Education for Sustainable Development in Canadian Faculties of Education

The report finds modest progress in reorienting Canadian teacher education toward sustainability, noting that while pedagogical approaches consistent with ESD are increasingly used, institutional adoption remains fragmented and often driven by individual faculty champions rather than faculty-wide mandates. Key barriers include funding challenges, communication gaps, and the constraint of provincial teacher certification requirements, which are largely determined by ministries of education rather than the faculties themselves.

• There is modest but promising progress in integrating ESD into pre-service programs, though full implementation is rare. Most faculties are making efforts ranging from preliminary to advanced, but few have implemented specific ESD courses or revamped entire curricula to achieve ESD learning outcomes.
• The most significant progress is observed in the adoption of pedagogical approaches consistent with ESD principles, both by teaching staff in their delivery and by pre-service students learning to apply these methods in their own practice.
• ESD adoption is primarily driven by the commitment of individual faculty members rather than institutional responses, leading to a divergence between individual efforts and faculty-wide mandates.
• The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) has provided early adopters with a sense of validation and a legitimate space for debate and action within their faculties.
• Faculty research on ESD is less advanced than curriculum integration, with few institutions offering dedicated scholarships or grants for such initiatives, although there is significant interest among graduate students.
• Institutional recognition and rewards for ESD leadership—such as performance reviews, professional development, and tenure considerations—remain limited.
• While most universities have sustainable development policies and address them in campus operations, there is uncertainty regarding whether education faculty and staff are aware of these policies.
• A significant barrier to reorienting pre-service curricula is that key aspects of teacher education and certification are determined by provincial ministries and departments of education or certification bodies.
• Key drivers and enablers for ESD include the intersection of institutional commitments with individual champions and partnerships with other departments or institutions, while barriers include funding, communication gaps, and lack of professional development.
• There is a notable gap in formal partnerships and communication between faculties of education and their respective provincial ministries and departments of education regarding ESD.

APA

Swayze, N., Creech, H., Buckler, C., & Alfaro, J. (2012). Education for Sustainable Development in Canadian Faculties of Education. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/esd_canadian_faculties.pdf

Chicago

Swayze, Natalie, Heather Creech, Carolee Buckler, and Jazmin Alfaro. Education for Sustainable Development in Canadian Faculties of Education. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/esd_canadian_faculties.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Swayze |first1=Natalie |last2=Creech |first2=Heather |last3=Buckler |first3=Carolee |last4=Alfaro |first4=Jazmin |title=Education for Sustainable Development in Canadian Faculties of Education |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/esd_canadian_faculties.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{swayze2012education, author = {Swayze, Natalie and Creech, Heather and Buckler, Carolee and Alfaro, Jazmin}, title = {{Education for Sustainable Development in Canadian Faculties of Education}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/esd_canadian_faculties.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }