Place-Based Environmental Education in the Ontario Secondary School Curriculum

Overview & Synopsis

This study reviews the Ontario secondary school curriculum in light of recommendations made by the 2007 Bondar Report, "Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future." It analyzes curriculum expectations and enrollment data for the purpose of reporting upon and providing recommendations for place-based environmental education. The extent and prescriptiveness of the coverage of place-based environmental education by subject, course, grade, and course progression or pathway are presented. Environmental education in Ontario does not have its own discrete compulsory courses and despite having been "embedded" in the curriculum, the important arenas of place-based environmental education are being applied inconsistently across the compulsory curriculum. Poor enrollment in electives shows that the focus of students remains elsewhere, fracturing progression of environmental education in Ontario's secondary schools.