ancestors and takes place in the homestead where people also ask for advice on matters like marriage, jobs etc. The homesteads thus function as a site of negotiations between the living and the dead and are thus place not only of identity construction, but also of cohesion.

Clearly the ancestor cult is, as Hunter states, a sanction for the respect for seniors upon which the social and political system is based (Hunter,1979: 266), and indicates that this type of pervasiveness can be seen, paradoxically enough, as a logical or rational response to the insecurity that the Xhosa population faces in their daily lives.

While the overwhelming majority of our informants seemed to be most comfortable with their Xhosa religious identity they also confessed to be Christians. The strong influence of Christianity does not, paradoxically enough, seriously shake the place-boundedness of their belief system. These belief systems are not, according to the majority of our informants, mutually incompatible; on the contrary, there is an interplay or a dialogue which nourishes both systems.

There is a sense that despite the intertextuality and dialogic exchange between various value systems, the indigenous epistemological orientation is retained, not only as a means of social cohesion, but as a fundamental element of Xhosa indigenous identity construction. Our research findings go to show that the multiple identities among the Xhosa are a complex construct where border crossings are taking place, where identities are multiple due to the multiplicity of influential relations, but where these relations are located differently in terms of significance and where place, territory and home are in most cases the most important constitutive factor. To tamper with place is thus not only seen as a violation of ancestral land and the sacredness and spirits of nature, but as an obstacle to identity construction. It is in this perspective the 'cultural world' of African renaissance must be seen and which accounts for Hunter's statement that the Xhosa (Bantu) culture is widely different from European cultures.

The view in indigenous knowledges of the interrelationship between man, nature and supernatural and the perception of nature, place and territory as something sacred that is not Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 6 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

and religious ceremonies, rituals and other practices. Even though there are aspects linked to indigenous cultural practices other than religion or spirituality, religion and spiritual practices are the *sine qua non* of Xhosa identity, thus underlining the sanctuary and

The holistic nature of the interrelationship between place/territory/nature, man and the supernatural is foundational in the Xhosa communities, and differs from the western perception of knowledge which separates people from place and nature physically and

In the indigenous religious system the ancestors stand out as probably the most important pillar. The informants underlined the importance of rituals in their veneration of the

In our tradition we worship the ancestors. That is our connection with God. We believe something is superior- ancestors. I must do things for the ancestors. Spiritually I have to go to church, but the traditions must also be there. If you don't do what you are supposed to

The various types of rituals function as communication channels to the ancestors and takes place in the homestead where people also ask for advice on matters like marriage, jobs etc. The homesteads thus function as a site of negotiations between the living and the dead and

Clearly the ancestor cult is, as Hunter states, a sanction for the respect for seniors upon which the social and political system is based (Hunter,1979: 266), and indicates that this type of pervasiveness can be seen, paradoxically enough, as a logical or rational response to the

While the overwhelming majority of our informants seemed to be most comfortable with their Xhosa religious identity they also confessed to be Christians. The strong influence of Christianity does not, paradoxically enough, seriously shake the place-boundedness of their belief system. These belief systems are not, according to the majority of our informants, mutually incompatible; on the contrary, there is an interplay or a dialogue which nourishes

There is a sense that despite the intertextuality and dialogic exchange between various value systems, the indigenous epistemological orientation is retained, not only as a means of social cohesion, but as a fundamental element of Xhosa indigenous identity construction. Our research findings go to show that the multiple identities among the Xhosa are a complex construct where border crossings are taking place, where identities are multiple due to the multiplicity of influential relations, but where these relations are located differently in terms of significance and where place, territory and home are in most cases the most important constitutive factor. To tamper with place is thus not only seen as a violation of ancestral land and the sacredness and spirits of nature, but as an obstacle to identity construction. It is in this perspective the 'cultural world' of African renaissance must be seen and which accounts for Hunter's statement that the Xhosa (Bantu) culture is widely different from European cultures. The view in indigenous knowledges of the interrelationship between man, nature and supernatural and the perception of nature, place and territory as something sacred that is not

are thus place not only of identity construction, but also of cohesion.

insecurity that the Xhosa population faces in their daily lives.

through the systems of knowledge, belief, politics and economics which it imposes.

sacredness of place and territory.

ancestors. As one informant told us:

both systems.

do, bad things happen. (rural male teacher)'

to be tampered with is a necessary corrective to rational science's excessive exploitation of nature and the contemporary ecological degradation of the planet with the accompanying global warming. Indigenous knowledge challenges the epitomisation of scientific truth and rationality that has excluded values which transcend the so-called rationality dogma of the West. This denial of epistemological diversity and the privileging of European epistemic monoculture is still hegemonic and perceived as a sign of development and modernity whereas it in reality upsets the relationship between man and nature through ecological degradation, seeking to possess the earth in the same way as a master exploits his slave. While colonialism and the capitalist world system have been beset with territorial, political and economic conquest Western science is based on the same idea of conquest, not respecting the earth's ecological limits. The unsustainability of such an epistemological perspective is challenged by the knowledge that the majority children bring from home in South Africa.

Since Xhosa pupils originate in an environment where knowledge is linked to spirituality, the encounter with modern schooling and the rationality of Western epistemic hegemony is often problematic. There is a tension here since, I will argue, the potential lack of recognition of their own epistemological and spiritual background impedes the development of the pupils' full potential. Taking cognizance of the indigenous pupils' spirituality Ver Beek points out that indigenous people's spirituality gives them "a sense of power and hope" (Ver Beek 2000 : 32).

In the next subsection I therefore focus on the new curricular situation after the 1994 revolution in South Africa and to what extent the curricula addresses epistemological issues related to the background of the majority of the children in the country.

#### **Education and sustainability in South Africa**

The introduction of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) in South African schools in 1997 (DoE 1997a and b) and the Revised National Curriculum Statement for GET (the General Education and Training Band (up to Grade 9)) in 2002 (DoE, 2002) was looked upon by the South African government as an important tool in the transformation of the South African society.

C2005 was well received, "falling on fertile ground ripe for alternatives to the divisive apartheid curriculum…Quite simply, the nation, particularly teachers and the media, embraced the story it told and the *ideological* (my italics) turn it promised" (DoE 2009, 12). Both versions of the curriculum (C2005 and the Revised National Curriculum Statement for GET) are clearly *in principle and rhetorically* ideologically counter-hegemonic to the dominant hegemony of the apartheid days. As we have seen this was stated quite explicitly in the preamble of C 2005. The apartheid hegemonic ideology and culture has been replaced by an anti-racist and anti-sexist curriculum.

The important question for the purposes of this chapter is however what happened to the African Renaissance rhetoric and Mbeki's focus on African heritage and local, indigenous knowledges? Has African Renaissance in any way functioned as an ideological compass for the curriculum writers? Is there an ideological difference between C2005 and the Revised Curriculum Statement in this respect?

In the South African context after 1994, and particularly in relation to C2005, the government interpellated the population into believing that the transformation of the educational system is under way by bombarding the people with important ideas like

Indigenous Epistemologies, Sustainability and Schooling: The Case of South Africa 9

even teachers cope with a knowledge system in school, which is alien to their home universe? And moreover, how can school construct a common South African culture when

…Is it a hindrance to teaching or is it an opportunity for more meaningful learning and a curriculum, which tries to understand both the culture of science and the cultures at home?

The cultural border crossings have been identified by Bernstein (1971) as a big problem for working class youths in middle class schools in England. These border crossings, however, important and difficult they may be, seem of a much more limited, cultural-linguistic character than what can be observed in South African schools. Among Xhosa children it is not only a matter of linguistic code switching, but of a collision of knowledge systems and world views which is of a far more serious and substantial character than class barriers in school in England. The Revised National Curriculum signals that these challenges will be

Science curriculum development, which takes account of world-views and indigenous knowledge systems is in its early stages and will be addressed with enthusiasm by many educators. This Revised National Curriculum…is an enabling document rather than a

The crossing of epistemological borders to accommodate the so-called modern, rational world of science means that the pupil, according to Ogunniyi, is "involved in negotiating and navigating a complex array of conflicting mental states. He must synergize these conflicts into a more comprehensive world-view capable of accommodation of the new experience within the framework of intra/intersubjective life worlds, which provide him/her a sense of social identity" (Ogunniyi, 2003). The complexities of these negotiations

The revised curriculum is therefore, even though paying lip service to indigenous

Our education system seems to move farther and farther away from indigenous knowledge…There is no attempt at any level to examine the indigenous knowledge systems awareness of the essential interrelatedness of all phenomena - physical, biological,

While we have seen that some attempts have been made in the Revised National Curriculum to include a discussion of indigenous knowledge systems, Ntuli is right in claiming that the influence of indigenous knowledge systems in education is marginal.

There is therefore, in South Africa as elsewhere in the South, an urgent need to address the issue of indigenous culture, sustainable development and education. When the thinking and acting of the majority of the people in a country, that is, their cultural expression and epistemology, are more or less excluded from the curriculum in the country, it does something to the self-confidence and self-esteem of those people, besides the obvious learning challenges it creates in school. What the curriculum should do "… is to help the people and their elite to capitalise and master the existing knowledge, whether indigenous

epistemology, firmly grounded in a modern, Western epistemology. Ntuli agrees:

The Revised National Curriculum senses a critical challenge here, asking:

the majority cultures are sidelined?

(DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

dealt with in curriculum development:

prescriptive one (DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

and navigation should not be overlooked.

psychological, social and cultural (Ntuli, 2002: 64-65).

democracy, social justice, equity and equality etc. Needless to say these were ideas or concepts which had to become part of the education system if the transformation of South Africa were to take place. But as will be documented later in this chapter, these ideas were situated in a context, both educationally, ideologically and macro-politically, which made the implementation of these principles into school reality difficult to envisage. Moreover, the ideological thrust of the government's school policy was so massive that both interrogations into the curriculum and any other counter-hegemonical interventions into the education policy were very difficult, if not impossible.

In the introduction to C2005 it is stated that, "The curriculum be restructured to reflect the values and principles of our new democratic society, (DoE, 1997a, 1). Such a statement isprobably intentionally- so vague and ambiguous that one wonders what is to be included and excluded from the variety of values, world views and knowledge systems in South Africa, with the exception of apartheid values. When C2005 proposes to establish "A shared understanding of a common South African culture," (DoE, 1997a, 16), the question arises if this is possible. What is a common South African culture? Since it is difficult to find a country, a nation with a clear-cut culture and since individuals, also in the South African context, construct, as has been noted in the first part of this chapter, multiple identities such a national identity has to be constructed. And if a common South African culture were to be constructed one would expect that the majority Black culture(s) to some extent would be prioritised since the Black population in South Africa constitutes approximately 80 per cent of the population.

On closer analysis of the two curricula, however, it is clear that this has not happened. The slogan: 'a common South African culture' does not mean that the cultures, world views and knowledge systems of the majority populations figure prominently in the new curricula. On the contrary, even though indigenous epistemology is referred to in the Revised National Curriculum (2002), the curriculum is modelled on a Western discourse, depending heavily on different international contexts, especially from New Zealand and Australia (DoE, 1995), suggestive of "what the African scholar Chinweizu describes as "Europhiliac Africans" (Chinweizu, 1970). Given this primary influence it is clear that the curricula and the education discourse of the new dispensation continue the epistemological hegemony of the West by marginalising indigenous epistemologies (see also Breidlid 2003).

The Revised National Curriculum (2002) touches upon the fact that people move between different worldviews and knowledge systems in a day:

… the existence of different world views is important for the Natural Science Curriculum…Several times a week they cross from the culture of home, over the border into the culture of science, and then back again (DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

This epistemological movement is confirmed by for example Fakudze who states that "the African child finds him/herself having to cross the cultural border between his/her African worldview and that of school science as he/she learns scientific concepts presented to him/her in the science classroom" (Fakudze, 2003: 132).

This movement was also exposed in our field-work, where many teachers, like the pupils, cross cultural and epistemological borders on the same day, teaching Western science at school and taking part in traditional practices at home. The question then is how pupils and Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 8 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

democracy, social justice, equity and equality etc. Needless to say these were ideas or concepts which had to become part of the education system if the transformation of South Africa were to take place. But as will be documented later in this chapter, these ideas were situated in a context, both educationally, ideologically and macro-politically, which made the implementation of these principles into school reality difficult to envisage. Moreover, the ideological thrust of the government's school policy was so massive that both interrogations into the curriculum and any other counter-hegemonical interventions into the education

In the introduction to C2005 it is stated that, "The curriculum be restructured to reflect the values and principles of our new democratic society, (DoE, 1997a, 1). Such a statement isprobably intentionally- so vague and ambiguous that one wonders what is to be included and excluded from the variety of values, world views and knowledge systems in South Africa, with the exception of apartheid values. When C2005 proposes to establish "A shared understanding of a common South African culture," (DoE, 1997a, 16), the question arises if this is possible. What is a common South African culture? Since it is difficult to find a country, a nation with a clear-cut culture and since individuals, also in the South African context, construct, as has been noted in the first part of this chapter, multiple identities such a national identity has to be constructed. And if a common South African culture were to be constructed one would expect that the majority Black culture(s) to some extent would be prioritised since the Black population in South Africa constitutes approximately 80 per cent

On closer analysis of the two curricula, however, it is clear that this has not happened. The slogan: 'a common South African culture' does not mean that the cultures, world views and knowledge systems of the majority populations figure prominently in the new curricula. On the contrary, even though indigenous epistemology is referred to in the Revised National Curriculum (2002), the curriculum is modelled on a Western discourse, depending heavily on different international contexts, especially from New Zealand and Australia (DoE, 1995), suggestive of "what the African scholar Chinweizu describes as "Europhiliac Africans" (Chinweizu, 1970). Given this primary influence it is clear that the curricula and the education discourse of the new dispensation continue the epistemological hegemony of the

The Revised National Curriculum (2002) touches upon the fact that people move between

… the existence of different world views is important for the Natural Science Curriculum…Several times a week they cross from the culture of home, over the border into

This epistemological movement is confirmed by for example Fakudze who states that "the African child finds him/herself having to cross the cultural border between his/her African worldview and that of school science as he/she learns scientific concepts presented to

This movement was also exposed in our field-work, where many teachers, like the pupils, cross cultural and epistemological borders on the same day, teaching Western science at school and taking part in traditional practices at home. The question then is how pupils and

West by marginalising indigenous epistemologies (see also Breidlid 2003).

the culture of science, and then back again (DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

different worldviews and knowledge systems in a day:

him/her in the science classroom" (Fakudze, 2003: 132).

policy were very difficult, if not impossible.

of the population.

even teachers cope with a knowledge system in school, which is alien to their home universe? And moreover, how can school construct a common South African culture when the majority cultures are sidelined?

The Revised National Curriculum senses a critical challenge here, asking:

…Is it a hindrance to teaching or is it an opportunity for more meaningful learning and a curriculum, which tries to understand both the culture of science and the cultures at home? (DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

The cultural border crossings have been identified by Bernstein (1971) as a big problem for working class youths in middle class schools in England. These border crossings, however, important and difficult they may be, seem of a much more limited, cultural-linguistic character than what can be observed in South African schools. Among Xhosa children it is not only a matter of linguistic code switching, but of a collision of knowledge systems and world views which is of a far more serious and substantial character than class barriers in school in England. The Revised National Curriculum signals that these challenges will be dealt with in curriculum development:

Science curriculum development, which takes account of world-views and indigenous knowledge systems is in its early stages and will be addressed with enthusiasm by many educators. This Revised National Curriculum…is an enabling document rather than a prescriptive one (DoE, 2002, Natural Sciences: 12).

The crossing of epistemological borders to accommodate the so-called modern, rational world of science means that the pupil, according to Ogunniyi, is "involved in negotiating and navigating a complex array of conflicting mental states. He must synergize these conflicts into a more comprehensive world-view capable of accommodation of the new experience within the framework of intra/intersubjective life worlds, which provide him/her a sense of social identity" (Ogunniyi, 2003). The complexities of these negotiations and navigation should not be overlooked.

The revised curriculum is therefore, even though paying lip service to indigenous epistemology, firmly grounded in a modern, Western epistemology. Ntuli agrees:

Our education system seems to move farther and farther away from indigenous knowledge…There is no attempt at any level to examine the indigenous knowledge systems awareness of the essential interrelatedness of all phenomena - physical, biological, psychological, social and cultural (Ntuli, 2002: 64-65).

While we have seen that some attempts have been made in the Revised National Curriculum to include a discussion of indigenous knowledge systems, Ntuli is right in claiming that the influence of indigenous knowledge systems in education is marginal.

There is therefore, in South Africa as elsewhere in the South, an urgent need to address the issue of indigenous culture, sustainable development and education. When the thinking and acting of the majority of the people in a country, that is, their cultural expression and epistemology, are more or less excluded from the curriculum in the country, it does something to the self-confidence and self-esteem of those people, besides the obvious learning challenges it creates in school. What the curriculum should do "… is to help the people and their elite to capitalise and master the existing knowledge, whether indigenous

Indigenous Epistemologies, Sustainability and Schooling: The Case of South Africa 11

the UN, education is ''one of the most effective forces to bring about the changes in knowledge, values, behaviour and lifestyles required to achieve sustainability and stability

As has been suggested in this chapter, however, education's role in sustainable development is not unproblematic, since the hegemonic education discourse is more or less exclusively based on Western epistemology. This situation is a far cry from the ideas of African heritage and African culture and indigenous knowledges promoted by the African Renaissance rhetoric. Unfortunately it seems as if the re-launch of the concept (African Renaissance) was primarily rhetorical when the concept re-emerged after the new dispensation in 1994, and it still remains primarily rhetorical. As has been noted the global debate on education and sustainable development does not even pay lip service to the African Renaissance rhetoric or to indigenous knowledge systems. There is therefore an urgent need to interrogate the epistemological foundation of for example the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Such a UN decade is meaningless if it does not critique in a fundamental way the exploitative nature of the hegemonic Western epistemology and does not pick up and incorporate alternative voices and epistemologies, not only for the identity construction of those groups who have been marginalized over the centuries, like the Blacks in South Africa, but for the sustainability of Mother Earth. Educational institutions and educational actors in addition to the UN carry a huge responsibility as well in opening up the epistemological terrain for a more sustainable future. The formidable task has only just

Beek, K. A. Ver. (2000). 'Spirituality: a development taboo', *Development in Practice*, 10:1, 31 - 43 Bernstein, B. (1971). *Class, Codes and Control: Theoretical Studies Towards a Sociology of* 

Breidlid, A. (2002). Schooling, tradition and modernity in South Africa.*UWC Papers in* 

Breidlid, A., (2003). Ideology, cultural values and education: a critical analysis of Curriculum 2005 in South Africa. *Perspectives in Education* 2, 83–103. Breidlid, A. (2009). Culture, indigenous knowledge systems and sustainable development: A

Crossman, P., Devisch, R. (2002). Endogenous knowledge in anthropological perspective. In:

Department of Education. (DoE). (1995). *National Qualifications Framework. Working* 

Department of Education. (DoE). (1997a). *Policy Document. Foundation Phase*. Government Printer, Pretoria, Quoted from the Western Cape Education Department edition. Department of Education. (DoE).(1997b). *Policy Document. Intermediate Phase*. Government

Department of Education. (DoE). (2002). *Revised National Curriculum Statement*. Government

critical view of education in an African context. *International Journal of Educational* 

Odora Hoppers, C.A. (Ed.), *Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge* 

*Language*, vol. 1. Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., Boston.

Chinweizu(1970). *The West and the Rest of Us*. New York: Random House

*Systems*. New Africa Books, Claremont, Cape Town, 96– 128.

within and among countries. . .'' (UNESCO Media, 2008, p. 39).

begun.

**2. References** 

*Education* 2, 37–50.

Printer, Pretoria.

Printer, Pretoria.

*Development*, Volume 29(2), 140-149.

*Document*. Government Printer, Pretoria.

or not, and develop new knowledge in a continual process of uninterrupted creativity, while applying the findings in a systematic and responsible way to improve their quality of life." (Hountondji, 2002: 36).

Moreover, the lack of inclusion of indigenous epistemologies deprives not only the children of their own heritage, but also fails to make the new generations aware of alternative worlds and epistemologies that challenge the hegemonic knowledge production in the West and thus its unsustainability. The prioritisation of non-indigenous knowledge also means an underutilization of indigenous resources and knowledge in the development of a given society.

An exclusion such as that described above has major implications for the distribution of power in the country where those with non-indigenous cultural capital (including the Black elite who often do not identify with the African Renaissance rhetoric) are in the driving seat. The democratic problems of such a situation are obvious. A more comprehensive inclusion of indigenous knowledges may threaten power relationships based on Western knowledge, and possibly the reproduction of hierarchical structures benefitting those in power. As Silitoe states:" The privileging of some knowledge over others will extend a degree of power to those who hold that knowledge…"(Silitoe, 1998).

As has been noted above the African National Congress (ANC) has been reluctant to undertake a more radical reorientation in educational policies which includes innovative educational strategies to meet the needs of the majority of South Africans, and the South African society *in toto*. There seems to be a fear that such new strategies will leave South Africa out of the process of globalisation (see Crossman & Devisch, 2002). Moreover, the authorities may worry that a more contextualized and epistemologically more appropriate curriculum might leave the successful school leavers at a disadvantage internationally even though research has clearly shown that the present educational system under the ANC regime puts the majority of school children at a disadvantage. There is therefore reason to question the sustainability of the present system, not only in terms of academic success among the Black students, but also in terms of a future sustainable development in South Africa.

The incorporation of indigenous knowledge systems on its own terms also depends on the results of further research into the characteristic features of indigenous cultures and knowledge systems. While there is no doubt that this potential has been grossly underutilised in the past, the potential and contributions of indigenous cultures and knowledge systems in relation to sustainability and sustainable development should not lead to the temptation, as Hountondji reminds us, "to overvalue our heritage", and we should bear in mind that indigenous knowledges "can be said to be less 'systematic' than scientific knowledge" (Hountondji, 2002: 25). This is in line with Silitoe's warning that "we need to guard against any romantic tendency to idealise it. " (Silitoe, 1998, 227).

There is, however, no doubt that there is an urgent need to address the world's poor health with alternative epistemologies that have a more non-exploitative view of land and nature. Indigenous knowledge's more harmonious relationship to nature is therefore vital in the struggle for a sustainable future.

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNESD, 2005) signals the important role education is supposed to play globally (see also Breidlid, 2009). According to the UN, education is ''one of the most effective forces to bring about the changes in knowledge, values, behaviour and lifestyles required to achieve sustainability and stability within and among countries. . .'' (UNESCO Media, 2008, p. 39).

As has been suggested in this chapter, however, education's role in sustainable development is not unproblematic, since the hegemonic education discourse is more or less exclusively based on Western epistemology. This situation is a far cry from the ideas of African heritage and African culture and indigenous knowledges promoted by the African Renaissance rhetoric. Unfortunately it seems as if the re-launch of the concept (African Renaissance) was primarily rhetorical when the concept re-emerged after the new dispensation in 1994, and it still remains primarily rhetorical. As has been noted the global debate on education and sustainable development does not even pay lip service to the African Renaissance rhetoric or to indigenous knowledge systems. There is therefore an urgent need to interrogate the epistemological foundation of for example the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Such a UN decade is meaningless if it does not critique in a fundamental way the exploitative nature of the hegemonic Western epistemology and does not pick up and incorporate alternative voices and epistemologies, not only for the identity construction of those groups who have been marginalized over the centuries, like the Blacks in South Africa, but for the sustainability of Mother Earth. Educational institutions and educational actors in addition to the UN carry a huge responsibility as well in opening up the epistemological terrain for a more sustainable future. The formidable task has only just begun.

#### **2. References**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 10 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

or not, and develop new knowledge in a continual process of uninterrupted creativity, while applying the findings in a systematic and responsible way to improve their quality of life."

Moreover, the lack of inclusion of indigenous epistemologies deprives not only the children of their own heritage, but also fails to make the new generations aware of alternative worlds and epistemologies that challenge the hegemonic knowledge production in the West and thus its unsustainability. The prioritisation of non-indigenous knowledge also means an underutilization of indigenous resources and knowledge in the development of a given

An exclusion such as that described above has major implications for the distribution of power in the country where those with non-indigenous cultural capital (including the Black elite who often do not identify with the African Renaissance rhetoric) are in the driving seat. The democratic problems of such a situation are obvious. A more comprehensive inclusion of indigenous knowledges may threaten power relationships based on Western knowledge, and possibly the reproduction of hierarchical structures benefitting those in power. As Silitoe states:" The privileging of some knowledge over others will extend a degree of power

As has been noted above the African National Congress (ANC) has been reluctant to undertake a more radical reorientation in educational policies which includes innovative educational strategies to meet the needs of the majority of South Africans, and the South African society *in toto*. There seems to be a fear that such new strategies will leave South Africa out of the process of globalisation (see Crossman & Devisch, 2002). Moreover, the authorities may worry that a more contextualized and epistemologically more appropriate curriculum might leave the successful school leavers at a disadvantage internationally even though research has clearly shown that the present educational system under the ANC regime puts the majority of school children at a disadvantage. There is therefore reason to question the sustainability of the present system, not only in terms of academic success among the Black students, but also in terms of a future sustainable development in South

The incorporation of indigenous knowledge systems on its own terms also depends on the results of further research into the characteristic features of indigenous cultures and knowledge systems. While there is no doubt that this potential has been grossly underutilised in the past, the potential and contributions of indigenous cultures and knowledge systems in relation to sustainability and sustainable development should not lead to the temptation, as Hountondji reminds us, "to overvalue our heritage", and we should bear in mind that indigenous knowledges "can be said to be less 'systematic' than scientific knowledge" (Hountondji, 2002: 25). This is in line with Silitoe's warning that "we need to

There is, however, no doubt that there is an urgent need to address the world's poor health with alternative epistemologies that have a more non-exploitative view of land and nature. Indigenous knowledge's more harmonious relationship to nature is therefore vital in the

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNESD, 2005) signals the important role education is supposed to play globally (see also Breidlid, 2009). According to

guard against any romantic tendency to idealise it. " (Silitoe, 1998, 227).

(Hountondji, 2002: 36).

to those who hold that knowledge…"(Silitoe, 1998).

society.

Africa.

struggle for a sustainable future.

Beek, K. A. Ver. (2000). 'Spirituality: a development taboo', *Development in Practice*, 10:1, 31 - 43


Chinweizu(1970). *The West and the Rest of Us*. New York: Random House


**2** 

*Malaysia* 

**Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'** 

The quality of the environment is threatened by problems such as global warming, water pollution, fast decline of forests, and desertification (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987). Global issues on environmental destruction have created space for more environmental related research to be conducted to overcome the notion that people's awareness over these issues is still at infancy. Due to this ignorance, human being continues to exploit the environment to an unprecedented scale to accommodate the expanding human needs and wants. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005), over the past 50 years human activities have changed vital ecosystem services more rapidly extensively than in any comparable period of history. It is perceived that rapid growing demand for fuel, food, and water is likely to exacerbate the current problems. As the global population grows and standards of living improve, there will be increasing stress on the world's limited resources. Contemporary exponential increase in the price of crude oil further heightens this problem. Current degradation of natural environment has farreaching consequences both to mankind and nature. This situation would require both present and future generations to use the earth's resources more efficiently and to produce

Education is recognized as one of the important tools to develop present and future citizens to live life in a sustainable manner. Education can illuminate incentives, showing people both how they could personally benefit from changing their behavior, and how they would suffer from a lack of change. Environmental Education (EE) is considered an essential component of the education for future citizens in order for them to be able to confront and deal with the current and emerging environmental issues. Through the process of EE, individuals obtain an understanding of the concepts of and knowledge about the environment. They also acquire experience, values, skills, understanding and the knowledge necessary to form judgments to participate in decision-making and to take appropriate action in addressing environmental issues and problems (Salequzzaman & Stocker, 2001; Bradley et al. 1999; Fien, 1997). This commitment to create awareness about the environment in the general population and changes in the human behavior must me be made in order for individual and social groups to be actively involved, at all levels in working towards

resolution of environmental problems (UNESCO-UNEP, 1990).

**1. Introduction** 

less waste.

**Understanding and Awareness of** 

**Environmental Knowledge** 

Mageswary Karpudewan and Zurida Ismail *School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia* 

Department of Education (DoE). (2009). *Education Task Team*. Government Printer, Pretoria


A similar version of the first part of the Curriculum 2005 analysis of this article appeared in the *International Journal of Educational Development* vol. 29, Number 2 2009

## **Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge**

Mageswary Karpudewan and Zurida Ismail *School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia* 

#### **1. Introduction**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 12 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

Department of Education (DoE). (2009). *Education Task Team*. Government Printer, Pretoria Escobar, A. (2001). Culture sits in places: reflections on globalism and subaltern strategies of

Fakudze, C.G. (2003). The nature of world views held by Swazi high school students. In:

Hountondji, P.J. (2002). Knowledge production in a post-colonial context. In: Odora

Hunter, M. (1979). *Reaction to Conquest Effects of Contact with Europeans on the Pondo of South* 

Kubow, P.K. (2009). Democracy, identity, and citizenship education in South Africa:

Mandela, N. (1994). Statement by President Nelson Mandela. OAU Meeting, Tunis, 13 June

Ntuli, P.P. (2002). Indigenous knowledge systems the African renaissance. In: Odora

Odora Hoppers, C.A. (Ed.), 2002. *Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge* 

Ogunniyi, M.B. (2003). Traditional cosmology and science education. In: Ogunniyi, M.B.,

Sillitoe, P. (1998). The development of indigenous knowledge. A new applied anthropology.

UNESD (2005). UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) accessed

Zeleza, .P.T. (2009). What Happened to the African Renaissance? The Challenges of

A similar version of the first part of the Curriculum 2005 analysis of this article appeared in

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001587/158787e.pdf.

*and the Middle East, Volume 29, Number 2, 2009*, 155-170

the *International Journal of Educational Development* vol. 29, Number 2 2009

the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development/

Massey, D. (1994). *Space*, *Place and Gender*. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press

Mbeki, T, (2002). *Africa: Define Yourself.* Tafelberg Publishers Ltd: Cape Town

*Mathematics Education*. University of Western Cape, Cape Town, 58–63. Giddens, A. (1991). *Modernity and Self-Identity. Self and modernity in Late Modern Age*.

Ogunniyi, M.M., Rochford, K. (Eds.). *The Pursuit of Excellence in Science and* 

Hoppers, C.A. (Ed.). *Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems.*

Defining a nation in a post-colonial and global era. In J. Zajda, H. Daun, L.J. Saha (Eds.), *Nation-building, identity and citizenship education: Cross-Cultural Perspectives*. (Book series: *Globalisation, comparative education and policy research* (Volume 3).

1994. South African Government Information. Accessed on July 12 2011 at

Hoppers, C.A. (Ed.). *Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems*.

Rochford, K. (Eds.). *The Pursuit of Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education.* 

on July 12 2011 at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-

Development in the Twenty-First Century. *Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa* 

localization. *Political Geography* 20, 139–174.

New Africa Books, Claremont, Cape Town, 23–39.

www.info.gov.za/speeches/1994/171095017.htm

New Africa Books, Claremont, Cape Town, 53–67.

*Systems*. New Africa Books, Claremont, Cape Town.

*University of Western Cape*, Cape Town, 22–30.

Current Anthropology 39 (2), 223–235. UNESCO Media, 2008. Accessed on May 15 2008 from

*Africa*. David Philip: Cape Town.

Cambridge: Polity.

London: Springer.

