A Place-Based and Systems Approach to Curriculum Design for Water Education: A case study from Pune, India

Abstract

Addressing complex socio-environmental challenges such as climate change and ecological degradation is one of the major challenges facing us today. Such challenges cannot be adequately addressed by scientific and technical fixes alone but require a critical assessment of values and priorities implicit in decision-making regarding socio-environmental problems. To develop in school students the knowledge, concepts and skills required to address such challenges, a learning progression called Water Classrooms was developed. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of the activities conducted during Water Classrooms shows that such a pedagogy can indeed enable students to think about water-related issues from physical, cultural and social lenses. Water Classrooms provides a practical example of how multiple stakeholders can co-create an engaging and multidisciplinary curriculum on water that can be adapted to other parts of the world.