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As climate-related hazards increasingly affect schools and communities across Zimbabwe, strengthening the resilience of the education system has become an important national priority. Droughts, floods, heatwaves and cyclones continue to disrupt learning, damage school infrastructure and place additional pressures on learners and teachers.
To help address these challenges, UNESCO, through the Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI), has worked closely over the past 2 years with partners to strengthen the integration of climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability across Zimbabwe’s education sector. A newly released country profile brings together key resources generated through this collaboration, providing education stakeholders with a practical reference for continued action.
Strengthening curricula and teacher development
As part of its contribution to CSESI, UNESCO focuses on curricula, pedagogy and teacher development to help ensure that learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to respond to climate-related challenges.
In Zimbabwe, UNESCO worked with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and national partners to strengthen the integration of climate change, disaster risk reduction and education for sustainable development into pre-service teacher education. Efforts focused on reviewing curricula, strengthening teacher preparation, and developing practical resources to support climate-smart teaching and learning.
Evidence from follow-up surveys suggests that these efforts are helping translate climate-smart education into classroom practice. Nine months after participating in UNESCO-supported activities, nearly 94% of surveyed teacher educators reported introducing new climate-related activities, lessons or strategies into their teaching, while more than 80% reported integrating these themes frequently into their courses.
A resource for continued learning and collaboration
Designed for policy-makers, educators and researchers, the country profile serves as an entry point to a wide range of reports, tools and practical resources covering key areas of climate-smart education, including climate risk analysis, coordination, climate finance, education data systems, resilient school infrastructure, curricula and teacher capacity.
By bringing these resources together in a single publication, the profile aims to support continued learning, collaboration and knowledge sharing among education stakeholders working to strengthen climate-smart education.
Zimbabwe country profile on education for sustainable development
About the Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative
The Climate-Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI)v is a global programme funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) that supports countries in integrating climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into education systems. The initiative strengthens the capacity of Ministries of Education to incorporate climate considerations into sector planning, budgeting, curricula and teaching, while enhancing coordination on climate- and environment-related policies and programmes.
Implemented globally by UNESCO, its International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO), and Save the Children, CSESI supports countries in building more resilient and sustainable education systems through work on policy and planning, climate data, school infrastructure, curricula and teacher development.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-supports-zimbabwes-journey-towards-climate-smart-education?hub=701