The quality of the environment is threatened by problems such as global warming, water pollution, fast decline of forests, and desertification (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987). Global issues on environmental destruction have created space for more environmental related research to be conducted to overcome the notion that people's awareness over these issues is still at infancy. Due to this ignorance, human being continues to exploit the environment to an unprecedented scale to accommodate the expanding human needs and wants. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005), over the past 50 years human activities have changed vital ecosystem services more rapidly extensively than in any comparable period of history. It is perceived that rapid growing demand for fuel, food, and water is likely to exacerbate the current problems. As the global population grows and standards of living improve, there will be increasing stress on the world's limited resources. Contemporary exponential increase in the price of crude oil further heightens this problem. Current degradation of natural environment has farreaching consequences both to mankind and nature. This situation would require both present and future generations to use the earth's resources more efficiently and to produce less waste.

Education is recognized as one of the important tools to develop present and future citizens to live life in a sustainable manner. Education can illuminate incentives, showing people both how they could personally benefit from changing their behavior, and how they would suffer from a lack of change. Environmental Education (EE) is considered an essential component of the education for future citizens in order for them to be able to confront and deal with the current and emerging environmental issues. Through the process of EE, individuals obtain an understanding of the concepts of and knowledge about the environment. They also acquire experience, values, skills, understanding and the knowledge necessary to form judgments to participate in decision-making and to take appropriate action in addressing environmental issues and problems (Salequzzaman & Stocker, 2001; Bradley et al. 1999; Fien, 1997). This commitment to create awareness about the environment in the general population and changes in the human behavior must me be made in order for individual and social groups to be actively involved, at all levels in working towards resolution of environmental problems (UNESCO-UNEP, 1990).

Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

at pre-school, primary and secondary levels are provided.

included in many areas of study (McDonald and Dominquez, 2010).

Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the children's lives. This is so because in the course of their careers, they interact with and reach many pupils. In so doing, they "help shape

Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 15

In terms of formal education, the Ministry of Education has developed a curriculum for EE and has implemented various teaching and learning strategies to enhance environmental awareness and internalize values on the importance of environmental protection. In line with the National Education Policy, 'Environmental Education across the Curriculum' was introduced in both primary and secondary schools in 1990s. The goals are to educate children who will love and care for the environment so that they will think and act wisely to preserve it and to be aware of sustainable development. EE is infused in each subject in schools, rather than taught as a single subject. The school curriculum focuses on educating the society to be more sensitive and concerned about environmental issues, to be knowledgeable, skilled and committed to act individually or collectively to address environmental issues. Teachers are required to integrate the concepts and components of EE across the curriculum at all levels. To facilitate the task for teachers, EE Curriculum Guidelines that include specific objectives, components and implementation strategies of EE

After years of effort to integrate environmental education, studies keep revealing that Malaysians in general and students specifically have not reached a certain desired level of commitment towards the environment. The importance of EE is not given due emphasis and so students do not really see the need to practice an environmental-friendly lifestyle (Nadeson & Nor Shidawati, 2005). A study by Sharifah and Hashimah Yunus (2006) showed that there is still considerable apathy among Malaysian students to engage pro-actively in environmental behaviors due to 'the very low environmental awareness within society.' Kim and Fortner (2006) asserted that teachers do not teach environmental issues even though they acknowledged the importance of teaching such issues. Beside external and logistic barriers such as lack of time, the teachers are perceived to have internal and personal barriers. This includes attitudes toward teaching environmental issues, environment related content knowledge and how to teach environmental issues (pedagogical knowledge). These factors determine how often the teachers integrate environmental issues in their teaching. In order for students to have sound knowledge and good values towards environment, the knowledge base of teachers themselves is of great importance as good subject knowledge is essential for best teaching. However, as Petergem et al. (2007) illustrated, teachers lack insight into the complexities of EE issues and how their teaching might contribute to productive EE. Previous researches also showed that most teachers are unaware of the underlying theoretical issues concerning EE and the concept of sustainable development (Cross, 1998; Summers, Kruger, and Childs, 2000). EE requires special training and commitment because it needs a different focus and outlook that many prospective teachers have not experienced in their own education (Tilbury, 1997). Teachers cannot effectively address the goals and aims of EE solely by acquiring information about environmental issues and concerns. It is unrealistic to expect teachers without expertise to explore environmental concepts with students to foster holistic, regional, and global thought about the environment, rather than treating each topic or idea as an isolated, discrete entity (Stables and Scott, 2002). Thoughtful integration of concepts, ideas, pedagogy, and skills for EE should reach beyond subject area barriers to include the rich scope of knowledge

Orr (1994) argued that in order to develop care for the Earth among future leaders the natural environment should be recognized as part of education. The education should reflect the interconnections between the knowledge and the design of nature: ecology, culture and economy. The knowledge system for sustainable development explicitly addresses the complex interactions between people, resources, environment and development (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002). Education for sustainable development is a process of learning how to make decisions that consider long-term future of the economy, ecology and social well-being of all communities (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002). Sustainable development knowledge cultivates decision making ability, critical thinking and problem solving skills. Learners are empowered to participate in decision making and ethically address the problems they might encounter in their daily life. Teaching and learning in line with sustainability emphasize holistic, multi disciplinary approach in order to develop knowledge and skills needed for sustainable future as well as changes in values, behavior and lifestyles.

Researchers in environmental psychology do believe that there is a strong correlation between environmental knowledge and attitudes. As Tikka, Kintnen and Tynys (2000) noted acquisition of nature related knowledge determines the attitudes and behavior of an individual. Lianne (2005) observed significant positive effect of students' awareness of the environment and their knowledge of environmental concepts in her study. Similarly, a study by Yencken et al., (2000) as well as by Barrasa and Walford (2002) also indicate the existence of strong relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental behavior. Although the relationship between the cognitive component (knowledge), affective (attitudes) and behavior is complex and necessarily linear, researchers have shown that increasing individual's knowledge via environmental studies resulted in more positive attitudes. Some researchers (Hungerford and Volk 1990) in the field of environmental education have indicated that an extensive level of knowledge about environmental issues does result in a greater awareness and sensitivity toward the environment which inevitably leads to environmentally friendly behaviors (Hungerford and Volk 1990). Hence, the importance of Environmental Education (EE) in enhancing awareness towards the environment is undeniable.

#### **2. Environmental Education (EE) in Malaysia**

The importance of EE in Malaysia is highlighted in the National Policy on the Environment 2002. One of the key areas of the Green Strategies outlined in the policy is 'Education and Awareness'. The emphasis on Education and Awareness is in line with the recommendations of Agenda 21 (MOSTE, 2002). Among the strategies for Education and Awareness are to devise and introduce comprehensive formal and informal EE and training strategies and information dissemination programs; to integrate environment and development into educational activities from school to tertiary institutions of which relevant method and materials will be developed, to establish national centers for excellence for inter-disciplinary research and education in environment and development; to review education curricula at all levels to ensure a multidisciplinary approach with environment and development issues; to actively promote non-formal education activities at local and national levels; and to strengthen the role of media in disseminating environmental information. Generally, the promotion of EE in Malaysia is focused towards addressing environmental challenges such as littering, water pollution, air pollution and the degradation of biodiversity.

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 14 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

Orr (1994) argued that in order to develop care for the Earth among future leaders the natural environment should be recognized as part of education. The education should reflect the interconnections between the knowledge and the design of nature: ecology, culture and economy. The knowledge system for sustainable development explicitly addresses the complex interactions between people, resources, environment and development (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002). Education for sustainable development is a process of learning how to make decisions that consider long-term future of the economy, ecology and social well-being of all communities (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002). Sustainable development knowledge cultivates decision making ability, critical thinking and problem solving skills. Learners are empowered to participate in decision making and ethically address the problems they might encounter in their daily life. Teaching and learning in line with sustainability emphasize holistic, multi disciplinary approach in order to develop knowledge and skills needed for sustainable future

Researchers in environmental psychology do believe that there is a strong correlation between environmental knowledge and attitudes. As Tikka, Kintnen and Tynys (2000) noted acquisition of nature related knowledge determines the attitudes and behavior of an individual. Lianne (2005) observed significant positive effect of students' awareness of the environment and their knowledge of environmental concepts in her study. Similarly, a study by Yencken et al., (2000) as well as by Barrasa and Walford (2002) also indicate the existence of strong relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental behavior. Although the relationship between the cognitive component (knowledge), affective (attitudes) and behavior is complex and necessarily linear, researchers have shown that increasing individual's knowledge via environmental studies resulted in more positive attitudes. Some researchers (Hungerford and Volk 1990) in the field of environmental education have indicated that an extensive level of knowledge about environmental issues does result in a greater awareness and sensitivity toward the environment which inevitably leads to environmentally friendly behaviors (Hungerford and Volk 1990). Hence, the importance of Environmental Education (EE) in enhancing awareness towards the

The importance of EE in Malaysia is highlighted in the National Policy on the Environment 2002. One of the key areas of the Green Strategies outlined in the policy is 'Education and Awareness'. The emphasis on Education and Awareness is in line with the recommendations of Agenda 21 (MOSTE, 2002). Among the strategies for Education and Awareness are to devise and introduce comprehensive formal and informal EE and training strategies and information dissemination programs; to integrate environment and development into educational activities from school to tertiary institutions of which relevant method and materials will be developed, to establish national centers for excellence for inter-disciplinary research and education in environment and development; to review education curricula at all levels to ensure a multidisciplinary approach with environment and development issues; to actively promote non-formal education activities at local and national levels; and to strengthen the role of media in disseminating environmental information. Generally, the promotion of EE in Malaysia is focused towards addressing environmental challenges such as littering, water pollution, air

as well as changes in values, behavior and lifestyles.

**2. Environmental Education (EE) in Malaysia** 

pollution and the degradation of biodiversity.

environment is undeniable.

In terms of formal education, the Ministry of Education has developed a curriculum for EE and has implemented various teaching and learning strategies to enhance environmental awareness and internalize values on the importance of environmental protection. In line with the National Education Policy, 'Environmental Education across the Curriculum' was introduced in both primary and secondary schools in 1990s. The goals are to educate children who will love and care for the environment so that they will think and act wisely to preserve it and to be aware of sustainable development. EE is infused in each subject in schools, rather than taught as a single subject. The school curriculum focuses on educating the society to be more sensitive and concerned about environmental issues, to be knowledgeable, skilled and committed to act individually or collectively to address environmental issues. Teachers are required to integrate the concepts and components of EE across the curriculum at all levels. To facilitate the task for teachers, EE Curriculum Guidelines that include specific objectives, components and implementation strategies of EE at pre-school, primary and secondary levels are provided.

After years of effort to integrate environmental education, studies keep revealing that Malaysians in general and students specifically have not reached a certain desired level of commitment towards the environment. The importance of EE is not given due emphasis and so students do not really see the need to practice an environmental-friendly lifestyle (Nadeson & Nor Shidawati, 2005). A study by Sharifah and Hashimah Yunus (2006) showed that there is still considerable apathy among Malaysian students to engage pro-actively in environmental behaviors due to 'the very low environmental awareness within society.' Kim and Fortner (2006) asserted that teachers do not teach environmental issues even though they acknowledged the importance of teaching such issues. Beside external and logistic barriers such as lack of time, the teachers are perceived to have internal and personal barriers. This includes attitudes toward teaching environmental issues, environment related content knowledge and how to teach environmental issues (pedagogical knowledge). These factors determine how often the teachers integrate environmental issues in their teaching.

In order for students to have sound knowledge and good values towards environment, the knowledge base of teachers themselves is of great importance as good subject knowledge is essential for best teaching. However, as Petergem et al. (2007) illustrated, teachers lack insight into the complexities of EE issues and how their teaching might contribute to productive EE. Previous researches also showed that most teachers are unaware of the underlying theoretical issues concerning EE and the concept of sustainable development (Cross, 1998; Summers, Kruger, and Childs, 2000). EE requires special training and commitment because it needs a different focus and outlook that many prospective teachers have not experienced in their own education (Tilbury, 1997). Teachers cannot effectively address the goals and aims of EE solely by acquiring information about environmental issues and concerns. It is unrealistic to expect teachers without expertise to explore environmental concepts with students to foster holistic, regional, and global thought about the environment, rather than treating each topic or idea as an isolated, discrete entity (Stables and Scott, 2002). Thoughtful integration of concepts, ideas, pedagogy, and skills for EE should reach beyond subject area barriers to include the rich scope of knowledge included in many areas of study (McDonald and Dominquez, 2010).

Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the children's lives. This is so because in the course of their careers, they interact with and reach many pupils. In so doing, they "help shape

Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

7 Eco-

efficiency

8 Life Cycle Analysis

9 Sustainable consumption

11 Local-global links

dependence

14 Interspecies equity

15 Intragenerati onal equity

16 Intergenerati onal equity

17 Human rights:

19 Media literacy

18 Basic human needs

12 Inter-

Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 17

competitive advantage.

10 The 5 Rs Reduce, reuse, renew, recycle and rethink!

the local-global chain.

materials indefinitely.

needs and rights

making.

each generation inherits.

A strategy for maximizing the productivity of material and energy inputs to a production process whilst also reducing resource

consumption and waste production and generating cost savings and

The use of services and related products to satisfy basic human needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as emissions of waste and

The recognition that the consumption of a product or service in one part of the world is dependent on flows of energy and materials in other parts of the world and that this creates potential opportunities and losses economically, socially and environmentally at all points in

The relationships of mutual dependence between all elements and

A consideration of the need for humans to treat creatures decently,

societies have access to the resources required to satisfy basic human

A consideration of the need to live off net resource production rather than environmental capital in order to enable future generations access a world that is at least as diverse and productive as the one

The fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, expression, peaceful assembly and association, which ensure access to democratic

The needs and right of all people and societies for fair and equitable access to flows of energy and materials for survival and a satisfying

An appreciation of the role of the public media and marketing and advertising industries in creating perceptions of needs and wants and the skill to identify the roles thee media may play in encouraging and

ecosystem that is necessary for sustaining flows of energy and

A consideration of the need to ensure that all individuals and

A management tool for identifying the net flows of resource and energy used in the production, consumption and disposal of a product or service in order to leverage eco-efficiency gains.

pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product.

life forms, including humans, within natural systems.

and protect them from cruelty and avoidable suffering.

13 Biodiversity The diverse and interdependent composition of life forms in an

participation and meeting basic human needs.

quality of life within the limits of the Earth.

undermining sustainable consumption. 20 Democracy The right of all people to access channels for community decision-

Table 1. Sustainable Development Concepts (SDC) (adapted from Yencken et.al. 2000)

each pupil's worldview, economic potential, attitude toward others in the community, participation in community decision-making, and interactions with the environment" (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002, p. 252). In the context of EE, educator's role is further stressed as they are identified as key in transforming EE into practice (Petergem, Blieck and Pauw, 2007). Hence, the quality of teacher training is of critical importance. Faculties of education have the potential to bring about change through the teacher education curricula, training of new teachers and professional development for practicing teachers, consultations with local boards, and often have influence with ministries of education (UNESCO, 2006).

#### **2.1 Sustainable Development**

Sustainable development (SD) is a difficult concept to define (Hopkins & McKeown, 2001). The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) defined sustainable development as the *development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.* SD reflects the relationship between the ecological environment and economic development process (Barbier, 1987). Economic development is the process where the needs of the people are fulfilled and sustained over time. SD according to McKeown et al. (2002) is a combination of three components: environment, economic and social. Accordingly, education that focuses on bringing SD into practice is ESD. ESD is a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth's natural resources. The ultimate target of education is to produce environmentally literate graduate, who is capable of evaluating thinking, make decisions, solve problems and take responsible actions accordingly.

SDCs are less discipline specific and more sustainable development related and reflect the interconnection between the subject matter with ecology, economy and society. It would be one possible way to have a holistic education which emphasizes connectivity and continuity among organism as articulated in Orr's ecology literacy.


Table 1 illustrates the 20 SDCs extracted from Yencken et al. (2000).

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 16 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

each pupil's worldview, economic potential, attitude toward others in the community, participation in community decision-making, and interactions with the environment" (McKeown & Hopkins, 2002, p. 252). In the context of EE, educator's role is further stressed as they are identified as key in transforming EE into practice (Petergem, Blieck and Pauw, 2007). Hence, the quality of teacher training is of critical importance. Faculties of education have the potential to bring about change through the teacher education curricula, training of new teachers and professional development for practicing teachers, consultations with local

Sustainable development (SD) is a difficult concept to define (Hopkins & McKeown, 2001). The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) defined sustainable development as the *development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.* SD reflects the relationship between the ecological environment and economic development process (Barbier, 1987). Economic development is the process where the needs of the people are fulfilled and sustained over time. SD according to McKeown et al. (2002) is a combination of three components: environment, economic and social. Accordingly, education that focuses on bringing SD into practice is ESD. ESD is a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth's natural resources. The ultimate target of education is to produce environmentally literate graduate, who is capable of evaluating thinking, make decisions,

SDCs are less discipline specific and more sustainable development related and reflect the interconnection between the subject matter with ecology, economy and society. It would be one possible way to have a holistic education which emphasizes connectivity and continuity

3 Ecospace The total amount of energy, land, water and other resources that can

impinging on the rights of future generations.

The capacity of ecosystems to support continued growth in

A non-growth economy in which the demands of resource consumption are in balance with resource supply and production.

be used regionally or globally without environmental damage, disadvantaging the capacities of others to meet their basic needs or

population numbers, resource consumption, and waste production.

A process by which the needs of present generations can be satisfied without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy

The area of land and water needed to support the total flow of energy and materials consumed by a community or population indefinitely.

A strategy that helps a household, corporation or government calculate its real wealth, i.e. the value of total economic production minus the value of the natural and social capital consumed to achieve

boards, and often have influence with ministries of education (UNESCO, 2006).

**2.1 Sustainable Development** 

1 Carrying capacity

2 Steady-state economy

4 Sustainable development

5 Ecological footprint

6 Natural resource accounting

solve problems and take responsible actions accordingly.

among organism as articulated in Orr's ecology literacy.

their needs.

it.

Table 1 illustrates the 20 SDCs extracted from Yencken et al. (2000).


Table 1. Sustainable Development Concepts (SDC) (adapted from Yencken et.al. 2000)

Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

mean scores and standard deviation.

**5.1 Questionnaire survey** 

environmental concept correctly.

secondary education under the Malaysian education system.

**4.2 Participants** 

**4.3 Instrument** 

**5. Results** 

Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 19

A total of 153 primary pre-service teachers (71 male and 72 female) enrolled in a teacher education institute were involved in this study. Their ages ranged from 19-21 years old and majoring in the sciences, mathematics, social sciences and languages. Upon completing the course these teachers will be awarded with a Bachelor of Teaching, Primary Education and will be appointed as primary school teachers. Prior to entering the teacher education institute these students had undergone six years of primary education and five years of

Data were collected using the Questionnaire on Environment Knowledge (QEK). QEK possesses high internal reliability with alpha Cronbach value reported as .89 and validated on the appropriateness of the content by two experts (Karpudewan et al. 2009). QEK was originally developed by Yencken et al. (2000) and contained 12 items: 8 items evaluated the understanding of TECs and 4 items on SDCs. The modified version contained 20 items. The first item focused on investigating the pre-service teachers' level of awareness of the environmental concepts, 12 items evaluated their understanding of TECs and 7 on SDCs. For the purpose this study, only items that evaluated the understanding of environmental concepts were included. Thus, there were a total of 19 multiple choice questions whereby the students were required to identify the most suitable answer for each item/question. The subjects took 40 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The students' level of understanding of the concepts was computed using percentage values. Comparisons between understanding of TECs and SDCs were conducted using descriptive statistics such as the

The outcome of the questionnaire survey is presented in Table 2. The frequency indicates the number of students who answered the item on the understanding of a particular

The majority of the students managed to answer the questions on TECs correctly. A total of 143 (93%) students answered the question on *water pollution* correctly. This is followed by *haze* (105, 69%), *ozone layer* (90, 59%), *ecology* (88, 58%), *greenhouse effect* (75, 49%) and *solid waste accumulation* (60, 40%). According to Yencken et al. (2000), these concepts are categorized as TECs. The outcome of this study is similar to the study conducted by the same authors involving secondary school pre-service teachers (Karpudewan et al. 2009). Students seemed to have a good grasp of the TECs which could be explained by their primary and secondary school experiences prior to entering higher learning institutions. According to Abdul Rashid (2006) and Sharifah & Hashimah Yunus (2006) the traditional concepts have been integrated into the existing curriculum and additionally co-curricular activities with environmental themes which embraced traditional concepts were also conducted in schools (Ministry of Education, 2004). Another possible reason for the high level of understanding of traditional environmental concepts could be due to the frequency

#### **2.2 Theoretical underpinnings**

This study is grounded on Orr's (1994) philosophical theory of ecological literary. Ecology literacy emphasizes the relations between ecology, economy, culture and human. It places humans as integral parts of ecosystem and recognizes the impacts of relations between human and other species and environment. Ecology literacy is holistic, emphasizing connectivity and continuity with fewer divisions and disciplines, recognizing commonalities among organisms and promoting the strength that exists in diversity. Hence, overemphasis on economic development could create a distance between the natural environment and human (Orr, 1994; 2006) whereby the environment is viewed as a separate entity resulting in exploitation of the environment to a point of no return. This further leads to a weakening of the social and cultural structures.

Through this theory Orr further asserts that interaction amongst humans as most important in the educational experience and stressed that natural environment is a part of education. Education should reflect the interconnections between ecology, culture and economy. Interwoven experiences in these three domains are essential to develop care for the environment and influences in making decision regarding the use of the environment. At the same time, this approach helps to overcome the notion that global environmental destruction is the result of the work of educated people and not the ignorant ones. This is due to the fact that current education emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstraction rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience (Orr, 1994). Orr further noted that successful implementation of this theory is ascribed to be in the hands of the teachers. Teachers inherently shape the minds of the learners through setting appropriate learning environments.

#### **3. Purpose of the study**

This study was conducted to investigate the primary pre-service teachers' awareness and understanding of SDCs and TECs.

#### **4. Methodology**

#### **4.1 Design of the study**

Both questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews were employed. The quantitative survey was conducted to elucidate the pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs and TECs using the Questionnaire on Environmental Knowledge. In order to get insights into the quantitative survey outcomes and to evaluate the student teachers' awareness of environmental concepts interviews involving 20 participants were conducted. Purposeful sampling approach was used to identify the interviewees. The interviews were conducted informally according to the students' convenience and the interview questions were semi structured. The interviews were conducted two weeks after the students answered the questionnaire. The questions asked during the interviews are as follows: Have you ever come across the term ecological footprint? Do you have any idea what it means? If you were given an opportunity to integrate this concept in your teaching, how will you do it?

#### **4.2 Participants**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 18 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

This study is grounded on Orr's (1994) philosophical theory of ecological literary. Ecology literacy emphasizes the relations between ecology, economy, culture and human. It places humans as integral parts of ecosystem and recognizes the impacts of relations between human and other species and environment. Ecology literacy is holistic, emphasizing connectivity and continuity with fewer divisions and disciplines, recognizing commonalities among organisms and promoting the strength that exists in diversity. Hence, overemphasis on economic development could create a distance between the natural environment and human (Orr, 1994; 2006) whereby the environment is viewed as a separate entity resulting in exploitation of the environment to a point of no return. This further leads to a weakening of

Through this theory Orr further asserts that interaction amongst humans as most important in the educational experience and stressed that natural environment is a part of education. Education should reflect the interconnections between ecology, culture and economy. Interwoven experiences in these three domains are essential to develop care for the environment and influences in making decision regarding the use of the environment. At the same time, this approach helps to overcome the notion that global environmental destruction is the result of the work of educated people and not the ignorant ones. This is due to the fact that current education emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstraction rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience (Orr, 1994). Orr further noted that successful implementation of this theory is ascribed to be in the hands of the teachers. Teachers inherently shape the minds of the learners through setting appropriate learning

This study was conducted to investigate the primary pre-service teachers' awareness and

Both questionnaire survey and qualitative interviews were employed. The quantitative survey was conducted to elucidate the pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs and TECs using the Questionnaire on Environmental Knowledge. In order to get insights into the quantitative survey outcomes and to evaluate the student teachers' awareness of environmental concepts interviews involving 20 participants were conducted. Purposeful sampling approach was used to identify the interviewees. The interviews were conducted informally according to the students' convenience and the interview questions were semi structured. The interviews were conducted two weeks after the students answered the questionnaire. The questions asked during the interviews are as follows: Have you ever come across the term ecological footprint? Do you have any idea what it means? If you were

given an opportunity to integrate this concept in your teaching, how will you do it?

**2.2 Theoretical underpinnings** 

the social and cultural structures.

environments.

**4. Methodology** 

**4.1 Design of the study** 

**3. Purpose of the study** 

understanding of SDCs and TECs.

A total of 153 primary pre-service teachers (71 male and 72 female) enrolled in a teacher education institute were involved in this study. Their ages ranged from 19-21 years old and majoring in the sciences, mathematics, social sciences and languages. Upon completing the course these teachers will be awarded with a Bachelor of Teaching, Primary Education and will be appointed as primary school teachers. Prior to entering the teacher education institute these students had undergone six years of primary education and five years of secondary education under the Malaysian education system.

#### **4.3 Instrument**

Data were collected using the Questionnaire on Environment Knowledge (QEK). QEK possesses high internal reliability with alpha Cronbach value reported as .89 and validated on the appropriateness of the content by two experts (Karpudewan et al. 2009). QEK was originally developed by Yencken et al. (2000) and contained 12 items: 8 items evaluated the understanding of TECs and 4 items on SDCs. The modified version contained 20 items. The first item focused on investigating the pre-service teachers' level of awareness of the environmental concepts, 12 items evaluated their understanding of TECs and 7 on SDCs. For the purpose this study, only items that evaluated the understanding of environmental concepts were included. Thus, there were a total of 19 multiple choice questions whereby the students were required to identify the most suitable answer for each item/question. The subjects took 40 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The students' level of understanding of the concepts was computed using percentage values. Comparisons between understanding of TECs and SDCs were conducted using descriptive statistics such as the mean scores and standard deviation.

#### **5. Results**

#### **5.1 Questionnaire survey**

The outcome of the questionnaire survey is presented in Table 2. The frequency indicates the number of students who answered the item on the understanding of a particular environmental concept correctly.

The majority of the students managed to answer the questions on TECs correctly. A total of 143 (93%) students answered the question on *water pollution* correctly. This is followed by *haze* (105, 69%), *ozone layer* (90, 59%), *ecology* (88, 58%), *greenhouse effect* (75, 49%) and *solid waste accumulation* (60, 40%). According to Yencken et al. (2000), these concepts are categorized as TECs. The outcome of this study is similar to the study conducted by the same authors involving secondary school pre-service teachers (Karpudewan et al. 2009). Students seemed to have a good grasp of the TECs which could be explained by their primary and secondary school experiences prior to entering higher learning institutions. According to Abdul Rashid (2006) and Sharifah & Hashimah Yunus (2006) the traditional concepts have been integrated into the existing curriculum and additionally co-curricular activities with environmental themes which embraced traditional concepts were also conducted in schools (Ministry of Education, 2004). Another possible reason for the high level of understanding of traditional environmental concepts could be due to the frequency

Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

**5.2 Interview outcome** 

illustrate one student's understanding of SDCs.

environment.

itself.

sounds very complex.

Student A: Sometimes in the newspapers.

The student could not enhance or elaborate on the concept.

Interviewer: Oh…that's good. What do you think then?

Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 21

Concepts N Range of scores Mean scores Standard deviation TECs 153 1-12 8.45 6.067 SDCs 153 1-7 1.09 2.075

Table 3 shows the range, mean scores and standard deviation for the entire TECs and SDCs. There are a total of 12 TECs and 7 SDCs in the questionnaire. The scores for TEC ranged from 1-12 with a mean of 8.45 and the scores for SDC ranged from 1-7 with a mean score of 1.09. Understanding of SDCs appears to be below the average of 3.5 while understanding of TECs is noticed to be above the average value of 6. Accordingly, findings from this study indicate that relatively, pre-service teacher's understanding of TECs is higher than SDCs.

Interviews were conducted with 20 students in order to further enhance the outcome of the quantitative survey and to elaborate on the student teachers' awareness of environmental concepts. Similar to the findings from the quantitative survey, interview results indicate that the majority of the participants were familiar with TECs while SDCs appeared to be foreign to them. The majority of the participants were also noticed to have a better understanding of TECs while understanding of SDCs appeared to be minimal. The following excerpts

Student A: Not very sure. But I think it got something to do with sustaining the

Interviewer: Can you elaborate on what you mean by sustaining the environment? Student A: I think it is like preventing pollution and conserving the environment. The above discourse indicates this particular student is aware of the term sustainable development. However, the understanding of the meaning of term appears to be superficial.

Another student perceived the idea of SDCs as abstract and held the misconception that it is only appropriate for SDCs to be integrated into science lessons but not in other subjects.

Student B: I don't know the meaning exactly. But I suppose I can guess from the word

Interviewer: Okay…let me explain the real meaning. *The interviewer starts to explain the meaning of ecological footprint. After explaining the meaning the interviewer asked …* now

Interviewer: Do have any idea what is the meaning of ecological footprint?

Student B: I think how much your daily actions contribute to the pollution…..

is it possible to tell how you can integrate this concept in your teaching? Student B: I am not very sure. I think it best suits to be integrated in science teaching. It

Interviewer: Have you heard about the term sustainable development?

Interviewer: Do you have any idea of the meaning the word?

Table 3. Comparison of pre-service teachers understanding of TECs and SDCs


Table 2. Outcome of questionnaire survey

of appearance of these concepts in the daily newspaper and television. The general public is constantly reminded of the importance of recycling their waste, how and where to recycle through advertisements in newspapers and television. News on forest being destroyed (deforestation), open burning, illegal logging, flash flood and toxic waste being illegally discarded into the rivers by irresponsible parties were constantly broadcast. With Malaysia being one of the main producer of palm oil, the issues of using palm oil to produce biodiesel has been strongly argued. Subsequently, the term renewable resource was mentioned frequently. In sum all this could account for the students understanding of TECs.

However, results in table 2 also indicate that students' understanding of SDCs are far below average. For example only 15 students (10%) could give the correct answer for the concept *interdependence*. This is followed by *sustainable development* (13, 8%) *eco-efficiency* (6, 4%), *carrying capacity* (5, 3%), *ecological footprint* (4, 2%), *precautionary principle* (1, 0.01%), and *intergenerational equity* (1, 0.01%). According to Yencken et al., (2000) these concepts are known as SDCs. SDCs are foreign and not found in the primary and secondary school curriculum. The results of this study is similar with the findings of another study conducted by Karpudewan et al., (2009), Spiropoulpu, Antonakaki, Kontaxaki and Bouras (2007), Yang, Lam and Wong (2010) and Jucker (2002). Karpudewan et al. (2009) earlier study showed that the Malaysian secondary school pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs generally appeared to be at the minimal level. Spiropoulpu et al., (2007) reported Greece's primary pre-service teachers' holds misconception of conceptual meaning of the term 'sustainability' and these teachers are not familiar with these concepts. Jucker's (2002) internet survey involving participants of all the humanities faculties in Germany, The Netherlands, UK and Switzerland also found some unsustainable core characteristics such as eco-illiteracy.


