A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the partial requirement of
the degree of Master of Science.
Johannesburg, 2012 / Campaigns to educate people on how to use and manage energy responsibly are on the
agenda of energy producers, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the government of
South Africa. Until recently, publications on energy conservation programmes to inform
these groups on best practice have been non-existent.
This paper reports on an energy conservation programme, “Energy Dialogues” primarily
aimed at offering information as well as influencing pro-environmental attitudes and
consequently the behaviour of grade 11 learners in the Gauteng province of South Africa.
The Energy Dialogues was conducted in a non-formal learning environment. Learners on the
programme were challenged to propose various forms of ‘action taking’ to promote Energy
Dialogues amongst their peers, in their school, at home, and in their community. Seven out of
twenty schools met the challenge.
The research project captured the social interaction among learners during the “Energy
Dialogues” programme. A survey confirmed that learners still possess alternative ideas with
regards to energy use and management after classroom instruction. While learners have
significant knowledge of the causes and consequences of poor energy usage, this does not
translate into change in behaviour. Creating an environment of group learning may influence
the learners’ lifestyle choices. Learners are more inclined to align themselves with the values
of a group. An active learning framework of the Energy Dialogues gave learners an
opportunity to take personal responsibility for the environment. They redefined their culture,
physically engaged in activity and spoke the language of the educator.
While the learners’ visit to DEC was a one-time occurrence, and the findings cannot be
generalised, this study may inform future longitudinal research which would offer
information of the causal relationships of the components influencing sustainable practices.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/12616 |
| Date | 02 April 2013 |
| Creators | Brown, Marian Merle |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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