[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-597218-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-597218-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","a-report-on-an-ontario-secondary-school-integrated-environmental-studies-program-research-paper-overview","A Report on an Ontario Secondary School Integrated Environmental Studies Program - Research Paper Overview","","A paper examines how environmental education is implemented in Ontario secondary schools through integrated environmental studies programs, where learning is organized around interconnected issues and themes rather than discipline-based subjects. It reviews the development and structure of Ontario programs and presents a case study that foregrounds student perspectives. The analysis concludes with the potential benefits, key limitations, and practical constraints shaping implementation, including curricular and political pressures affecting program design.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-report-on-an-ontario-secondary-school-integrated-environmental-studies-program-research-paper-overview/597218/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-report-on-an-ontario-secondary-school-integrated-environmental-studies-program-research-paper-overview/597218.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Rainbow Cat","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-19","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why does the paper argue that integrated environmental studies programs are a promising alternative to traditional curriculum models?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It contrasts Ontario’s mostly discipline-based secondary schooling with integrated programs that connect environmental issues and themes across subjects, creating an alternative organization of learning. The paper frames this integrated approach as offering promise based on program practice and student perspectives.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How are integrated environmental studies programs typically organized in Ontario secondary schools?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Students spend a full day with one group of peers and one or two teachers for a semester. Programs group four or five subjects into a “package,” and course selection depends on teacher expertise, grade level, course standing, and relevance, often including cooperative education components.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What external challenges does the paper highlight for implementation of integrated programs?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"It describes political and curriculum pressures in Ontario, including funding cutbacks, structural changes that reduce space for electives, and a “back to basics” orientation that limits environmental content. 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Russell, University of Toronto/OISE & John Burton, Grey Highlands Secondary School, Canada  \nAbstract  \nIn secondary schools in Canada, environmental education is rarely infused throughout the highly discipline-based curriculum. The various integrated environmental studies programs operating in a number of Ontario secondary schools, however, offer an alternative approach which bears some promise. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the Ontario programs before turning to a case study of one such program, highlighting student perspectives. We conclude by discussing the promises and limitations of these programs, as well as constraints on their implementation.  \nRésumé  \nDans les écoles secondaires du Canada, l’éducation relative à l’environnement imprègne rarement tout le programme d’études qui est grandement axé sur les disciplines. Les divers programmes d’études environnementales intégrées mis en placedans un certain nombre d’écoles secondaires de l’Ontario offrent cependant une approche alternative qui semble prometteuse. Dans cet article, nous donnons un bref aperçu des programmesontariens et nous étudions ensuite un programme en particulier, en y soulignant les perspectives des élèves. Nous concluons par une discussion sur les promesses et les limites de ces programmes, ainsi que sur les contraintes de leur mise en œuvre.  \nWhile school-based environmental education practices across Canada are diverse, it is still unusual to find environmental education infused into all secondary school subjects or integrated so that the curriculum is organized not around subjects but interconnected issues and themes (Pike & Selby, 1999) . More commonly, environmental education, if it occurs at all, is offered as an isolated elective course (often in science or geography) or as an extracurricular activity, and its existence in a school is frequently due to the efforts of one or  \nCanadian Journal of Environmental Education, 5, Spring 2000 287  \ntwo committed teachers (Russell, Bell, & Fawcett, in press) . The current political context in Ontario adds further challenges; teachers are faced with funding cutbacks, a mandate to change from a 5-year to a 4-year secondary system thereby limiting space for electives, and a “back to basics” curriculum which leaves less room for environmental concerns to be addressed.  \nDespite this context, integrated environmental studies programs continue to exist in Ontario secondary schools and, in some cases, to flourish. As the popularity of these programs grow, so too do calls for more research to bolster anecdotal evidence of their success. The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario, in particular, has done much work in publicizing these programs (eg., Henderson, Mehta, & Arnott, 1996), encouraging not only academic but practitioner research (Henderson, Mehta, & Elrick, 1996; Horwood, 1995; Mehta & Henderson, 1996) .1 In response, we offer a case study of one such program, highlighting student evaluations. In so doing, we attempt to not only offer a detailed description of the program but question whether such a program offers a viable alternative to traditional disciplinary-bound, classroom-based approaches.  \nOntario’s Integrated Programs  \nThe first integrated environmental studies program (ESP) at the secondary school level in Ontario was created in 1981 (with important antecedents in the 1970s), but it is only in the past five or so years that such programs have become increasingly common in the province (Mehta & Henderson, 1996); currently, there are approximately 30 such programs in Ontario (Elrick, 2000) . In these programs, students spend the full day with one group of peers and one or two teachers, as in elementary school, for a semester. An integrated approach involves grouping four or five subjects together to make a “package”(for example, from physical education, leadership, environmental ","cbCaiajD8VB7pcFw","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiajD8VB7pcFw","pdf",150829,17,"English","# Abstract\n# Integrated Environmental Studies Programs in Ontario\n## Origins and program structure\n## Curriculum and policy changes\n# Case study and student evaluations\n# Promises, limitations, and implementation constraints","[{\"question\":\"Why does the paper argue that integrated environmental studies programs are a promising alternative to traditional curriculum models?\",\"answer\":\"It contrasts Ontario’s mostly discipline-based secondary schooling with integrated programs that connect environmental issues and themes across subjects, creating an alternative organization of learning. The paper frames this integrated approach as offering promise based on program practice and student perspectives.\"},{\"question\":\"How are integrated environmental studies programs typically organized in Ontario secondary schools?\",\"answer\":\"Students spend a full day with one group of peers and one or two teachers for a semester. Programs group four or five subjects into a “package,” and course selection depends on teacher expertise, grade level, course standing, and relevance, often including cooperative education components.\"},{\"question\":\"What external challenges does the paper highlight for implementation of integrated programs?\",\"answer\":\"It describes political and curriculum pressures in Ontario, including funding cutbacks, structural changes that reduce space for electives, and a “back to basics” orientation that limits environmental content. It also notes ongoing concerns around newly drafted interdisciplinary guidelines.\"}]","A Report on an Ontario Secondary School Integrated Environmental Studies Program - Research Paper Overview | PDF",1792084618,43]