Description:
The current study examined the relevance of secondary school environmental education
curriculum to rural Tanzanian students in Maswa district. The study employed Mixed methods
design where by questionnaires, unstructured interviews and participant observation used as
research instruments to collect data from 124 respondents including headmasters, geography
teachers and students from four (4) community secondary schools in Maswa district.
The study found that, EEC draw attention to students on how to protect and conserve
environment in secondary schools. Likewise the study indicated that, environmental programs in
secondary schools such as planting trees and irrigating flowers experience difficulties such as
lack of permanent sources of water and lack of sustainable financial sources to meet the costs for
environmental management and efficient private sector participation.
The study recommended that, environmental protection and conservation is a participatory
activity. Teachers in Maswa secondary schools should involve community members on how to
protect and conserve school environment. The curriculum developers should develop new
curriculum that use environment as a resourceful material for educating students and general
public on how to improve the environment.
Finally the study concluded that, in order to have an effective legal and regulatory framework,
the existing forest Act and regulations should be reviewed, conflicting forest related laws and
regulations should be identified and harmonized. Likewise, the relevant customary laws and
practices related to forests management should be institutionalized into statutes