A National Census of Sustainability in K-12 Education Policy - Implications for International Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research

Oct 15, 2026

A national census examines how sustainability is taken up in Canadian K-12 education policy across all 13 provincial and territorial ministries of education and 374 public school divisions. Sustainability is defined through environmental consideration, while also covering related terminology. Policy initiatives are assessed via sustainability-specific policy, certification participation, and sustainability staffing, analyzed against geographic and institutional variables, including governance, curriculum, facilities and operations, research, and community outreach. Findings show 54% of ministries and 59% of school divisions have sustainability-specific policy, plus 43% certification participation and 25% sustainability staff, with implications for UN monitoring and evaluation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

SDGs and Goal 4.7

Indicators and the role of monitoring

Study aims and methods

Policy initiatives and variables

Findings and implications

A National Census of Sustainability in K-12 Education Policy: Implications for International Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Dan Beveridge, Marcia McKenzie, Kathleen Aikens, & Kaitlin M. Strobbe University of Saskatchewan Abstract This paper reports on the first nationwide census examining sustainability uptake in policy initiatives in Canadian K-12 education. Included in the study are each of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial ministries of education, and all 374 public school divisions across the country. Sustainability was defined as including, at minimum, consideration of environmental issues, with the study also encompassing use of other related terminologies. Data were collected on three types of policy initiatives: (a) the existence of sustainability-specific policy, (b) participation in sustainability certification programs, and (c) the existence of sustainability staff, which were examined in relation to a range of geographic and institutional variables. Sustainability-specific policy was examined across five domains ofa whole institution approach to sustainability: governance, curriculum, facilities and operations, research, and community outreach. We found that 54% of ministries of education and 59% of school divisions in Canada had sustainability-specific policy, most commonly in the curriculum domain at the ministry level and in the operations domain at the school division level. In addition, 43% of school divisions had participated in a sustainability certification program, and 25% had sustainability staff. We discuss implications for policy making in Canada as well for intergovernmental UN policy programs, in particular regarding new policy development and monitoring and evaluation efforts. Keywords: sustainability education, education for sustainable development, environmental education, climate change education, Sustainable Development Goals, education policy, whole institution approach, eco schools, monitoring, evaluation Sustainability has been a growing focus in kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) education in Canada and internationally. This is partly in response to global policy agendas such as those spearheaded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), e.g., the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014) . The UN has increasingly recognized the importance of assessment in achieving sustainability goals and improving program effectiveness, including in education (United Nations, 2014) . However, monitoring and evaluation of sustainability engagement in education has largely occurred through syntheses of government self-reports (e.g., Wals, 2012) . Self-reporting is an essential piece of an assessment process, but can leave gaps that external data collection, analysis, and reporting can fill. The UN has gone so far as to call for a “data revolution” to enable more rigorous and systematic evaluation of global sustainability goals, including in education (United Nations, 2014) . In Canada, some national assessments have been conducted based on self-reported data (e.g., CMEC, 2008, 2014; Government of Canada, 2005) . However, there has been minimal external research, and that which has been conducted has tended to be limited in jurisdiction and subject area, with an identified need for external, comparative policy research in this area (Creech, Roy, & Buckler, 2008; Nazir, Pedretti, Wallace, Montemurro, & Inwood, 2009) . The current study responds to these national and international calls for rigorous and systematic comparative evaluation and research on engagement with sustainability in education policy (Nazir et al., 2009; UNESCO, 2016) . It is a census of national uptake of sustainability in policy across Canada, reporting on all 13 provincial and territorial ministries of education, and all 374 school divisions in Canada.“Sustainability” is understood in the study as including, at minimum, consideration of environmental

FAQs

What is the scope of the national census in the study?

The study covers all 13 provincial and territorial ministries of education and all 374 public school divisions across Canada.

How does the study define sustainability for K-12 education policy?

Sustainability is understood as at minimum considering environmental issues, typically alongside social and economic considerations, and including related terminologies.

What policy initiatives are measured in the census?

It measures sustainability-specific policy existence, participation in sustainability certification programs, and the existence of sustainability staff.

Oct 15, 2026

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