Aikens, K., & McKenzie, M. (2021).
Journal of Environmental Education, 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2021.1887685.
Understanding Sustainability Uptake in Canadian Formal Education
Between 2012 and 2020, SEPN conducted a large-scale comparative research project to better understand how policy can advance sustainability in and through education across the Canadian formal primary, secondary, and higher education systems.
This Canadian Landscape Analysis, also known as SEPN-Canada, study explored the uptake of sustainability in education policy and practice in all 13 provincial and territorial Ministries of Education, 374 school divisions, and 220 accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada. This unprecedented scale of research resulted in a final dataset comprising over 1,600 policy documents and journal articles, 900 interviews, 60 focus groups, 1,300 pieces of visual data, and quantitative data from 3,000 participants. Over 700 policy-makers, sustainability staff, educational practitioners, and researchers were engaged in the research through meetings, interactive workshops, policy forums, and conferences.
The SEPN-Canada project led to the creation of a robust international network that continues to make an impact on sustainability and climate change education policy and practice through robust, large-scale comparative education research.
Research Methods
The project leveraged three main research methods. Publications and resources developed by the project may be found below.
Policy Analysis
Collected evidence of sustainability uptake in through sustainability censuses of all 13 provincial and territorial Ministries of Education, 374 school divisions, and 220 accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada, as well as content analyses of over 1,600 existing policy documents.
Survey
Examined the on-the-ground experiences of over 1,000 students, educators, administrators, staff, and policy-makers with sustainability uptake in policy and practice in primary, secondary, and higher education across the country.
Site Visit Case Studies
Examined the relationships between sustainability practices and related policies through a series of in-depth comparative case studies of educational institutions in primary, secondary, and higher education. Over 900 interviews, 60 focus groups, and 1,300 pieces of visual data were collected.
Partners and Collaborators
The SEPN-Canada project team comprised over 40 team members from across world and included 10 key partners. We gratefully acknowledge the financial and in-kind support of our partners and contributors. The project was funded by a $2 million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC, 2012-2020, Grant No. 895-2011-1025), with an additional $1 million in funding from our partner and contributor organizations. Additional funding was provided by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation Leader’s Opportunity Fund University of Saskatchewan’s Office of Vice-President Research, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, College of Education, Office of Sustainability, School of Environment and Sustainability, and Sustainability Education Research Institute.
List of Publications
Journal Articles
Rickinson, M. & McKenzie (2021)
The research-policy relationship in environmental and sustainability education.
Environmental Education Research, 1-15. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2021.1895973
McKenzie, M. & Aikens, K. (2020).
Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2020.1821612.
Pitton, V.O., & McKenzie, M. (2020).
Journal of Education Policy, 1-21, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2020.1852605.
Rickinson, M., & McKenzie, M. (2020).
Understanding the research-policy relationship in ESE: Insights from the critical policy and evidence use literatures.
Environmental Education Research, 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2020.1804531
Bentham, D., Wilson, A., McKenzie, M., & Bradford, L. (2019).
Sustainability education in First Nations schools: A multi-site study and implications for education policy.
Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 191, 22-42.
Books
McCoy, K., Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (Eds.). (2016).
Land education: Rethinking pedagogies of place from Indigenous, postcolonial, and decolonizing perspectives.
New York: Routledge.
McKenzie, M., & Bieler, A. (2016).
Critical education and sociomaterial practice: narration, place, and the social.
New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (2015).
Place in research: Theories, methodologies, methods.
New York: Routledge.
Chapters in Books
McKenzie, M. (2020).
Affect theory and mobility: Challenges and possibilities for critical policy research.
In B. Lingard (Ed.), Globalisation and education. London: Routledge.
McKenzie, M. (2019).
Affect theory and mobility: Challenges and possibilities for critical policy research.
In K. Gulson & C. Symes (Eds.), Education and the mobility turn (pp. 63-80). London: Routledge.
Aikens, K., McKenzie, M., & Vaughter, P. (2018).
Environmental and sustainability education policy research.
In K. Van Poeck, J. Lysgaard, & A. Reid (Eds.), Environmental and sustainability education policy: International trends, priorities, and challenges (pp. 265-291). London: Routledge.
