Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2019
Chapter D
Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education

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D1 Education for sustainable development

Context

The following two chapters respond to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4) for education, which is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on September 25, 2015, by the United Nations General Assembly. SDG-4 is part of a broader set of 17 social, economic, and environmental SDGs that form a universal call for action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The overall aim of SDG-4 is to “ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” SDG-4 encompasses 10 targets and 43 indicators that cover many different aspects of education^Note .

This chapter focuses on Target 4.7 Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: “by 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development^Note  ”.

At the moment, there are no internationally agreed on indicator methodologies for Target 4.7. This chapter presents information that may provide insights for Target 4.7 in Canada, by exploring the awareness and the knowledge of environmental issues among Canadian 15-year-olds students, using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. This analysis contributes to Canada’s efforts towards two of the five Target 4.7 indicators^Note  :

• 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in: (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment.
• 4.7.5: Percentage of 15-year-old students showing proficiency in knowledge of environmental science and geoscience.

Self-reported awareness on environmental issues

• More than half of Canadian 15-year-old students self-reported to be aware or well-aware of all seven environmental issues outlined in the PISA 2015 questionnaire. For three of the seven environmental issues (air pollution, extinction of plants and animals, the consequences of clearing forests for other land use), at least 8 out of 10 students self-reported to be aware or well-aware. In Canada, awareness of technology-induced issues such as nuclear waste and GMOs tend to be lower than awareness of issues related to natural resources, which is similar to the trend found across OECD countries^Note .
• In Canada, students’ self-reported awareness is higher than the OECD for six of the seven issues, and only lower than the OECD for the issue of water shortage.
• Compared to OECD countries, Canadian students’ self-reported awareness ranks in the top 5 for three of the seven issues (extinction of plants and animals, the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the use of genetically modified organisms)^Note . Canada ranks 24 out of 36 for awareness about water shortage.
• Across provinces, Alberta has the highest percentage of self-reported awareness for five of the seven environmental issues (the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the consequences of deforestation for other land uses, air pollution, the extinction of plants and animals and water shortage). Where Alberta does not have the highest percentage, it has the second highest.
• New Brunswick has the lowest percentage of self-reported awareness for five of the seven environmental issues (the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, nuclear waste, the consequences of deforestation for other land uses, air pollution and water shortage). Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest percentage of self-reported awareness for the issue related to the use of genetically modified organisms and Quebec has the lowest percentage for the issue related to the extinction of plants and animals.

• There is a correlation between self-reported awareness of environmental issues and science proficiency levels. Canadian students with a high (Level 5 or above) proficiency level in science self-reported higher awareness than students with a low proficiency level (Below level 2) for all seven environmental issues.
• In Canada, the difference in the proportion of students reporting awareness of environmental issues between students with a high proficiency level and those with a low proficiency level are significant, from 20 percentage points for nuclear waste to 50 percentage points for the increase of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere.

• Water shortage is the only environmental issue where the percentage of self-reported awareness is lower for Canada than the OECD average. Across Canada, self-reported awareness of water shortage as an environmental issue ranges from 53% in New Brunswick to 78% in Alberta. British Columbia and Alberta are the only two provinces that demonstrate a higher self-reported awareness than the OECD average.
• In Canada, males self-reported a higher percentage of awareness than females. The gender difference is 5 percentage points in the Canada average, and ranges from 1 percentage point in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to 14.5 percentage points in New Brunswick.

Self-reported forecasting on environmental issues

• Only one of every ten students in Canada believes that the problem of the extinction of plants and animals will improve over the next 20 years. Across OECD countries, this percentage is higher at almost 15%. In Quebec, this figure drops to 5%, and it is particularly lower for females at 3%.
• In Canada as well as across OECD countries, females are less likely than males to believe that this environmental issue will improve in the future.

• When forecasting whether the problem associated with the extinction of plants and animals will get worse, there is a significant difference between students with a high proficiency level in science and those with lower proficiency levels. Students with science proficiency levels of Level 5 or above are much more inclined to forecast that this problem will get worse. The trend is consistent across provinces in addition to OECD countries and among both males and females.
• Approximately 75% of Canadian students with a high proficiency level in science predicted the issue will get worse while 41% of students with a low proficiency level predicted the same outcome.
• The gap in percentage of students who believe the problem will get worse between high and low science proficiency levels is the highest in Quebec and Ontario (37 and 36 percentage points); it is 33 percentage points across Canada and 24 percentage points across OECD countries.

Self-reported frequency of environmental activities

• Approximately 18% of Canadian students regularly follow news of science, environmental, or ecology organizations via blogs and microblogging, which is 3 percentage points higher than the OECD average. Among provinces, this figure ranges from 12% in Saskatchewan to 19% in Alberta.
• PISA 2015 also asked students questions about other science-related activities, such as watching TV programmes or reading magazines or articles about science. For example, only one out of every ten students in Canada regularly visits web sites of ecology organisations^Note .

