Environmental and Sustainability Education Policy Research: A Review of Geographic and Thematic Trends Over Time

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-23 - Emerging Perspectives on Critical Policy Research in Sustainability Education

Abstract

Objectives
This systematic review attempts to lay a better understanding of policy research in environmental and sustainability education to date, including identifying research gaps, as wells as current and historical trends. The review responds to a call to strengthen policy research in sustainability education, and particularly for more studies that move beyond analysis of policy texts to consider the whole policy cycle (Læssoe et al., 2013, p. 235; Nazir et al. 2009). By outlining in greater detail the policy research that has been undertaken to date, this review aims to help provide a platform for a broadened diversity of policy studies in environmental and sustainability education.

Theoretical Framework
Educational policy research more broadly is a relatively recent field of inquiry (Ball, 1997). With an initial focus on a “policy science” approach in which one works to determine “the technically best course of action to adopt in order to implement a decision or achieve a goal” (Fay, 1975, p. 14), research in education policy has more recently expanded and diversified. We explore the extent to which this expansion of education policy research has made an impact in the field of environmental and sustainability education.

Methods and Data
Throughout the paper we use ‘sustainability education’ as an umbrella term encompassing environmental education, education for sustainable development, and education for sustainability. We examine how policy has being understood by sustainability education researchers across these areas. Our central question is, “how has education policy addressing sustainability been researched over the last several decades?”
For our literature collection, we began by searching the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. We used the search terms, ‘environment*’ OR ‘sustainab*’ combined with ‘education’ AND ‘policy.’ We performed an additional search of all articles classified under the ERIC descriptor “education policy” for environment* or sustainab*. These complementary search techniques allowed us to capture relevant articles that may have been classified in different ways. After a complete review of all papers and the exclusion of those that were not policy research, we finished with a total of 217 articles.

Results & Scientific Significance
The total of 217 research articles had publication years spanning from 1974 to 2013 and focused on education policy in 71 different countries. Dividing the literature from the review into three periods of research, we see an overall increase in publishing rate of policy related articles, with 1.3 per year in 1970-89 (20 total), 4.9 per year in 1990-2004 (78 total) and 13.2 per year in 2005-13 (119 total). This paper presentation will discuss central themes across these papers, including geographical scope, terminology, and themes of policy impetus, curriculum and teaching, and tensions and globalization. The presentation will end with an overview of implications for future sustainability education policy research.

Authors

• Kathleen Aikens, University of Saskatchewan

• Jeppe Laessoe, Aarhus University - School of Education