McKenzie, M., Bieler, A., & McNeil, R. (2018).
Education policy mobility: Reimagining sustainability in neoliberal times.
In K. Van Poeck, J. Lysgaard, & A. Reid (Eds.), Environmental and sustainability education policy: International trends, priorities and challenges (pp. 80-98). London: Routledge.
McKenzie, M., Koushik, J. R., Haluza-DeLay, R., Chin, B., & Corwin, J. (2017).
Chapter 10: Environmental Justice.
In Russ, A. and Krasny, M. (Eds.), Urban environmental education review. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
McKenzie, M. (2016).
Foreword.
In K. Malone, T. Gray, T., & S. Truong (Eds.), Reimagining sustainability in precarious times. Dordrecht: Springer.
Major Projects, Theses, and Dissertations
Murray, J. (2021).
A comparative analysis of student actors for sustainability in Canadian higher education [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Maina, N. M. (2020).
The role of various actors in sustainability uptake in Canadian higher education policy and practice: a comparative case study [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Aikens, K. (2019).
A critical policy analysis of environmental and sustainability education in Canada [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Regier, R. (2019).
Teachers’ experiences in engagement with partners in environmental and sustainability education [Unpublished master’s thesis].
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Vizina, Y. (2018).
Indigenous knowledges and sustainability in post-secondary education [Unpublished doctoral dissertation].
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Hargis, K. (2016).
The roles of policy, conceptualizations, and pedagogical methods in teaching about sustainable consumption in higher education: A mixed methods study [Unpublished master’s thesis].
University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Research Briefs
Aikens, K., McKenzie, M., Vaughter, P., Chopin, N.S., & Thompson, C. (2017).
Environmental and Sustainability Education Policy Research in K-12: A review of the literature.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Bieler, A., Haluza-DeLay, R., Dale, A., McKenzie, M., & Chopin, N.S. (2017).
Policy coherence in climate change and education policy: A national overview.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Chopin, N.S., McKenzie, M., Haluza-DeLay, R., & MacDonald, R. (2017).
Influences on sustainability uptake in K-12 education policy development: A national survey of educators, administrators, and staff.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Henderson, J., Bieler, A., McKenzie, M., Thompson, C., & Chopin, N.S. (2017).
Climate change and the Canadian higher education system: An institutional policy analysis.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
McKenzie, M., Aikens, K., & Chopin, N.S. (2017).
Scale matters in policy flows: A comparative case study of sustainability in K-12 education.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
McKenzie, M., Bieler, A., McNeil, R., & Beveridge, R.M. (2017).
Greenwashing in education: How neoliberalism and policy mobility may undermine environmental sustainability.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Infographics
Chopin, N.S., Bieler, A., & McKenzie, M. (2017).
Strategic planning for sustainability in Canadian higher education.
Infographic series published by Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Chopin, N.S., Henderson, J., Bieler, A., & McKenzie, M. (2017).
Climate change and the Canadian higher education system: An institutional policy analysis.
Infographic series published by Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Maina, N., McKenzie, M., & Beveridge, R.M. (2015).
The state of fossil fuel divestment in Canadian post-secondary institutions.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Beveridge, R.M., Beveridge, D., & McKenzie, M. (2014).
Sustainability in Canadian post-secondary institutions: The leaders, the laggards and where they live.
Infographic series published by Sustainability and Education Policy Network, Saskatoon, Canada.
Beveridge, R.M., McKenzie, M., Bieler, A., & McNeil, R., (2014).
Greenwashing in education: How neoliberalism and policy mobility may undermine environmental sustainability.
Infographic series published by Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Beveridge, R.M., Beveridge, D., McKenzie, M., Strobbe, K.M., & Aikens, K. (2014).
Sustainability in K-12 education: Closing the research gap on understanding national trends.
Infographic series published by Sustainability and Education Policy Network, Saskatoon, Canada.
Reports
1. McKenzie, M., Chopin, N. S., & Thompson, C. (2017).
Impact Report.
Report published by the Sustainability and Education Policy Network, Saskatoon, Canada.
Sustainability and Education Policy Network. (2014).
Progress Report 2012-2014.
Report published by the Sustainability and Education Policy Network, Saskatoon, Canada. Contributors: Chopin, N.S., & McKenzie, M.
