Implementation of the Bondar Report - A Reflection on the State of Environmental Education in Ontario

Oct 15, 2026

The 2007 Bondar Report, Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future, established a vision for environmental education (EE) across Ontario schools and informed the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education. Based on research and personal reflection, the paper summarizes recent developments in Ontario’s EE curriculum implementation and highlights key institutional elements that shape how EE is carried into provincial schooling and curriculum design.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Historical development of EE in Ontario

The Bondar Report and its recommendations

Operational definition of EE

Implementation of the Bondar Report: A Reflection on the State of Environmental Education in Ontario Michal J. Bardecki & Lynda H. McCarthy, Ryerson University, Canada Abstract The 2007 Bondar Report, Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future, generated a vision for environmental curricula in Ontario. It has been the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for environmental education (EE) in all Ontario schools. Based on our research and personal reﬂections, this paper provides a summary of the recent developments concerning EE curricula in Ontario’s schools. It also identiﬁes the key institutional elements which contribute to and inﬂuence the course ofEE implementation and focuses on their role in the development of environmental curricula in the province. Resumé Le rapport Bondar de 2007, Préparons nos élèves – Préparons notre avenir, proposait une vision pour intégrer l’éducation environnementale au curriculum ontarien, vision qui a servi de base à la Politique d’éducation environnementalepour les écoles de l’Ontario adoptéepar leministère de l’Éducation en 2009. À partirde nos recherches et de nos réﬂexions personnelles, nous faisons dans cet article le point sur l’évolution de l’éducation environnementale dans les établissementsscolaires de la province, en plus defaire ressortir les grands aspects institutionnels qui viennent jouer sur l’intégration de ces enseignements, en insistant au passage sur leur rôle dans la conception d’un curriculum pour l’Ontario. Keywords: environmental education, Bondar Report, Ontario, curriculum, K–12 schools Mots-clés : éducation environnementale, rapport Bondar, Ontario, curriculum, maternelle à 12e année Introduction The late 1960s was a time of generally increased salience of environmental issues. This came as part of a social movement whose advocates had begun to demonstrate concern about human impacts on the environment. Accordingly, expectations that schools should incorporate greater emphasis on environment into their curricula began to appear in a variety of countries (Gough, 2013; Palmer, 1998) . The ﬁrst elements of the institutionalization of environmental education (EE) arose with the development and implementation of new curricula and initiatives, such as the 20-day IUCN/UNESCO International Working Meeting on Environmental Education in the School Curriculum, held in 1970 at Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 23 (3), 2020 113 the Foresta Institute, Carson City, Nevada (IUCN, 1970) . Over time, the conceptualization, pedagogical development, and implementation of EE has evolved in response to changing priorities and political challenges (Hudson, 2001; Sauvé, 2005) . In 1973, the Ontario Ministry of Education (OME) introduced environmental science courses into the province’s elementary and secondary schools. In the two decades that followed, and with increased outdoor education opportunities for students, the environment held a signiﬁcant position in school curricula. However, as neoliberalism began to dominate educational approaches to curricula in the second half of the 1990s (Basu, 2004; Sattler, 2012; Winﬁeld & Jenish, 1999), funding and infrastructure for outdoor education programs were cut (Borland, 2014, 2015; Kopar, 2013) . Public concern over the “patchwork approach” to environmental education (EE) (Environmental Education Ontario, 2003; Puk & Behm, 2003) followed the removal in 1998 of the two Environmental Science courses which had been offered as electives in Ontario secondary schools (in Grades 10 and 12) (Cundiff, 1989; Puk & Behm, 2003; Puk & Makin, 2006) . By 2000, EE was not a priority in provincial education policies and, despite the decision by the OME to “infuse” environmental content broadly into other subjects (Puk & Makin, 2006), canvasses of teachers indicated that little environmental focus found its way into the classroom (Puk & Behm, 2003) . The key response to the situation cam

FAQs

What policy impact did the 2007 Bondar Report have in Ontario?

It generated a vision for environmental curricula that served as the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for EE in all Ontario schools.

How did EE priorities change in Ontario during the 1990s and around 2000?

As neoliberal approaches dominated curricula in the second half of the 1990s, funding and infrastructure for outdoor education were cut, and after 1998 the two Environmental Science courses were removed, leading to limited classroom emphasis and EE not being a priority by 2000.

What did the Bondar Report recommend to strengthen environmental education across subjects?

It recommended increasing the cross-curricular focus of EE by embedding environmental expectations and topics across all subjects, disciplines, and grades, alongside greater attention to inquiry-based learning and real-world engagement.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Danger Angel