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eLearning / TSL in African Environmental Organizations

Summary of a Pan-African Survey conducted on behalf of UNEP

Jan. to May 2009

Arndt Bubenzercommon sense – eLearning & training consultants Ltd.

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About this Pan-African Survey

The Survey „eLearning/TSL in African Environmental Organizations“

• was carried out on behalf of

• was designed to collect information on technology supported learning activities across the environmental field Africa and to create an address and data base of organizations carrying out such activities.

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Background

AMCEN – Decision 6

The Africa Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), held June 2008 in Johannesburg, endorsed a ministerial decision

• to strengthen environmental education programmes• To promote the use of technology supported learning

throughout Africa.

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The Survey

Sections:• Administrative Information• Education on Sustainable

Development / Environmental Education

• Technology Supported Learning

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The SurveyStatistics:• 2 language versions

(Engl./French)• 2380 views• 550 full responses

(370 engl / 180 french)• Response rate 24%• N= sufficient indicator for

activities in the field• Full survey available digitally

from UNEP

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Respondents Countries ( Anglophone Survey)

Approximately 370 individuals from Environmental Organizations/Agencies of the following countries responded to the English language survey:

Seychelles, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Mauritius, Mozambique, Liberia, Uganda, Egypt, Swaziland, Angola, Botswana, Senegal, Somalia, Tunisia, Sudan, The Gambia, Lesotho, Morocco, Libya, Benin,

(plus some Palestine, Jordan, Vietnam, Europe, US)

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Respondents (Francophone Survey)

Approximately 180 individuals from Environmental Organizations/Agencies of the following countries fully responded to the French language survey:

Sénégal, Republique Democratique du Congo, Niger, Mauritanie, Côte D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Comores, Republique Centreafricaine, Burundi, Togo, Mali, Tchad, Madagascar, Tunisie, Cameroun, Algérie, Benin, Gabon, Maroc, Ethiopie, Guinée-Bissau

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English + French Survey Responses = Organizations in 45 out of 53 African countries participated at least with one reply

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Selected Survey Results - Organizations

The Survey was answered by a variety of organizations, the largest number of them either

• Universities (engl.)• Government Agencies (fr.)

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Selected Results - Coverage of responding Organizations

Most responding organizations cover environmental issues on a country level (e/fr), followed by Africa-wide coverage.

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Selected Results – Environmental Education Strategy

The Survey shows that• almost 60% of all organizations have an Environmental

Education Strategy (EE) in place.

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Selected Results – Network Membership

The Survey shows that• only 30% of all responding organizations are member to an

Environmental Education/ Education for Sustainable Development Network.

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Selected Results – Target Audiences

Audience:• Approx. 30% of the

organizations have target groups in the tertiary education field

• 25% each are targeting secondary and primary education fields

• 20% target other areas, also including informal education

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Selected Results – Strtegic Plan for eLearning

The Survey shows that• More than 70% of all responding organizations have no

eLearning/TSL strategy in place.

0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00%

Plan

No Plan

Survey French

Survey Engl.

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Selected Results – eLearning/TSL Activities

The Survey shows that• in the anglophone regions, roughly 50% of all responding

organizations are conducting online- or eLearning/TSL activities

• while in the francophone regions, roughly 30% conduct such activities

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Selected Results – eLearning / TSL ActivitiesThe Survey shows that• in the anglophone regions, roughly 50% of all responding

organizations are conducting online- or eLearning/TSL activities

• While in the francophone regions, roughly 30% conduct such activities

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Selected Survey Results – Purposes / Target Audiences

The responding organizations use eLearning/TSL for different target audiences.

It is mostly used for staff development (internal target audiences and outreach).

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Selected Results – eLearning/TSL Team

Currently, very few organizations can utilize the services of an in-house eLearning/TSL team and largely have to outsource eLearning/TSL activities.

• Less than 40% have their own eLearning/TSL team

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Selected Results – Funding

If organizations from the field of environmental training are carrying out eLearning/TSL activities, most of these are funded…

• internally (60%)• externally / Donor funded (35%)

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Selected Survey Results – Purposes / Target Audiences

When asked which kind of support would assist organizations most in deploying eLearning/TSL activities (or additional eLearning/TSL activities), most of them would need

• technical support• strategic/legal support • Programme implementation support

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Survey-Summary I

The survey results show that there is a large number of activities in the field of environmental education on all education levels (primary through tertiary and informal) throughout Africa.

The results show further that a large number of the organizations offering such activities have a Environmental Education Strategy in place.

The results show that there are only minor differences between francophone and anglophone regions, apart from currently carried out eLearning/TSL activities. Here, the francophone regions are trailing behind.

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Survey-Summary II

Most organizations do not have their own eLearning/TSL teams and require the outsourcing of activities.

To further support the development and deployment of eLearning/TSL activities, African organizations require further assistance in the field of technology, strategy and programme implementation.

Most eLearning/TSL activities are funded internally. For sustainable eLearning/TSL measures, African organizations for environmental training would need more sustainable funding sources.

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Thank you!

Contact:

Arndt Bubenzercommon sense – eLearning & training consultantsVienna, Austriaa.bubenzer@common-sense.at

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