With water shortage and increasing demand for water, education may have an important role in promoting the sustainable management of water resources. Educational curricula are the key resources used by teachers for studentsʼ teaching and training purposes. This study assessed water culture and water education-related criteria and standards in programmes and school curricula for Primary, Middle and upper Secondary school education in Morocco. It also investigated teachers for suggestions and views regarding methods for water-related topics and concepts implementation. The main tools used consisted of a content analysis grid for programmes and educational guidelines. A questionnaire and interviews were administered to 95 teachers of different subject areas, belonging to the three investigated school levels. Findings showed that the occurrence of water education criteria and standards is weak in school curricula of the investigated school levels. They were explicitly or implicitly addressed depending on the subject areas. The main topics consisted of water cycle definition, water as a vital source, water pollution sources, water economy interest. However, no reference has been made to water law, its accessibility, aesthetics and water-related professions.
The study aimed to explore Lower Secondary School curriculum of Life Sciences, in Morocco, to establish the current status of animal use and the extent at which it is a curriculum requirement for the introduction of the prescribed concepts and objectives. Two questionnaires were developed and administered to teachers and students to assess their attitudes towards animal use and dissection, as well as potential alternatives that could be used for replacement. The study revealed that several cited topics in the curriculum involve animal use and organ dissection. The majority of students (60.9%) and teachers (83.3%) had great interest in performing animal organ dissections, stating that it allowed better understanding, long-term knowledge and motivation. A proportion of participants felt negative emotions towards this practice. Many animals groups have been involved especially frogs and mammals. While most of teachers and students quoted that priority should be given to real hands-on experiments, alternatives preferred for replacement were videos and simulations. Animal use in education raises psychological, ethical, and environmental concerns. Hence, there is a need to use animal-free alternatives as they allow the achievement of the learning objectives more effectively and have several advantages over animal use.
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