Fallon, G., Van Wynsberghe, R., & Robertson, P. (2017).
Journal of Sustainability Education, 16(December 2017), ISSN: 2151-7452.
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.
Read the Final REports from the Canadian Landscape Analysis
We are thrilled to be releasing the final reports for the Sustainability and Education Policy Network’s flagship project, SEPN-Canada. Over 8 years, SEPN explored uptake of sustainability in education policy and practice across primary, secondary, and higher education in Canada. The final reports synthesize the project’s findings from across a series of policy analyses, surveys, and site visit case studies in which 2,600 participants across Canada took part.
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
Table of Contents:
Research Briefs
Infographics
Reports
Journal Articles
Books
Chapters in Books
Major Projects, Theses, and Dissertations
Research Briefs
Infographics
Reports
Journal Articles
Henderson, J., Bieler, A., & McKenzie, M. (2017).
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 47(1), 1–26.
Maina-Okori, N.M., Koushik, J.R., & Wilson, A. (2017).
The Journal of Environmental Education, 49:4, 286-296, DOI: 10.1080/00958964.2017.1364215
McKenzie, M. (2017).
Critical Studies in Education, 58(2), 187-204. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2017.1308875.
Young, A. (2017).
Our Schools/Our Selves, 26(2), 175-189.
Aikens, K., McKenzie, M., & Vaughter, P. (2016).
Environmental and sustainability education policy research: A review of geographic and thematic trends over time.
Environmental Education Research. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2015.1135418
