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

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:

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:

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:

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.

Click here to read our Document Analysis-focused publications.