Geography New Lower Secondary Curriculum Syllabus
Nearly all aspects of our lives are influenced by the environment, both natural and human, which we live in. In turn our lives have effects on the environment. Geography deals with this inter-relation between humans and their environment. This relationship is becoming increasingly important as the population of the world grows and the world’s resources remain finite. Thus the key issues of Geography become increasingly important: population growth; soil conservation and erosion; the use and preservation of the oceans; the world’s food supply and food shortages; rural-urban drift, urbanisation and the problems
of urban areas; problems of pollution of all kinds; the conservation of wild life and many related issues.
At this lower secondary level Geography is seen as the study of human communities at local East African and wider African levels, with contrast through specific case studies of other areas of the world. At this level, therefore, the emphasis is on human and regional geography focusing on actual people in actual communities, rather than the more scientific study of spatial relationships which geography becomes at a
higher level. It is felt this is more appropriate for the majority of learners at this level who will leave school without going on to higher education. At the same time it is important for those who do go on to higher education to develop sufficient geographical skills to enable them to specialise at a later stage.
Teaching and Learning: Geography
The thrust of the new syllabuses is experiential and towards deeper understanding and the development of skills. The focus in Geography is on the development of the ability to explore the world around them.
The new syllabuses provide learners with a wide range of contexts in which to develop this understanding, and these contexts are designed to engage the interest of the learner and to provide opportunities to build life-related knowledge, experience and skills. Teachers are encouraged to go beyond the textbooks and provide as many meaningful contexts as possible.
The generic skills have been integrated throughout the curriculum and can only be acquired through active approaches. The role of the teacher is to build on learners’ existing knowledge and experience, but to extend that by posing problems to the learners. This makes them think about their own ideas and experiences as well as adding new knowledge and skills to it.
Learners need to interact with real situations inside and outside the classroom. They need to look at pictures or diagrams, examine statistics, or read texts from a range of sources. They need to find out knowledge and ideas for themselves. They should then be expected to express these in their own words, not those of the teacher, and so demonstrate that they have understood what they have learnt.
In this approach, learners are encouraged to:
- Be responsible for their own learning
- Think for themselves and form their own ideas and opinions
- Become critical thinkers, ready to face new challenges and situations for themselves
Download the Syllabus Here
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