SEPN-Canada’s Document Analysis involved compiling and analyzing existing policy documents and empirical data sets to uncover policy dynamics in kindergarten to grade 12 and post-secondary education in relation to Canadian sustainability issues. This part of the project included:
- Sustainability censuses of all Canadian school divisions, provincial and territorial Ministries of Education, and accredited post-secondary institutions
- Content analyses of non-sustainability specific and sustainability-specific policy from every Ministry of Education to better understand how sustainability is currently being engaged at the EC-12 level
- Content analyses of non-sustainability specific and sustainability-specific policy from a sample of 50 post-secondary institutions to better understand how sustainability is currently being engaged at the PSE level
- An examination of existing data sets on sustainability policy in education accessible to or held by SEPN participants and organizations
Sustainability Censuses
SEPN-Canada conducted a census of sustainability features in all 13 provincial and territorial Ministries of Education; each of Canada’s 389 school divisions, boards, and districts in Canada; and all of Canada’s accredited post-secondary institutions. SEPN-Canada’s censuses provide a greater understanding of what factors contribute to the implementation of sustainability policy in education across Canada.
School Division Census
For the school district census, geographic characteristics (e.g., province/territory, latitude and longitude of the district’s administrative centre) and district characteristics (e.g., language of instruction, plan/policy related to Aboriginal or multicultural education, type of school district (public, separate, charter, or hospital-based), number of schools in the district, student population) were collected. A variety of sustainability-related variables were also collected including whether the school district had:
- A sustainability policy
- Undertaken a sustainability or environmental certification program (specifically, EcoSchools or Brundtland Green Schools) and
- A sustainability staff
Ministry of Education Census
The research team collected all policies, strategic plans, overarching curriculum guides/frameworks (excluding individual course curricula), and annual reports for each Ministry of Education. The census examined whether the Ministry had:
- A sustainability-related policy
- Mandates related to sustainable or green school operations, and Green School certifications or designations
- Developed sustainability-related curriculum available through the Ministry
- Conducted sustainability-related research or community engagement
- Discussed sustainability-related activities in its annual reports or strategic plans
Post-secondary Education Census
SEPN-Canada collected and analyzed publicly available data on sustainability initiatives for all Canadian accredited 220 post-secondary institutions. The team also developed Sustainability Initiative (SI) Scores which ranked institutions on their uptake of four high-level sustainability initiatives:
- Undertaking a sustainability assessment
- Signing a national or international environmental or sustainability declaration
- Having a sustainability office or officer and
- Having a sustainability policy
Click here to read our Document Analysis-focused publications.
Content Analyses of Policy Documents
SEPN-Canada has collected sustainability specific and non-sustainability-specific policy documents from all of Canada’s provincial and territorial Ministries of Education as well as a sample of 50 post-secondary institutions (approximately three PSE institutions per province/territory).
In analyzing K-12 policies, SEPN examined annual reports, curriculum foundational documents, and other high-level policy documents from all provincial/territorial Ministries of Education and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC).
At the post-secondary level, strategic plans and other foundational documents, including completed sustainability assessments were examined.
Relevant national and international documents (e.g., UN declarations) that may influence regional policy adoption were also examined.
The documents were analyzed using critical policy analysis drawing on discourse theory.
- For non-sustainability-specific documents, we looked at key themes and priorities indicated in the documents. This portion of the analysis examined what priorities are suggested in the language used in the policies, how those priorities link to broader government policy, and how other priorities are being articulated in relation to (or not) priorities of sustainability
- Sustainability-specific documents underwent a parallel content analysis, with a focus on sustainability-specific themes and language in policies and plans from Ministries of Education. This analysis examined approaches to sustainability as well as examining points of definitional trajectories, policy mobility, and points of tension among approaches