Table 3. Comparison of pre-service teachers understanding of TECs and SDCs

Table 3 shows the range, mean scores and standard deviation for the entire TECs and SDCs. There are a total of 12 TECs and 7 SDCs in the questionnaire. The scores for TEC ranged from 1-12 with a mean of 8.45 and the scores for SDC ranged from 1-7 with a mean score of 1.09. Understanding of SDCs appears to be below the average of 3.5 while understanding of TECs is noticed to be above the average value of 6. Accordingly, findings from this study indicate that relatively, pre-service teacher's understanding of TECs is higher than SDCs.

#### **5.2 Interview outcome**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 20 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

of appearance of these concepts in the daily newspaper and television. The general public is constantly reminded of the importance of recycling their waste, how and where to recycle through advertisements in newspapers and television. News on forest being destroyed (deforestation), open burning, illegal logging, flash flood and toxic waste being illegally discarded into the rivers by irresponsible parties were constantly broadcast. With Malaysia being one of the main producer of palm oil, the issues of using palm oil to produce biodiesel has been strongly argued. Subsequently, the term renewable resource was mentioned

However, results in table 2 also indicate that students' understanding of SDCs are far below average. For example only 15 students (10%) could give the correct answer for the concept *interdependence*. This is followed by *sustainable development* (13, 8%) *eco-efficiency* (6, 4%), *carrying capacity* (5, 3%), *ecological footprint* (4, 2%), *precautionary principle* (1, 0.01%), and *intergenerational equity* (1, 0.01%). According to Yencken et al., (2000) these concepts are known as SDCs. SDCs are foreign and not found in the primary and secondary school curriculum. The results of this study is similar with the findings of another study conducted by Karpudewan et al., (2009), Spiropoulpu, Antonakaki, Kontaxaki and Bouras (2007), Yang, Lam and Wong (2010) and Jucker (2002). Karpudewan et al. (2009) earlier study showed that the Malaysian secondary school pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs generally appeared to be at the minimal level. Spiropoulpu et al., (2007) reported Greece's primary pre-service teachers' holds misconception of conceptual meaning of the term 'sustainability' and these teachers are not familiar with these concepts. Jucker's (2002) internet survey involving participants of all the humanities faculties in Germany, The Netherlands, UK and

frequently. In sum all this could account for the students understanding of TECs.

Switzerland also found some unsustainable core characteristics such as eco-illiteracy.

Water pollution 143 93 Haze 105 69 Ozone layer 90 59 Ecology 88 58 Greenhouse effect 75 49 Solid waste accumulation 60 40 Renewable resources 36 24 Global warming 34 22 Biodiversity 32 21 Deforestation 31 20 Carbon cycle 28 18 Interdependence 15 10 Sustainable development 13 8 Eco-efficiency 6 4 Carrying capacity 5 3 Ecological footprint 4 2 Precautionary principle 1 0.01 Intergenerational equity 1 0.01

Table 2. Outcome of questionnaire survey

Concepts Frequency (n) Percentage (%)

Interviews were conducted with 20 students in order to further enhance the outcome of the quantitative survey and to elaborate on the student teachers' awareness of environmental concepts. Similar to the findings from the quantitative survey, interview results indicate that the majority of the participants were familiar with TECs while SDCs appeared to be foreign to them. The majority of the participants were also noticed to have a better understanding of TECs while understanding of SDCs appeared to be minimal. The following excerpts illustrate one student's understanding of SDCs.

Interviewer: Have you heard about the term sustainable development?

Student A: Sometimes in the newspapers.

Interviewer: Do you have any idea of the meaning the word?

Student A: Not very sure. But I think it got something to do with sustaining the environment.

Interviewer: Can you elaborate on what you mean by sustaining the environment? Student A: I think it is like preventing pollution and conserving the environment.

The above discourse indicates this particular student is aware of the term sustainable development. However, the understanding of the meaning of term appears to be superficial. The student could not enhance or elaborate on the concept.

Another student perceived the idea of SDCs as abstract and held the misconception that it is only appropriate for SDCs to be integrated into science lessons but not in other subjects.

Interviewer: Do have any idea what is the meaning of ecological footprint?

Student B: I don't know the meaning exactly. But I suppose I can guess from the word itself.

Interviewer: Oh…that's good. What do you think then?

Student B: I think how much your daily actions contribute to the pollution…..

Interviewer: Okay…let me explain the real meaning. *The interviewer starts to explain the meaning of ecological footprint. After explaining the meaning the interviewer asked …* now is it possible to tell how you can integrate this concept in your teaching?

Student B: I am not very sure. I think it best suits to be integrated in science teaching. It sounds very complex.

Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

species.

**7. Conclusion** 

**8. References** 

Understanding and Awareness of Environmental Knowledge 23

further proposed that this could be implemented through outdoor activities and environmental education simultaneously suggesting that all education to be environmental education. Following Orr's suggestion, Mitchell and Mueller (2011) in their study have used outdoor learning environment to develop care and value towards nature and other living

In Malaysia, various federal and state government departments, the private sector, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are actively promoting EE in both formal and non-formal arenas. The target groups are from all levels of society - teachers, students, government agencies, developers, restaurant operators, industries/factory owners and the general public. Non-formal EE activities planned and implemented includes environmental camps, talks, exhibitions, quizzes, workshops, seminars, tree-planting and radio shows. Environment-related events such as Malaysia Environment Week (21-27 October), Earth Day (22 April), World Environment Day (5 June),

Wetlands Day (2 February) and Water Day (22 March) are also celebrated each year.

appropriate to integrate these concepts into the teacher education curriculum.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

*Environmental Conservation,* 14(2), 101-110.

Abdul Rashid Mohamed, Sharifah Norhaidah Idros & Hashimah Mohd. Yunus (2006).

Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD), Penang Malaysia, 187-113. Ajzen, I. & Fishbein, M. (1985). *Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior*.

Barbier, E. (1987). The concept of sustainable economic sustainable development.

*Education for Sustainable Development: Initiatives in Teacher Education*, in Osman, O and Zainal Abidin, S (Eds), Proceedings for The 2006 ASAIHL Conference on

Global environmental crisis have created an expectation that improved understanding and awareness of ecological concepts would be one way of overcoming the growing crisis. This expectation is in parallel with the work of Hungerford and Volk (1990) and Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera (1987) whereby knowledge is perceived as antecedent towards environmentally responsible behavior. Paramount to this is the notion that school classes were found to be increasingly influential in the acquisition of knowledge about the environment (Fortner and Meyer, 1991). It is also suggested that simply relying on knowledge transfer will not bring about behavioral change (Frick, Kaiser and Wilson, 2004). According to Frick et al., (2004) it is essential to identify the types of knowledge that can promote behavioral change effectively and investigate the structure of this knowledge. The results of our study showed that the pre-service teachers have considerably high level of understanding and awareness of TECs but low on SDCs. SDCs provide a platform for the environment to be presented in a holistic manner. Teaching these concepts will allow for issues on the environment, economy and society to be appropriately integrated into the subject matter. This is in line with Orr's theory of ecology which emphasized the importance of natural environment to be embraced in education. The low/minimal level of understanding of SDCs by the students/preservice teachers suggest that it is timely

Student B indicated that he was not sure of the meaning and tried to guess the meaning from the words/terms. Even though he did not manage to arrive at a completely right answer, his answer reflected his idea of ecological footprint to a certain extent. To Student B, the term is complex and he had difficulties in understanding this concept. The vague understanding is further evidenced when he said that this concept is appropriate to be integrated only in the science curriculum.

#### **6. Discussion**

The results of the questionnaire survey showed that Malaysian primary pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs is far lower than TECs. This is further supported by the interview findings which showed that not only did the pre-service teachers had a low understanding of SDCs some even stated that they were unaware of these concepts. On the contrary, the pre-service teachers' understandings of TECs were higher. A similar scenario has also been reported in other studies worldwide.

According to the theory of planned behavior, knowledge ultimately influences the intended behavior and final behavior to be performed (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1985). But why do global environmental problems persist when the level of understanding of environmental concepts exhibited by the pre-service teachers appeared to be high? This could probably be due to the fact that the knowledge that the students received has no influence on their attitudes and behaviors. The knowledge of TECs appeared to be proportional in nature rather than procedural, i.e., it is '*knowledge about the environment*' rather than '*knowledge on how to work for the environment*' (Fien and Tilbury, 2002). According to Fien and Tilbury (2002) proportional knowledge will not bring about behavioral change. Through this knowledge students learn about the environment. However, the holistic view of the environment relating to economy and society is not emphasized in the traditional environment concepts.

Improving understanding of SDCs which are more sustainable development related and less discipline specific would be a long term solution for the rising global environmental issues. Integration of SDCs into the subject matter will allow the learning to be extended beyond the four walls of the classroom. It provides an opportunity for the real world activities and scenario to be reflected in the teaching and learning process that takes place in the classroom. For example, when the primary school students were taught on the concept of living things in the science lessons an interdisciplinary approach would be appropriate for SDC to be integrated. The term *interdisciplinary* describes the interconnectivity of various living things in this world: animals, plants and humans. Integration of this term provides a platform for the teachers to discuss the importance of maintaining the interrelationships between the living things in sustaining the environment and preserving the social structure. Teachers could use examples of social structures being destroyed due to poverty, increased in population and also due to pollution.

The integration of SDCs is fundamentally grounded on David Orr's theory of ecology literacy (Orr 1994, 2006). Through this theory, Orr stressed the importance of considering natural environment as part of education. Education that reflects on natural environment inherently assists in restoring the social and cultural structure of a nation from being destroyed. According to Orr, the experiences from their own environment will shift from overemphasis of economic towards balance among economics, ecology and culture. Orr further proposed that this could be implemented through outdoor activities and environmental education simultaneously suggesting that all education to be environmental education. Following Orr's suggestion, Mitchell and Mueller (2011) in their study have used outdoor learning environment to develop care and value towards nature and other living species.

In Malaysia, various federal and state government departments, the private sector, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are actively promoting EE in both formal and non-formal arenas. The target groups are from all levels of society - teachers, students, government agencies, developers, restaurant operators, industries/factory owners and the general public. Non-formal EE activities planned and implemented includes environmental camps, talks, exhibitions, quizzes, workshops, seminars, tree-planting and radio shows. Environment-related events such as Malaysia Environment Week (21-27 October), Earth Day (22 April), World Environment Day (5 June), Wetlands Day (2 February) and Water Day (22 March) are also celebrated each year.

#### **7. Conclusion**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 22 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

Student B indicated that he was not sure of the meaning and tried to guess the meaning from the words/terms. Even though he did not manage to arrive at a completely right answer, his answer reflected his idea of ecological footprint to a certain extent. To Student B, the term is complex and he had difficulties in understanding this concept. The vague understanding is further evidenced when he said that this concept is appropriate to be

The results of the questionnaire survey showed that Malaysian primary pre-service teachers' understanding of SDCs is far lower than TECs. This is further supported by the interview findings which showed that not only did the pre-service teachers had a low understanding of SDCs some even stated that they were unaware of these concepts. On the contrary, the pre-service teachers' understandings of TECs were higher. A similar scenario has also been

According to the theory of planned behavior, knowledge ultimately influences the intended behavior and final behavior to be performed (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1985). But why do global environmental problems persist when the level of understanding of environmental concepts exhibited by the pre-service teachers appeared to be high? This could probably be due to the fact that the knowledge that the students received has no influence on their attitudes and behaviors. The knowledge of TECs appeared to be proportional in nature rather than procedural, i.e., it is '*knowledge about the environment*' rather than '*knowledge on how to work for the environment*' (Fien and Tilbury, 2002). According to Fien and Tilbury (2002) proportional knowledge will not bring about behavioral change. Through this knowledge students learn about the environment. However, the holistic view of the environment relating to economy

Improving understanding of SDCs which are more sustainable development related and less discipline specific would be a long term solution for the rising global environmental issues. Integration of SDCs into the subject matter will allow the learning to be extended beyond the four walls of the classroom. It provides an opportunity for the real world activities and scenario to be reflected in the teaching and learning process that takes place in the classroom. For example, when the primary school students were taught on the concept of living things in the science lessons an interdisciplinary approach would be appropriate for SDC to be integrated. The term *interdisciplinary* describes the interconnectivity of various living things in this world: animals, plants and humans. Integration of this term provides a platform for the teachers to discuss the importance of maintaining the interrelationships between the living things in sustaining the environment and preserving the social structure. Teachers could use examples of social structures being destroyed due to poverty, increased

The integration of SDCs is fundamentally grounded on David Orr's theory of ecology literacy (Orr 1994, 2006). Through this theory, Orr stressed the importance of considering natural environment as part of education. Education that reflects on natural environment inherently assists in restoring the social and cultural structure of a nation from being destroyed. According to Orr, the experiences from their own environment will shift from overemphasis of economic towards balance among economics, ecology and culture. Orr

and society is not emphasized in the traditional environment concepts.

integrated only in the science curriculum.

reported in other studies worldwide.

in population and also due to pollution.

**6. Discussion** 

Global environmental crisis have created an expectation that improved understanding and awareness of ecological concepts would be one way of overcoming the growing crisis. This expectation is in parallel with the work of Hungerford and Volk (1990) and Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera (1987) whereby knowledge is perceived as antecedent towards environmentally responsible behavior. Paramount to this is the notion that school classes were found to be increasingly influential in the acquisition of knowledge about the environment (Fortner and Meyer, 1991). It is also suggested that simply relying on knowledge transfer will not bring about behavioral change (Frick, Kaiser and Wilson, 2004). According to Frick et al., (2004) it is essential to identify the types of knowledge that can promote behavioral change effectively and investigate the structure of this knowledge. The results of our study showed that the pre-service teachers have considerably high level of understanding and awareness of TECs but low on SDCs. SDCs provide a platform for the environment to be presented in a holistic manner. Teaching these concepts will allow for issues on the environment, economy and society to be appropriately integrated into the subject matter. This is in line with Orr's theory of ecology which emphasized the importance of natural environment to be embraced in education. The low/minimal level of understanding of SDCs by the students/preservice teachers suggest that it is timely appropriate to integrate these concepts into the teacher education curriculum.

#### **8. References**


Malaysian Primary Pre-Service Teachers'

www.millenniumassessment.org

from http:// www.moe.my

293–312.

443-450.

Club Books.

*Connect*, XV(1), 1–3.

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9222-9\_2. Retrieved from http://www.springer.com/978-90-481-9221-2 MEA (2005). Millennium ecosystem assessment synthesis report. Retrieved from

MOSTE (2002). National Policy on the environment. Retrieved from http://www.sabah.gov.my/jpas/news/Conv06/Papers/Pap13\_EPD.pdf. Ministry of Education, (2004). *Development of Education. National Report of Malaysia.* Retrieved

Nadeson, T. & Nor Shidawati (2005). The implementation of EE in Malaysian Schools: A

Petergem, V. P., Blieck, A. & Boeve-De Pauw, J. (2007) Evaluating the implementation

Salequzzaman, M. & Stocker, L. (2001). The context and prospects for environmental

Sharifah Norhaidah Syed Idros & Hashimah Yunus. (2006). *Malaysian Pre and In-Service* 

Stables, A & Scott, W. 2002. The quest for holism in education for sustainable development.

Spiropoulou, D., Antonakaki, T., Kontaxaki, S. & Bouras, S. (2007). Primary teachers' literacy

Tikka, P.M., Kuitunen, M.T.,Tynys, S.M. (2000). The effects of educational background on

Tilbury, D. (1997) Environmental Education and Development Education: teaching

Orr, D. W. (2006). Recollection. In M. K. Stone & Z. Barlow (Eds.), Ecological literacy:

UNESCO (2006). Report on a decade of education for sustainable development. Retrieved

UNESCO-UNEP. (1990). Environmentally educated teachers: The priority of priorities?

World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). *Our Common Future (The* 

*Environmental Education for Sustainable Development,* Kuala Lumpur

studies, *The Journal of Environmental Education*, 38 (2), 47-54.

*Sustainability in Higher Education,* 2 (2), 104-126

*Environmental Education Research* 8(1): 53-60.

