TY - JOUR
T1 - A comparative analysis of environment and sustainability in policy across subnational education systems
AU - Aikens, Kathleen
AU - McKenzie, Marcia
N1 - Funding Information:
This publication draws on research from the Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN), supported by a Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Grant No 895-2011-1025, Principal Investigator Dr. Marcia McKenzie). We acknowledge and appreciate the work of research assistants and associates involved in data collection and analysis, other team members involved in the research design and implementation, and the anonymous reviewers and journal editorial staff who provided feedback. For more information, see www.sepn.ca.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The aim of this study was to better understand how Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) policy has been developed and mobilized across subnational contexts in a federated system. We undertook a comparative analysis of sustainability-specific policy and curricula documents from all Canadian provinces and territories. We identified three thematic clusters in the data; two aligned with major global ESE policy initiatives, and a third cluster centered on localized Indigenous education in a northern territory. Conclusions and implications include that the absence of globalized ESE uptake in the northern territory demonstrates localized, relevant, and appropriate policy development, which could inform future global sustainability education initiatives. In addition, with only 6 of 13 provinces and territories having specialized education policy or curricular documents focused on climate and sustainability, there is an urgent need for increased focus in these areas in responding to calls from students and communities for climate action.
AB - The aim of this study was to better understand how Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) policy has been developed and mobilized across subnational contexts in a federated system. We undertook a comparative analysis of sustainability-specific policy and curricula documents from all Canadian provinces and territories. We identified three thematic clusters in the data; two aligned with major global ESE policy initiatives, and a third cluster centered on localized Indigenous education in a northern territory. Conclusions and implications include that the absence of globalized ESE uptake in the northern territory demonstrates localized, relevant, and appropriate policy development, which could inform future global sustainability education initiatives. In addition, with only 6 of 13 provinces and territories having specialized education policy or curricular documents focused on climate and sustainability, there is an urgent need for increased focus in these areas in responding to calls from students and communities for climate action.
KW - climate change education
KW - curriculum
KW - education for sustainable development
KW - Education policy
KW - environmental education
KW - Indigenous education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101921288&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00958964.2021.1887685
DO - 10.1080/00958964.2021.1887685
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85101921288
SN - 0095-8964
VL - 52
SP - 69
EP - 82
JO - Journal of Environmental Education
JF - Journal of Environmental Education
IS - 2
ER -