Environmental Literacy Assessment: Exploring the Potential for the Assessment of Environmental Education/Programs in Ontario Schools

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) initiatives and programs are continually being introduced to schools and school boards in Ontario. For example, the EcoSchools program was initiated in 2002 and has seen a great increase in school participation since its inception. Several schools and school boards have adopted these initiatives with claims and praises on their effectiveness for improving students’ learning, environmental literacy and the school’s physical environment. However, the aggregate and quantifiable effect of these programs on students’ environmental knowledge and literacy is usually not emphasized. This paper is the report of a work in progress and proposes an environmental literacy assessment for elementary and secondary schools in south western Ontario as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of EE initiatives.