*Journal of Environmental Education*, 31, 12-19

Geography. Routledge, London pp.93-104. Orr, D. W. (1994). Earth in mind. Washington, DC: Island Press

from www.unesco.org/educationon/desd

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NGOs Overview. Paper presented at *Best of Both Worlds International Conference on* 

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*Teacher Preparedness in Teaching for Sustainability.* in Suan, Y., Ismail, M., Nurulazam, A., Fong.,S.,F., and Lim, C.,S (Eds), Proceedings for International Organization of Science and Technology Education Symposium 2006-Science and Technology Education in the Service of Humankind, Penang, Malaysia, 481-486 Summers, M., Kruger, C., & Childs, A. (2000). Primary school teachers' understanding of

environmental issues: An interview study. *Environmental Education Research*, 6(4),

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students' attitudes, activity levels, and knowledge concerning the environment.

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Educating our children for a sustainable world (pp. 96–106). San Francisco: Sierra

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**3** 

Shina Olayiwola

*University of Alberta* 

*Canada* 

**Alternative Perspective to Funding** 

The funding model of university education in Nigeria is one of the control measures being utilized by the government as the proprietor of such institution. Such model of funding is determined by policies approved by the legislative and executive arms of the government. Currently, there is low-level of university education funding and it is often a recurrent debatable issue among stakeholders with its effects on quality of university education in Nigeria. The World Bank (2010) study reported that the problem of higher education financing, particularly university education is more acute in Africa than in the rest of the world. Apart from this low-level of funding in Nigeria for instance, this paper examines the funding policies of public universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria with a

Specifically, this paper draws on historical analysis of funds received by public universities owned and controlled by the Federal Government of Nigeria between the years 2000 and 2009 using the existing funding framework. The Hauptman's (2006) model of funding policies was utilized in order to argue for another funding policy in Nigeria. According to Hauptman, the funding policies are historical or political basis; funding formulas, policydriven funding; performance-based funding; and categorical and competitive funds. I am of the opinion that the existing funding framework in Nigeria reflects a combination of historical basis, funding formulas, and policy-driven funding of the Hauptman's (2006) model. Therefore, this paper argues for performance-based funding policy in order to position public universities in a national and international competitive environment as a

The history of university education funding in Nigeria is as old as the establishment of universities. This dates back to 1948 when the University College Ibadan (UCI) was established following the Elliot Commission's recommendation in Nigeria. The Elliot Commission was set up in the year 1943 "to report on the organisation and facilities of the existing centres of higher education in British West Africa, and to make recommendations regarding future university development in that area" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 144). Though UCI

**1. Introduction** 

**2. Background** 

view to proposing an alternative funding policy.

means of attaining sustainable and national development.

**Public Universities in Nigeria** 

*Department of Educational Policy Studies,* 


## **Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria**

#### Shina Olayiwola

*Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta Canada* 

#### **1. Introduction**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 26 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

Yang, G., Lam, C. C., & Wong, N. Y. (2010). Developing an instrument for identifying

Yencken, D., Fien, J. & Sykes, H. eds. (2000) *Environment, Education and Society in the Asia-*

*Pacific: Local Traditions and Global Discourses*, London, Routledge

*The Journal of Environmental Education*, 41(4), 195-207.

secondary teachers' beliefs about education for sustainable development in China.

The funding model of university education in Nigeria is one of the control measures being utilized by the government as the proprietor of such institution. Such model of funding is determined by policies approved by the legislative and executive arms of the government. Currently, there is low-level of university education funding and it is often a recurrent debatable issue among stakeholders with its effects on quality of university education in Nigeria. The World Bank (2010) study reported that the problem of higher education financing, particularly university education is more acute in Africa than in the rest of the world. Apart from this low-level of funding in Nigeria for instance, this paper examines the funding policies of public universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria with a view to proposing an alternative funding policy.

Specifically, this paper draws on historical analysis of funds received by public universities owned and controlled by the Federal Government of Nigeria between the years 2000 and 2009 using the existing funding framework. The Hauptman's (2006) model of funding policies was utilized in order to argue for another funding policy in Nigeria. According to Hauptman, the funding policies are historical or political basis; funding formulas, policydriven funding; performance-based funding; and categorical and competitive funds. I am of the opinion that the existing funding framework in Nigeria reflects a combination of historical basis, funding formulas, and policy-driven funding of the Hauptman's (2006) model. Therefore, this paper argues for performance-based funding policy in order to position public universities in a national and international competitive environment as a means of attaining sustainable and national development.

#### **2. Background**

The history of university education funding in Nigeria is as old as the establishment of universities. This dates back to 1948 when the University College Ibadan (UCI) was established following the Elliot Commission's recommendation in Nigeria. The Elliot Commission was set up in the year 1943 "to report on the organisation and facilities of the existing centres of higher education in British West Africa, and to make recommendations regarding future university development in that area" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 144). Though UCI

Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 29

One of the recommendations of Ashby Commission set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1959 was "a National Universities Commission should be set up to have undisputed control over the affairs of the universities, particularly in terms of finance, staff and courses" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 155). In response to this Ashby Commission's recommendation, the National Universities Commission (NUC) was established in the year

Prior to taking over of existing regional universities in the year 1975, the NUC was reconstituted through Decree No.1 of 1974, as a statutory body for receiving block grants from the Federal Government and allocating them to federally controlled universities in accordance with such funding formula or parameters as may be laid down by the National Council of Ministers or Federal Executive Council, and performing other related functions. The block grants are separated into capital and recurrent grants. Comprehensively, the

• enquire into and advise the Federal Government on the funding needs, both recurrent and capital, of university education in Nigeria and in particular, to investigate and

• to take into account in advising the Federal and State Governments on university finances, such as grants that may be made available to universities by corporate bodies

The funding parameters instituted by the Federal Government and directed to NUC for implementation can be viewed as a policy or control measure to direct the affairs of these federally controlled universities in terms of financial issues. This funding formula is usually initiated by the NUC in consultation with the universities based on financial needs assessment of universities and later being forwarded to the Federal Government for

From the inception of NUC in 1974 as a statutory body, the funding formula for allocating funds to these federally controlled universities has consistently been reviewed based on several factors, such as generation of universities, that is, the year of establishment, number of degree students admitted, number of academic and non-academic staff, and ratio of science and humanities based disciplines. As a result of these factors, the funding formula keep on changing. For instance, Esenwa (2011) examined the role of NUC since inception and projected what the future is likely to be for NUC. He stated that one of the critical aspects of the funding mandate of NUC is to review the funding parameters for allocating funds to universities based on the approved funding policies by the Federal Government. For Esenwa, since the year 1974, the funding formula has been revisited twice, that is, in the

Okojie (2010) described the current approved funding criteria used by NUC to disburse

funds to universities. These funding parameters or criteria according to Okojie are: • capital grants on the basis of generation (year of establishment) of the university;

study the financial needs of universities in order to ensure adequate provision; • receive block grants from the Federal Government and allocate them to federal universities in accordance with such formula as may be laid down by the Federal

or institutions and institutions both within and outside Nigeria. (NUC, 2011)

1962 as an advisory agency to ensure adequate funding of universities in Nigeria.

funding mandate of NUC is in three dimensions. The dimensions are:

approval. This is in line with the funding mandate of NUC.

**2.1 Funding framework** 

Executive Council; and

year 1982 and also in the year 1989.

was affiliated to University of London, it was accorded university status in 1962 and named as University of Ibadan (UI). Ukeje (2002) noted that UCI was funded from two main sources. The Nigerian government provided 70 per cent of the funds while the United Kingdom provided 30 per cent of the total recurrent cost.

Between the years 1960 and 1970, five more universities were established following Ashby Commission's report. The Ashby Commission was set up in the year 1959 "to conduct an investigation into Nigeria's needs in the field of Post-Secondary School Certificate and Higher Education over the next twenty years (1960 – 1980)" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 152). The four of these five, were regional universities and their year of establishment: University of Nigeria in 1960, Ahmadu Bello University in 1962, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1962, and University of Benin in 1970. The fifth one was University of Lagos and was established in the year 1962 by the Federal Government of Nigeria. All these five universities plus UI made six universities in Nigeria as of the year 1975 and are regarded as first generation universities.

These first generation universities were well-funded until the year 1975 by their proprietors, that is, the Federal and Regional: Eastern, Mid-Western, Northern and Western Governments. Ukeje (2002) pointed out that in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) for instance, from the years 1962 to 1975; there was no substantive difference each year between the amount requested by the University and the amount received from the Northern Regional Government. He further stated that there were years in which the amount received was slightly more than the amount requested. Perhaps, this could be attributed to what Yesufu (1985) stated that between 1950s and 1960s, Northern, Western, Mid-Western, and Eastern Regional Governments devoted from 25% to 30% of their annual budgets to education.

In the year 1975, the Federal Government of Nigeria established seven more universities and also took over the existing four regional universities. This announcement made the total number of universities under the Federal Government's control to be 13 universities. Hence, the Federal Government had the sole control of financing these 13 universities from the year 1975. Onyeonoru (2007) argued that the 1975 period marked the beginning of the problem of university funding in Nigeria. To corroborate his view, he cited Ukeje (2002) that after the 1975/ 1976 session at ABU for the first time, a recorded shortfall of 20 per cent in the amount requested was observed. This situation can be inferred that there is negative correlation between funding of university education and establishment of more universities in Nigeria. This inference can also be supported by the study of the World Bank (2010) on problem of financing university education in the whole of Africa. This means fewer resources competing for establishment and funding of more universities in order to make provision for access to university education.

As a result of an increasing demand for university education in Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria established nine more universities between the years 1980 and 1990. And also between the years 1991 and 2009, five additional universities were established. Therefore, as of year 2009, the number of federally controlled universities in Nigeria was 27. One of the main arguments for increase in the number of universities is provision of access to qualified individuals. For instance, Okojie (2010) reported that degree student enrolment increased from 104 in 1948; 1 395 in 1960; 40 000 in 1976; 172 000 in 1988; 448 000 in year 2000; and to over 950 000 presently.

#### **2.1 Funding framework**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 28 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

was affiliated to University of London, it was accorded university status in 1962 and named as University of Ibadan (UI). Ukeje (2002) noted that UCI was funded from two main sources. The Nigerian government provided 70 per cent of the funds while the United

Between the years 1960 and 1970, five more universities were established following Ashby Commission's report. The Ashby Commission was set up in the year 1959 "to conduct an investigation into Nigeria's needs in the field of Post-Secondary School Certificate and Higher Education over the next twenty years (1960 – 1980)" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 152). The four of these five, were regional universities and their year of establishment: University of Nigeria in 1960, Ahmadu Bello University in 1962, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1962, and University of Benin in 1970. The fifth one was University of Lagos and was established in the year 1962 by the Federal Government of Nigeria. All these five universities plus UI made six universities in Nigeria as of the year 1975 and are regarded as

These first generation universities were well-funded until the year 1975 by their proprietors, that is, the Federal and Regional: Eastern, Mid-Western, Northern and Western Governments. Ukeje (2002) pointed out that in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) for instance, from the years 1962 to 1975; there was no substantive difference each year between the amount requested by the University and the amount received from the Northern Regional Government. He further stated that there were years in which the amount received was slightly more than the amount requested. Perhaps, this could be attributed to what Yesufu (1985) stated that between 1950s and 1960s, Northern, Western, Mid-Western, and Eastern Regional Governments devoted from 25% to 30% of their annual budgets to education.

In the year 1975, the Federal Government of Nigeria established seven more universities and also took over the existing four regional universities. This announcement made the total number of universities under the Federal Government's control to be 13 universities. Hence, the Federal Government had the sole control of financing these 13 universities from the year 1975. Onyeonoru (2007) argued that the 1975 period marked the beginning of the problem of university funding in Nigeria. To corroborate his view, he cited Ukeje (2002) that after the 1975/ 1976 session at ABU for the first time, a recorded shortfall of 20 per cent in the amount requested was observed. This situation can be inferred that there is negative correlation between funding of university education and establishment of more universities in Nigeria. This inference can also be supported by the study of the World Bank (2010) on problem of financing university education in the whole of Africa. This means fewer resources competing for establishment and funding of more universities in order to make

As a result of an increasing demand for university education in Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria established nine more universities between the years 1980 and 1990. And also between the years 1991 and 2009, five additional universities were established. Therefore, as of year 2009, the number of federally controlled universities in Nigeria was 27. One of the main arguments for increase in the number of universities is provision of access to qualified individuals. For instance, Okojie (2010) reported that degree student enrolment increased from 104 in 1948; 1 395 in 1960; 40 000 in 1976; 172 000 in 1988; 448 000 in year

Kingdom provided 30 per cent of the total recurrent cost.

first generation universities.

provision for access to university education.

2000; and to over 950 000 presently.

One of the recommendations of Ashby Commission set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1959 was "a National Universities Commission should be set up to have undisputed control over the affairs of the universities, particularly in terms of finance, staff and courses" (Fafunwa, 1974, p. 155). In response to this Ashby Commission's recommendation, the National Universities Commission (NUC) was established in the year 1962 as an advisory agency to ensure adequate funding of universities in Nigeria.

Prior to taking over of existing regional universities in the year 1975, the NUC was reconstituted through Decree No.1 of 1974, as a statutory body for receiving block grants from the Federal Government and allocating them to federally controlled universities in accordance with such funding formula or parameters as may be laid down by the National Council of Ministers or Federal Executive Council, and performing other related functions. The block grants are separated into capital and recurrent grants. Comprehensively, the funding mandate of NUC is in three dimensions. The dimensions are:


The funding parameters instituted by the Federal Government and directed to NUC for implementation can be viewed as a policy or control measure to direct the affairs of these federally controlled universities in terms of financial issues. This funding formula is usually initiated by the NUC in consultation with the universities based on financial needs assessment of universities and later being forwarded to the Federal Government for approval. This is in line with the funding mandate of NUC.

From the inception of NUC in 1974 as a statutory body, the funding formula for allocating funds to these federally controlled universities has consistently been reviewed based on several factors, such as generation of universities, that is, the year of establishment, number of degree students admitted, number of academic and non-academic staff, and ratio of science and humanities based disciplines. As a result of these factors, the funding formula keep on changing. For instance, Esenwa (2011) examined the role of NUC since inception and projected what the future is likely to be for NUC. He stated that one of the critical aspects of the funding mandate of NUC is to review the funding parameters for allocating funds to universities based on the approved funding policies by the Federal Government. For Esenwa, since the year 1974, the funding formula has been revisited twice, that is, in the year 1982 and also in the year 1989.

