The Ontario Secondary Curriculum outlines the learning expectations for students in Grade 9 to 12 attending English-language public schools throughout the province. Revised in a 7-year, cyclical review process, these curriculum documents have notably been reshaped over time to put greater emphasis upon environmental education. For instance, in the most recent revision of the secondary science curriculum in 2008, specific focus has been placed on relating science to technology, society, and the environment. Furthermore, the policy document titled Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow: A Policy Framework for Environmental Education in Ontario Schools (2009) highlights the following goal:
“By the end of Grade 12, students will acquire knowledge, skills, and perspectives that foster understanding of their fundamental connections to each other, to the world around them, and to all living things.”
A key challenge to effectively achieving this goal lies in ensuring that environmental education is not simply a sidebar to the content being taught, but rather a central and core motivation for learning. Students must be given the opportunity to engage with complex and multifaceted environmental issues, and develop genuine connections to their local environment. For this reason, learning in the outdoors is encouraged by the Ontario environmental education policy framework:
“Learning in the outdoors not only offers a unique context for learning but also provides experiential learning outside the classroom to foster a connection to local places and to develop a greater understanding of ecosystems. Natural and human-built environments can be used as sites for discovery, problem-solving, and active learning, as well as for first-hand experiences that put students in touch with nature.”
(Environmental Education: Scope and Sequence of Expectation – Grades 9-12, 2017)
The environmental education policy framework in Ontario also states that “students need to have the knowledge and skills that will enable them to understand and deal with complex issues that affect the environment now and in the future.” It highlights the necessity of students to develop higher-level thinking, and systems thinking; while not explicitly stated within the documents, these types of skills are inherently interdisciplinary.
Indeed, the Ontario Ministry of Education has made efforts to integrate environmental education into all grades and subject areas of the Ontario curriculum. Environmental Education: Scope and Sequence of Expectation – Grades 9-12 (2017) is a compilation of the specific environmental education expectations embedded into every subject area taught at the secondary school level. However, environmental education expectations are still by far the most prevalent, and understandably so, in the science stream. For example, the Grade 9 science course includes a unit on sustainability with the following ‘Big Idea’: “People have the responsibility to regulate their impact on the sustainability of ecosystems in order to preserve them for future generations.” In Grade 10 Science, the climate change unit emphasizes the following: “People have the responsibility to assess their impact on climate change and to identify effective courses of action to reduce this impact.”
Ultimately, the current Ontario science curriculum – most recently revised in 2008 – offers many avenues for the integration of environmental education. It is also important to continually acknowledge that within the Ontario education system, the responsibility of environmental education lies not only with science teachers, but with each and every teacher at the secondary (and elementary) level.
References
EduGains. The Ontario curriculum and curriculum review process.
Ontario Ministry of Education. Acting today, shaping tomorrow: a policy framework for
environmental education in Ontario schools. (2009). http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/enviroed/action.html
Ontario Ministry of Education. The Ontario curriculum.
Ontario Ministry of Education. The Ontario curriculum, grades 9 and 10: science (revised).
Ontario Ministry of Education. Environmental education: scope and sequence of expectation –
grades 9-12. (2017). http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/environmental_ed_9to12_eng.pdf
