Dorica Deborah Mirembe

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

Conflicted epistemologies in secondary school environmental education: implications for sustainable climate action in Uganda

By Expedito Nuwategeka

Transformative secondary school environmental education is likely to impact climate action by producing environmentally responsive citizens. We present a case study of environmental education in northern Uganda, and how learners’ intended actions are moderated by their exposure to both formal and non-formal indigenous environmental knowledges. Guided by the Critical Place Inquiry theory, we undertook a pragmatism paradigm where a mixed methods approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 1,282 secondary school learners and 12 teachers in 30 rural and urban schools. Individual interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews, questionnaires, and arts-based scenarios were used to collect data. Findings revealed that learners’ school-acquired environmental knowledge is not transforming them into environmentally responsive citizens because formal and non-formal knowledges are conflicted across pedagogy, curricular, and textbooks. We propose a harmonisation of the two epistemologies so that learners can relate school knowledge with their every-day environmental realities for climate-smart citizenry. © 2024 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

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Learners’ everyday experiences of violence in English medium secondary education in Uganda

By Bebwa Isingoma

This paper explores how Ugandan secondary school learners experience schooling in Englishmedium schools where the use of English only is strictly enforced. We conceptualise the ways that the learners sit at the intersection of direct, systemic and cultural violence that in turn impacts their educational experiences. We particularly focus on instances of direct violence through corporal punishment, and the ways that such violence, and associated fear, are part of many learners’ everyday schooling experiences. We demonstrate this through presentation of findings from thematic analysis of individual and focus group interviews with 64 learners at two public and two private secondary schools in the Amuru and Kitgum districts of Northern Uganda. Our conclusions advocate for greater attention to be paid to the ways that changes to enforced English-only policies could support more positive well-being and educational outcomes. © Authors 2024.

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