Okojie (2010) described the current approved funding criteria used by NUC to disburse funds to universities. These funding parameters or criteria according to Okojie are:

• capital grants on the basis of generation (year of establishment) of the university;

Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 31

The increase in funding figures between the years 2000 and 2009 seems encouraging and impressive. However, universities operate as international institutions. This implies that Nigerian universities obtain both teaching and research inputs from not only the immediate environment, but also outside the shore of Nigeria. Therefore, the real value of these funds should be determined using US Dollars as a bench mark. As of the year 2000, the average exchange value of one US Dollar to one Nigerian Naira was 86 Naira. Based on this calculation, the recurrent grants received by the entire 27 federally controlled universities was USD 327 979 289. 14 and the value for capital grants was USD 22 520 763. 16. In the year 2009, the average exchange value of one US Dollar to one Nigerian Naira was 158 Naira. Therefore, the recurrent grants received by the entire 27 federally controlled universities was USD 620 433 222. 77 and the value for capital grants was USD 66 910 517. 29. The percentage increment in recurrent grants between the years 2000 and 2009 was 89. 17 per

The implication of this funding analysis reflects the observation of the World Bank (2010) study that there is problem of financing qualitative university education in Africa. Apart from the low real value fund between the years 2000 and 2009, the upsurge in degree students' enrolment, that is, over 100 per cent as reported by Okojie (2010) is yet another dimension to compound the problem. The earlier study by Saint, Hartnett, and Strassner (2003) also found that between the years 1990 and 1997, the real value of government allocations for higher education declined by 27 per cent- even as enrolment grew by 79 per cent. Although there was slight increment between the years 2000 and 2009 in the real value of fund especially in capital grants, such increment seems to be incommensurable with the

Okojie (2010) admitted that most federally controlled universities' administrators complain of inadequate funding and they are not allowed to charge undergraduate tuition fees. The effects of this funding problem could have resulted to some of Obanya's (2002) earlier observations on deterioration of physical facilities; internal and external brain drain among the intellectual class; and overstretching of teaching, research and managerial capacities in Nigerian university system. In relation to the university's mandate on research for instance,

Since most research input and equipment are imported, the purchasing power of the naira has been weakening as a result of the devaluation of currency. Most of the input in the form of books, journals, and laboratory equipment could not be sustained for

As a result of these daunting teaching and research situations, universities' administrators have consistently identified funding issues as a critical challenge in discharging their

The effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the funding issue in not only the university sector, but the entire education system was demonstrated by the establishment of Education Trust Fund (ETF) in the year 1993. ETF was created via Education Tax Decree No. 7 of 1993, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and amended by Education Tax Decree No. 40 of 1998. This body is saddled with the responsibility of administering the entire 2 per cent education tax on profit from every company registered in Nigeria. Specifically, the ETF Board of Trustees administers the tax revenue imposed by this Decree and disburses the

cent and for capital grants was 197. 11 per cent.

rise in degree students' enrolment for instance.

research activities. (Olayiwola, 2010, p. 152)

Olayiwola (2010) also claimed that,

functions effectively.


A comprehensive interpretation of this formula for allocating funds to universities in Nigeria is stated in the World Bank (2010) study as normative input-based approach. Hartnett (2000) was cited in World Bank's study. According to the World Bank (2010),

The National Universities Commission in Nigeria has long employed a normative approach to input-based budgeting for Nigeria's federal universities. In calculating an institution's budget recommendation, academic staff members are derived from student numbers using normative guidelines for student-staff ratios that vary by discipline. Likewise, administrative support staff numbers are determined from academic staff numbers using similar guidelines…. Additionally, 10 per cent of each university's recurrent grants is to be devoted to the development of that institution's library, and 5 percent is earmarked for research…" (World Bank, 2010, p. 44).

Based on the funding criteria, the funding trends received by NUC and to be disbursed to public universities controlled by the Federal Government of Nigeria between the years 2000 and 2009 were examined below. Okojie (2010) reported the trends of funds received by Federal Universities as shown in Table 1.


Source: Okojie (2010)

Table 1. Trends of Funds received by Federal Universities in Nigeria

In Table 1, in the year 2000, 28 206 218 865. 91 Naira was received as recurrent grants and 1 936 785 632. 00 Naira was also received as capital grants for the entire 27 federally controlled universities as at that period. As of year 2009, 98 028 449 198. 00 Naira was received for recurrent grants and 10 571 861 732. 00 also received for capital grants for the entire 27 universities. The percentage increase in recurrent grants between the years 2000 and 2009 was 247. 54 per cent and for capital grants was 445. 85 per cent.

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 30 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

• library 10%, research costs 5%, capacity building 1% of the total recurrent-minimum;

A comprehensive interpretation of this formula for allocating funds to universities in Nigeria is stated in the World Bank (2010) study as normative input-based approach. Hartnett (2000) was cited in World Bank's study. According to the World Bank (2010),

Based on the funding criteria, the funding trends received by NUC and to be disbursed to public universities controlled by the Federal Government of Nigeria between the years 2000 and 2009 were examined below. Okojie (2010) reported the trends of funds received by

Year Recurrent Grants (Naira) Capital Grants (Naira) 2000 28 206 218 865. 91 1 936 785 632. 00 2001 28 419 719 502. 84 4 226 691 359. 00

2004 41 492 948 787. 01 11 973 338 699. 00 2005 49 453 098 168. 72 8 822 869 440. 00 2006 75 400 267 475. 00 6 976 416 815. 00 2007 81 757 053 487. 00 8 808 205 850. 00 2008 92 219 484 808. 00 14 414 135 937. 00 2009 98 028 449 198. 00 10 571 861 732. 00

In Table 1, in the year 2000, 28 206 218 865. 91 Naira was received as recurrent grants and 1 936 785 632. 00 Naira was also received as capital grants for the entire 27 federally controlled universities as at that period. As of year 2009, 98 028 449 198. 00 Naira was received for recurrent grants and 10 571 861 732. 00 also received for capital grants for the entire 27 universities. The percentage increase in recurrent grants between the years 2000 and 2009

The National Universities Commission in Nigeria has long employed a normative approach to input-based budgeting for Nigeria's federal universities. In calculating an institution's budget recommendation, academic staff members are derived from student numbers using normative guidelines for student-staff ratios that vary by discipline. Likewise, administrative support staff numbers are determined from academic staff numbers using similar guidelines…. Additionally, 10 per cent of each university's recurrent grants is to be devoted to the development of that institution's library, and 5

• ratio of personnel costs to overheads- 60:40;

• academic to non-academic funding 60:40;

• internally generated revenue- 10%.

Federal Universities as shown in Table 1.

Source: Okojie (2010)

2002 30 351 483 193. 00 2003 34 203 050 936. 33

Table 1. Trends of Funds received by Federal Universities in Nigeria

was 247. 54 per cent and for capital grants was 445. 85 per cent.

• expenditure on central administration- 25% maximum; and

percent is earmarked for research…" (World Bank, 2010, p. 44).

The increase in funding figures between the years 2000 and 2009 seems encouraging and impressive. However, universities operate as international institutions. This implies that Nigerian universities obtain both teaching and research inputs from not only the immediate environment, but also outside the shore of Nigeria. Therefore, the real value of these funds should be determined using US Dollars as a bench mark. As of the year 2000, the average exchange value of one US Dollar to one Nigerian Naira was 86 Naira. Based on this calculation, the recurrent grants received by the entire 27 federally controlled universities was USD 327 979 289. 14 and the value for capital grants was USD 22 520 763. 16. In the year 2009, the average exchange value of one US Dollar to one Nigerian Naira was 158 Naira. Therefore, the recurrent grants received by the entire 27 federally controlled universities was USD 620 433 222. 77 and the value for capital grants was USD 66 910 517. 29. The percentage increment in recurrent grants between the years 2000 and 2009 was 89. 17 per cent and for capital grants was 197. 11 per cent.

The implication of this funding analysis reflects the observation of the World Bank (2010) study that there is problem of financing qualitative university education in Africa. Apart from the low real value fund between the years 2000 and 2009, the upsurge in degree students' enrolment, that is, over 100 per cent as reported by Okojie (2010) is yet another dimension to compound the problem. The earlier study by Saint, Hartnett, and Strassner (2003) also found that between the years 1990 and 1997, the real value of government allocations for higher education declined by 27 per cent- even as enrolment grew by 79 per cent. Although there was slight increment between the years 2000 and 2009 in the real value of fund especially in capital grants, such increment seems to be incommensurable with the rise in degree students' enrolment for instance.

Okojie (2010) admitted that most federally controlled universities' administrators complain of inadequate funding and they are not allowed to charge undergraduate tuition fees. The effects of this funding problem could have resulted to some of Obanya's (2002) earlier observations on deterioration of physical facilities; internal and external brain drain among the intellectual class; and overstretching of teaching, research and managerial capacities in Nigerian university system. In relation to the university's mandate on research for instance, Olayiwola (2010) also claimed that,

Since most research input and equipment are imported, the purchasing power of the naira has been weakening as a result of the devaluation of currency. Most of the input in the form of books, journals, and laboratory equipment could not be sustained for research activities. (Olayiwola, 2010, p. 152)

As a result of these daunting teaching and research situations, universities' administrators have consistently identified funding issues as a critical challenge in discharging their functions effectively.

The effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the funding issue in not only the university sector, but the entire education system was demonstrated by the establishment of Education Trust Fund (ETF) in the year 1993. ETF was created via Education Tax Decree No. 7 of 1993, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and amended by Education Tax Decree No. 40 of 1998. This body is saddled with the responsibility of administering the entire 2 per cent education tax on profit from every company registered in Nigeria. Specifically, the ETF Board of Trustees administers the tax revenue imposed by this Decree and disburses the

Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 33

From Table 2, the total allocation for universities was 26 439 877 960. 12 Naira between the years 1999 and 2008. As of the year 2009, Nigeria had 58 public universities: 27 federal and 31 federally controlled universities. Out of the 27 federally controlled universities as at that period, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos was excluded from the intervention project. Therefore, the entire allocation for 26 federally controlled universities intervention projects was about 12 060 295 209. 88 Naira based on equality formula among the entire 57 public universities. However, the rationale behind the exclusion of National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos was not reported by ETF (2009), this is subject to further investigation.

Saint, Hartnett, and Strassner (2003) conducted a wide study on higher education in Nigeria with particular reference to university education. They concluded that the present funding framework "does not serve the country's longer term development interests" (Saint et al., 2003, p. 17). In a broader report, they noted that, "Historically, university funding has been distributed in broadly equitable ways across both institutions and disciplines with little concern for their performance. The result has been to create a system of excessively homogenous institutions" (p. 16). This implies that consideration is given for geographical location of universities and possibly other historical factors in the allocation of funds. This could be informed by the view that growth and development of universities in Nigeria has been tailored towards correction of educational imbalance among the states and for

In the years following the study by Saint et al. (2003), the findings could be generalized to not only Nigeria, but most African nations. This is confirmed by the study of World Bank (2010) which claimed that, "African governments ought to consider the adoption of performance-based budget allocations in place of historically determined allocations" (p. 6). They observed that performance-based funding has been limited to South Africa alone in the whole of Africa; while countries such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and

As regards the ETF sharing formula to public universities, Sams (2011) concluded that the ETF executive secretary admitted that misappropriation of funds is the major challenge to the implementation of education policies in Nigeria. This could be attributed to equality formula of allocating funds among the public universities. There is no room for healthy competition or allocation of funds based on outcomes or certain criteria. Heads of various institutions could perceive funding of such projects as compulsory with little responsibility

As a result of not only dwindling funds received by universities in Nigeria, but also mismanagement of funds, it becomes important to amend the formula of allocating these funds for efficiency and effectiveness. The existing funding framework appears to be inputdriven and consideration is not given to the outputs (Hartnett, 2000; World Bank, 2010). To minimize the wastage of available paucity funds allocated to federally controlled universities, there is need for incorporation of quality and relevant academic indicators and

**2.1.1 Implications of the existing funding framework** 

Tanzania are already considering its adoption (World Bank, 2010).

promoting national development.

**2.1.2 Performance-based funding** 

or input.

same amount or fund to federal, state, and local governments educational institutions in addressing the following areas:


Therefore, it could be concluded that ETF is established to assist or supplement in the execution of projects relating directly to the teaching, learning and research functions of public universities and other public educational institutions in Nigeria.

ETF as a body collaborates with relevant institutions such as NUC, States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). ETF also works directly with each university in the area of identification of projects to be executed and disbursement of funds. To disburse this tax revenue across all the levels of education, the sharing formula is:


The distribution formula within the higher education section is in the ratio of 2: 1: 1 as between universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education respectively. Among the universities, Eze (2011) reported that all universities are funded equally irrespective of the duration or year of establishment.

The disbursement of funds by ETF started in the year 1999, that is, six years after its establishment. Table 2 presents the total amount of money disbursed across all the levels of education based on the executed intervention projects between the years 1999 and 2008.


Source: ETF (2009)

Table 2. ETF Intervention Projects in Institutions Nationwide from 1999 to 2008, Disbursement as at 30/6/2009 0:00

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 32 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

same amount or fund to federal, state, and local governments educational institutions in

• redressing any imbalance in enrolment tax mix as between the higher educational

Therefore, it could be concluded that ETF is established to assist or supplement in the execution of projects relating directly to the teaching, learning and research functions of

ETF as a body collaborates with relevant institutions such as NUC, States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). ETF also works directly with each university in the area of identification of projects to be executed and disbursement of funds. To disburse this tax revenue across all the levels of

The distribution formula within the higher education section is in the ratio of 2: 1: 1 as between universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education respectively. Among the universities, Eze (2011) reported that all universities are funded equally irrespective of the

The disbursement of funds by ETF started in the year 1999, that is, six years after its establishment. Table 2 presents the total amount of money disbursed across all the levels of education based on the executed intervention projects between the years 1999 and 2008.

Universities 26 439 877 960. 12 15 705 503 511. 93 10 734 374 448. 19 Polytechnics 13 505 479 288. 00 9 169 512 231. 45 4 335 967 056. 55

Education 13 786 121 431. 00 9 944 817 430. 00 3 841 304 000. 00 Monotechnics 4 205 350 000. 00 3 220 480 000. 00 984 870 000. 00 SSEs 16 608 299 569. 75 11 831 596 419. 65 4 776 703 150. 10 SPEBs 33 554 302 747. 90 22 165 386 610. 99 11 388 916 136. 91 Total 108 099 430 995. 77 72 037 296 204. 02 36 062 134 791. 75

Disbursement

(Naira) Outstanding (Naira)

• execution of the 9-year compulsory education programme. (ETF, 2011)

public universities and other public educational institutions in Nigeria.

• the secondary education section receives 10 per cent. (ETF, 2011)

(Naira)

Table 2. ETF Intervention Projects in Institutions Nationwide from 1999 to 2008,

addressing the following areas:

institutions; and

education, the sharing formula is:

duration or year of establishment.

Colleges of

Source: ETF (2009)

Disbursement as at 30/6/2009 0:00

• the higher education section receives 50 per cent; • the primary education section receives 40 per cent; and

Institutions Total Allocation

• works centre and prototype development; • staff development and conference attendance; • library system at the different levels of education; • research equipment procurement and maintenance;

• higher education book development fund;

From Table 2, the total allocation for universities was 26 439 877 960. 12 Naira between the years 1999 and 2008. As of the year 2009, Nigeria had 58 public universities: 27 federal and 31 federally controlled universities. Out of the 27 federally controlled universities as at that period, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos was excluded from the intervention project. Therefore, the entire allocation for 26 federally controlled universities intervention projects was about 12 060 295 209. 88 Naira based on equality formula among the entire 57 public universities. However, the rationale behind the exclusion of National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos was not reported by ETF (2009), this is subject to further investigation.

#### **2.1.1 Implications of the existing funding framework**

Saint, Hartnett, and Strassner (2003) conducted a wide study on higher education in Nigeria with particular reference to university education. They concluded that the present funding framework "does not serve the country's longer term development interests" (Saint et al., 2003, p. 17). In a broader report, they noted that, "Historically, university funding has been distributed in broadly equitable ways across both institutions and disciplines with little concern for their performance. The result has been to create a system of excessively homogenous institutions" (p. 16). This implies that consideration is given for geographical location of universities and possibly other historical factors in the allocation of funds. This could be informed by the view that growth and development of universities in Nigeria has been tailored towards correction of educational imbalance among the states and for promoting national development.

In the years following the study by Saint et al. (2003), the findings could be generalized to not only Nigeria, but most African nations. This is confirmed by the study of World Bank (2010) which claimed that, "African governments ought to consider the adoption of performance-based budget allocations in place of historically determined allocations" (p. 6). They observed that performance-based funding has been limited to South Africa alone in the whole of Africa; while countries such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania are already considering its adoption (World Bank, 2010).

As regards the ETF sharing formula to public universities, Sams (2011) concluded that the ETF executive secretary admitted that misappropriation of funds is the major challenge to the implementation of education policies in Nigeria. This could be attributed to equality formula of allocating funds among the public universities. There is no room for healthy competition or allocation of funds based on outcomes or certain criteria. Heads of various institutions could perceive funding of such projects as compulsory with little responsibility or input.

