The Sustainability and Education Policy Network: Leading through Multi-Sector Learning
The Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN) is a research-based partnership between academic research institutions and national/international organizations, supported by a 2 million dollar SSHRC Partnership Grant (2012-2019) and led by the University of Saskatchewan (PI, Dr. Marcia McKenzie). In accordance with the University of Saskatchewan’s definition, SEPN understands sustainability as “the stewardship of the natural environment in a socially and economically responsible manner that meets the needs of both the present and future generations.” SEPN will examine which existing and new policies and innovations indicate the most promise for enabling educational change for a more sustainable future, including in relation to educational institutions’ approaches to curriculum, research, facilities operations, governance, and broader engagement with community and place. The research program is unique in its scope and inclusive methodology of engaging multiple communities across primary to tertiary education, regionally and nationally, and via multi-sector consultation and collaboration.
The research program is organized into three central themes (see Figure 2): (1) Document Analysis, (2) Community Engagement, and (3) Knowledge Mobilization. Theme 1, Document Analysis, is a high-level analysis of existing policy and data to gather a breadth of understanding of how current educational policy in Canada is engaging with environmental issues. Theme 2, Community Engagement, gathers new empirical data from multi-sector communities in in-depth situated analyses of the relationships between sustainability practices in communities and existing sustainability policy in Canadian education. Theme 3, Knowledge Mobilization, includes organizational learning within SEPN, development and community mobilization of exemplary research-based models of sustainability policy and practice, and professional and scholarly dissemination.
Figure 2. SEPN Research Program Overview
Partnering and contributing organizations include the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Sierra Youth Coalition, Learning for a Sustainable Future, the Assembly of First Nations, Métis National Office, Sustainability Solutions Group, the Global Youth Education Network, Ecosource, and the Canadian Federation of Students. Academic institutions include the University of Saskatchewan, York University, and Lakehead University. The University of Saskatchewan is the institutional lead on the project and will host the Network Management Office, full time Project Manager, and Project Director Dr. Marcia McKenzie, with other U of S faculty collaborators including Drs. Alex Wilson, Ryan Walker, Maureen Reed, and Scott Bell, as well as the Sustainability Working Group.
SEPN outcomes and impacts include: the creation of a multi-sector national collaborative Network which will be active beyond the life of the Partnership Grant and which will affect professional knowledge and practice within and beyond the Network; the training and mentorship of students and other highly qualified personnel who will further contribute to knowledge building in this area; the creation and mobilization of new knowledge and best practices regarding sustainability policy and practice in education which will effect the further assessment and development of existing policies and practices in K-12 and post-secondary education; and, overall, contribute to interdisciplinary and multi-sector development of greater environmental sustainability within the communities and places in which educational institutions and bodies are located in Canada. As the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization suggests “the goal of education is to make people wiser, more knowledgeable, better informed, ethical, responsible, critical and capable of continuing to learn. Education, in short, is humanity’s best hope and most effective means in the quest to achieve sustainable development” (UNESCO, 1997). Given the intense interest in sustainability issues across society, and given the early stages of this scholarship in education, this project opens new territory in sustainability-related educational research.
Learn more at: http://sepn.ca/