#### **2.1.2 Performance-based funding**

As a result of not only dwindling funds received by universities in Nigeria, but also mismanagement of funds, it becomes important to amend the formula of allocating these funds for efficiency and effectiveness. The existing funding framework appears to be inputdriven and consideration is not given to the outputs (Hartnett, 2000; World Bank, 2010). To minimize the wastage of available paucity funds allocated to federally controlled universities, there is need for incorporation of quality and relevant academic indicators and

Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 35

emphasized adherence to defined norms and inputs-oriented towards rewarding outcome or outputs, which encourages quality and relevance of such performance. Nigeria as one of the developing nations needs qualitative and relevant research to solve societal problems and also to reduce the already existing gap between developed and developing nations. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on performance-based funding mechanism in order

In performance-based funding as an outputs-driven approach to allocating funds to universities, emphasis should be placed on agreed or consistent indicators or outcomes for

To ensure fair play among the universities based on Herbst's (2007) rationale, the agreed indicators ought to have been explicitly and unambiguously expressed to all the federally controlled universities at the outset. These indicators can also serve as a means of selfevaluation before the national evaluation for allocating funds. It is on this note that

Salmi and Hauptman (2006) identified four types of allocation mechanisms that could be

• performance-set asides: a portion of public funding for tertiary education is set aside to

• performance contracts: governments enter into regulatory agreements with institutions

• payments for results: output or outcome measures are used to determine all or a portion of the funding formula: for example, tertiary education institutions are paid for the number of students they graduate, sometimes with higher prices for graduates in

The rationale of performance funding is that funds should flow to institutions where performance is manifest: "performing" institutions should receive more income than lesser performing institutions, which would provide performers with a competitive edge and would stimulate less performing institutions to perform. Output should be

Requirements for data and technical expertise

skills minimal maintain status quo

of inputs moderate encourages growth

achievements considerable encourages quality

to defined norms moderate encourages

Impact on sector performance

uniformity

and relevance

Budgeting modality Key feature

historically-based rewards negotiation

input-based rewards expansion

normative rewards adherence

to establish healthy competitions among Nigerian universities.

rewarded, not input. (Herbst, 2007, p. 90)

evaluating universities in order to allocate funds. Herbst (2007) stated that,

promotion of competitive trait among universities would be enhanced.

considered under performance-based funding. The four mechanisms are:

pay on the basis of various performance measures;

to set mutual performance-based objectives;

certain fields of study or with specific skills; and

performance-based rewards outcome

Source: World Bank (2010)

Table 3. Funding Mechanisms

research outcomes as predictors of allocating funds. This is because "performance-based allocations would encourage institutional autonomy as institutions must function under full management control" (World Bank, 2010, p. 6) of the available meager funds rather than being constrained by government bureaucracy that restrains universities to function effectively and efficiently.

Salmi and Hauptman (2006) mentioned how performance-based funding differs from other funding formulas in the following ways:


Based on these distinctions, research of Nigerian universities for instance, should be tailored to societal needs and ultimately for national development. Universities need to conduct relevant and quality researches and improve the quality of graduates because funding for the following year may be tied to quality and relevance. This refers to the observation of World Bank (2010) that universities "are to be judged on the basis of their performance" (p. 6) and contributions towards national development.

The outputs of universities in terms of research outcomes and quality of graduates are usually given prime places in terms of universities assessment globally and for sustainable development. The ranking of universities has mostly been focused on quality and relevant outputs of the universities. Take for instance, most of the purposes and goals of webometric rankings of universities have a focus on academic indicators and research outputs or outcomes of universities before making judgment. Therefore, efforts need to be made to address the low rankings of Nigerian universities both regionally and globally, poor quality of graduates, and irrelevant research outcomes to national development through the funding mechanisms as a critical factor.

Olayiwola (2010) argued for research outputs for allocating research funds in the dual support system of funding in Nigeria. These research outputs could be one of the indicators of performance in allocating funds to federally controlled universities. The suggestion of Olayiwola (2010) on the reports of Research and Development (R & D) fair or ranking of universities being done by NUC on yearly basis could be used as a tool for allocating funds to federal universities in Nigeria. More so, the World Bank (2010) study mentioned the common output indicators to be "number of graduates, the rate of student repetition, the number of minority, women, or regionally disadvantaged students who are admitted, and research productivity" (p. 45).

The Table 3 describes the features and impact of the potential progression of funding mechanisms from a combination of historical, input, and normative-based to performancebased funding on society.

From Table 3, it can be inferred that allocation of funds to federally controlled universities in Nigeria could progress from the combination of historical, input, and normative-based, which


Source: World Bank (2010)

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 34 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

research outcomes as predictors of allocating funds. This is because "performance-based allocations would encourage institutional autonomy as institutions must function under full management control" (World Bank, 2010, p. 6) of the available meager funds rather than being constrained by government bureaucracy that restrains universities to function

Salmi and Hauptman (2006) mentioned how performance-based funding differs from other

• they [performance-based funding] attempt to reward institutions for actual rather than

• they use performance indicators that reflect public policy objectives rather than

• they include incentives for institutional improvement, not just maintaining status quo.

Based on these distinctions, research of Nigerian universities for instance, should be tailored to societal needs and ultimately for national development. Universities need to conduct relevant and quality researches and improve the quality of graduates because funding for the following year may be tied to quality and relevance. This refers to the observation of World Bank (2010) that universities "are to be judged on the basis of their performance" (p.

The outputs of universities in terms of research outcomes and quality of graduates are usually given prime places in terms of universities assessment globally and for sustainable development. The ranking of universities has mostly been focused on quality and relevant outputs of the universities. Take for instance, most of the purposes and goals of webometric rankings of universities have a focus on academic indicators and research outputs or outcomes of universities before making judgment. Therefore, efforts need to be made to address the low rankings of Nigerian universities both regionally and globally, poor quality of graduates, and irrelevant research outcomes to national development through the

Olayiwola (2010) argued for research outputs for allocating research funds in the dual support system of funding in Nigeria. These research outputs could be one of the indicators of performance in allocating funds to federally controlled universities. The suggestion of Olayiwola (2010) on the reports of Research and Development (R & D) fair or ranking of universities being done by NUC on yearly basis could be used as a tool for allocating funds to federal universities in Nigeria. More so, the World Bank (2010) study mentioned the common output indicators to be "number of graduates, the rate of student repetition, the number of minority, women, or regionally disadvantaged students who are admitted, and

The Table 3 describes the features and impact of the potential progression of funding mechanisms from a combination of historical, input, and normative-based to performance-

From Table 3, it can be inferred that allocation of funds to federally controlled universities in Nigeria could progress from the combination of historical, input, and normative-based, which

effectively and efficiently.

funding formulas in the following ways:

(Salmi & Hauptman, 2006, p. 64)

funding mechanisms as a critical factor.

research productivity" (p. 45).

based funding on society.

6) and contributions towards national development.

promised performance;

institutional needs; and

Table 3. Funding Mechanisms

emphasized adherence to defined norms and inputs-oriented towards rewarding outcome or outputs, which encourages quality and relevance of such performance. Nigeria as one of the developing nations needs qualitative and relevant research to solve societal problems and also to reduce the already existing gap between developed and developing nations. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on performance-based funding mechanism in order to establish healthy competitions among Nigerian universities.

In performance-based funding as an outputs-driven approach to allocating funds to universities, emphasis should be placed on agreed or consistent indicators or outcomes for evaluating universities in order to allocate funds. Herbst (2007) stated that,

The rationale of performance funding is that funds should flow to institutions where performance is manifest: "performing" institutions should receive more income than lesser performing institutions, which would provide performers with a competitive edge and would stimulate less performing institutions to perform. Output should be rewarded, not input. (Herbst, 2007, p. 90)

To ensure fair play among the universities based on Herbst's (2007) rationale, the agreed indicators ought to have been explicitly and unambiguously expressed to all the federally controlled universities at the outset. These indicators can also serve as a means of selfevaluation before the national evaluation for allocating funds. It is on this note that promotion of competitive trait among universities would be enhanced.

Salmi and Hauptman (2006) identified four types of allocation mechanisms that could be considered under performance-based funding. The four mechanisms are:


Alternative Perspective to Funding Public Universities in Nigeria 37

Esenwa, F. O. (2011). NUC: Yesterday, today, and the future. *Burningpot Nigeria*. Retrieved

Eze, S. (2011 January). ETF cannot solve all education problems- Mahmood (1). *All Africa Reports*. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201101200594.html Fafunwa, A. B. (1974). *History of education in Nigeria*. London: George Allen & Unwin. Hartnett, T. (2000). *Financing trends and expenditure patterns in Nigerian federal universities: An* 

Hauptman, A. M. (2006). Higher education finance: Trends and issues. In J. J. F. Forest & P.

Herbst, M. (2007). *Financing public universities: The case of performance funding series*. The

National Universities Commission (NUC). (2011). *NUC vision and mission*. Retrieved from

Olayiwola, S. (2010). Alternative model of funding for academic research in Nigerian

Onyeonoru, I. (2007). Human capital in Nigeria universities: The presence of the past and

Saint, W., Hartnett, T. A., & Strasnner, E. (2003). Higher education in Nigeria: A status

Salmi, J. & Hauptman, A. M. (2006). Resource allocation mechanisms in tertiary education:

Sams, N. (2011). Funding not the challenge to education in Nigeria. *Next News.* Retrieved

Ukeje, B. O. (2002). Financing education in Nigeria. *The Nigerian Social Scientist, 5*(1),

World Bank (2010). *Financing higher education in Africa*. Washington, D. C.: The World Bank

Okojie, J. A. (2010). *System and strategies for funding Nigerian universities.* Retrieved from

universities. *Higher Education Quarterly, 64*(2), 149 – 160. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-

the thrust of the future. In J. Kenny (Ed.), *The idea of an African university: The Nigerian experience* (pp.31-58). USA: The Council for Research in Values and

http://www.nape.org.ng/index.php?option=com\_docman&task=doc\_details&gid

A typology and an assessment. In Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) (Ed.), *Higher Education in the world 2006: The financing of Universities* (pp. 60

from http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5662118-

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G. Altbach (Eds.), *International handbook of higher education* (pp. 83-106).

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Education Trust Fund (ETF). (2009). ETF news. *The House Journal of ETF, 4*(6), 1 – 59.

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*update*. Washington, D. C.: The World Bank.

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– 83). Basingtoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

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**4. References** 

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today-and-the-future

Netherlands: Springer.

http://www.nuc.edu.ng

2273.2009.00446.x

Philosophy.

31-48.

=56&Itemid=112

Netherlands: Springer-Verlag.

from

• competitive funds, which support peer-reviewed proposals designed to achieve institutional improvement objectives. (Salmi & Hauptman, 2006, p. 64)

Based on Salmi and Hauptman's (2006) classifications, I am of the view that a careful integration of performance set-asides and competitive funds allocation mechanisms could be utilized in Nigeria. This means that at least 50 per cent of the entire grants from the Federal Government should be put aside and allocated on a competitive means among the federally controlled universities. The quality and relevance of research outputs for instance to national development could be assessed through peer-review among the universities for allocating funds. Salmi and Hauptman (2006) pointed out that the number of academic indicators and research outputs could vary from one to as many as 12. These indicators should be decided collaboratively by universities, NUC, and other similar bodies or critical stakeholders of university education in Nigeria, such as Education Trust Fund (ETF), professional organizations, among others.

The remaining 50 per cent of the entire grants from the Federal Government could be allocated to federal universities based on other factors such as students and staff, programs, and facilities. This is to prevent low-performing universities from moving towards extinction as a result of non-availability of funds. This model of funding mechanism hopes to classify Nigerian universities into high-performing and low-performing universities within a given or specific period of time, rather than classification based on year of establishment or other geographical factors. The classification hopes to be on relevance or contributions to national development.

Nigeria should take a leaf out of South Africa's book on performance-based funding. Salmi and Hauptman's (2006) study also corroborated by the study of World Bank (2010) that South Africa is the only African nations which "has for a number of years set aside most of its core budget for teaching, research, and other services based on multiple performance measures" (Salmi & Hauptman, 2006, p. 65). For the past few years, South Africa has been leading the continent in terms of relevance and quality of research or outcomes from universities. Although, it can be argued that South Africa has invested more on university education than Nigeria. But, the little available funds provided by Federal Government can still be utilized efficiently and effectively among the federally controlled universities to a certain extent for ensuring national development, if the allocation of funds is based on output or performance.

#### **3. Conclusion**

Although I acknowledged the limitation of over-dependence on one source of funding universities, that is, the government. But, the little available funds by the government could still be used efficiently and effectively to a certain extent. Therefore, the current state of funding framework of federally controlled universities in Nigeria demands calls for a paradigm shift. The currently existing framework emphasizes input-driven policy without given any consideration to output-driven mechanisms. The argument of this paper is not in terms of quantity of universities, but the quality of universities in Nigeria. Performancebased funding policy based on certain outcomes or criteria for allocating both NUC and ETF grants can re-position federally controlled universities in Nigeria both nationally and internationally for sustainable development.

#### **4. References**

Sustainable Development – Education, Business and Management – 36 Architecture and Building Construction – Agriculture and Food Security

• competitive funds, which support peer-reviewed proposals designed to achieve

Based on Salmi and Hauptman's (2006) classifications, I am of the view that a careful integration of performance set-asides and competitive funds allocation mechanisms could be utilized in Nigeria. This means that at least 50 per cent of the entire grants from the Federal Government should be put aside and allocated on a competitive means among the federally controlled universities. The quality and relevance of research outputs for instance to national development could be assessed through peer-review among the universities for allocating funds. Salmi and Hauptman (2006) pointed out that the number of academic indicators and research outputs could vary from one to as many as 12. These indicators should be decided collaboratively by universities, NUC, and other similar bodies or critical stakeholders of university education in Nigeria, such as Education Trust Fund (ETF),

The remaining 50 per cent of the entire grants from the Federal Government could be allocated to federal universities based on other factors such as students and staff, programs, and facilities. This is to prevent low-performing universities from moving towards extinction as a result of non-availability of funds. This model of funding mechanism hopes to classify Nigerian universities into high-performing and low-performing universities within a given or specific period of time, rather than classification based on year of establishment or other geographical factors. The classification hopes to be on relevance or

Nigeria should take a leaf out of South Africa's book on performance-based funding. Salmi and Hauptman's (2006) study also corroborated by the study of World Bank (2010) that South Africa is the only African nations which "has for a number of years set aside most of its core budget for teaching, research, and other services based on multiple performance measures" (Salmi & Hauptman, 2006, p. 65). For the past few years, South Africa has been leading the continent in terms of relevance and quality of research or outcomes from universities. Although, it can be argued that South Africa has invested more on university education than Nigeria. But, the little available funds provided by Federal Government can still be utilized efficiently and effectively among the federally controlled universities to a certain extent for ensuring national development, if the allocation of funds is based on

Although I acknowledged the limitation of over-dependence on one source of funding universities, that is, the government. But, the little available funds by the government could still be used efficiently and effectively to a certain extent. Therefore, the current state of funding framework of federally controlled universities in Nigeria demands calls for a paradigm shift. The currently existing framework emphasizes input-driven policy without given any consideration to output-driven mechanisms. The argument of this paper is not in terms of quantity of universities, but the quality of universities in Nigeria. Performancebased funding policy based on certain outcomes or criteria for allocating both NUC and ETF grants can re-position federally controlled universities in Nigeria both nationally and

institutional improvement objectives. (Salmi & Hauptman, 2006, p. 64)

professional organizations, among others.

contributions to national development.

internationally for sustainable development.

output or performance.

**3. Conclusion** 

Education Trust Fund (ETF). (2009). ETF news. *The House Journal of ETF, 4*(6), 1 – 59.


http://www.burningpot.com/component/content/article/2383-nuc-yesterdaytoday-and-the-future


**Sustainable Business and Management**

Yesufu, T. M. (1985). *Education and manpower development: The Nigerian case*. University of Maiduguri, Nigeria Convocation Lecture. **Part 2** 