• 55% of Canadian students very rarely follow news of science, environmental, or ecology organizations via blogs and microblogging, compared to an OECD average of 60%. Among provinces, this figure ranges from 53% in Alberta to 62% in Saskatchewan.
• In Canada, almost 60% of females and approximately 50% of males very rarely follow news of science via blogs or microblogging.
• The gap between females and males is the highest in Quebec (12 percentage points) and the lowest in Saskatchewan (6 percentage points).

• There is a significant variation between the proportions of students with high and low science proficiency levels who very rarely follow news of science, environmental, or ecology organizations via blogs and microblogging. The gap is 2 percentage points across OECD countries, 8 percentage points in Canada, ranging from 4 percentage points in Ontario and Quebec to 24 percentage points in Nova Scotia.
• Differences between provinces for students with the same proficiency level are also noticeable. For students with a low science proficiency level, the proportion of students who very rarely followed news of science ranges from 51% in Ontario to 64% in New Brunswick. In the case of  students with a high science proficiency level, the proportion of students who very rarely followed science news varies from 39% in Nova Scotia to 52% in New Brunswick.

Changes in environmental awareness and optimism over the years

• Of the seven environmental issues included in PISA 2015, four issues were part of the PISA 2006 questionnaire: the use of genetically modified organisms, nuclear waste, the increase of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere, and the consequences of clearing forests for other land use. Among all four of these issues, the share of Canadian students who self-reported being aware or well-aware increased. The proportion of students reporting awareness rose slightly by 1 percentage point for the consequences of clearing forests for other land use to a more significant increase of 15 percentage points for the use of genetically modified organisms.
• The overall changes in environmental awareness vary significantly between provinces. For instance, from 2006 to 2015, the proportion of students reporting awareness for the consequence of clearing forests for other land use actually decreased by 7 percentage points in Newfoundland and Labrador, but increased by 6 percentage points in British Columbia. The use of genetically modified organisms is the only issue where the share of self-reported awareness increased across all provinces.
• Regardless of the environmental issue, the share of self-reported awareness increased for both male and females.
• The share of students who reported being informed about these four environmental issues also increased across OECD countries, but to a lesser extent than in Canada. It rose marginally by 0.1 percentage points for the consequences of clearing forests for other land use to 7 percentage points for the increase of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere.

• From PISA 2006 to PISA 2015, students were asked about the possibility for the following issues to get better or worse over the next twenty years:  air pollution, clearing of forests for other land use, extinction of plants and animals, water shortages and nuclear waste.  Of these five issues, the share of Canadian students who forecasted that these issues would improve increased by 2 percentage points for nuclear waste and the clearing of forests for other land use. This figure remained roughly the same for issues associated with air pollution and the extinction of plants and animals with a minor increase of 0.1 percentage points. Finally, it decreased slightly by 0.2 percentage points with the problem associated with water shortages.
• In PISA 2015, 15-year-olds from Ontario were the only students to be more optimistic than their counterparts in 2006 about all of the five environmental issues above.
• In both 2006 and 2015, males were more optimistic than females about all of the five issues above.

Definitions, sources and methodology

PISA

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment of the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students; in addition, it provides information about a range of factors that contribute to the success of students, schools, and education systems. PISA is a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

PISA covers three domains — reading, mathematics, and science. Although each assessment includes questions from all three domains, the focus shifts. In 2000, the emphasis was on reading, with mathematics and science as minor domains. In 2003, mathematics was the major domain, and in 2006, it was science. In 2009, the focus was again reading, and in 2012, mathematics. In the assessment of 2015, the focus was science once again. The repetition of the assessments at regular intervals yields timely data that can be compared internationally and over time.

As PISA is an international assessment, it measures skills that are generally recognized as key outcomes of the educational process. Rather than testing on facts, the assessment focuses on young people near the end of compulsory schooling and their ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.

While PISA 2018 did not focus on specific environmental issues, it collected information on students’ ability to explain climate change and on their level of engagement regarding environmental issues; these data will become available at the end of 2019.

D2 Participation in secondary and postsecondary education

Context

In order to provide information on Canada’s progress towards SDG4 (Education), this chapter focuses SDG Target 4.1:  By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes and SDG Target 4.3:  By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.

Two indicators are presented in this chapter:  the proportion of young adults who are out of secondary school (Indicator 4.1.5 – the out of school rate) and the proportion of young people who are participating in postsecondary education (Indicator 4.3.2).  The out of school rate is examined for 15- to 17-year-olds, as this is the expected age at which youth would be enrolled in upper secondary education.  For postsecondary education, we examine the participation rates of young adults, aged 18 to 24, as that is the age at which young Canadians typically pursue postsecondary education.

These two indicators, in combination with the rates at which young people complete their secondary education (indicator A2) enable a better understanding of the pathways that young people may take between secondary school and postsecondary studies.

Out-of-school rates for young people aged 15 to 17

• The out of school rate for 15- to- 17-year-olds in Canada was 6% in 2017/2018, compared to 8% in 2005/2006.
• Between 2005/2006 and 2017/2018 the out of school rate decreased the most in Quebec and British Columbia.  In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it remained largely unchanged, at around 7%.
• In 2017/2018 the out of school rate was lowest Newfoundland and Labrador (3%) and in the Maritime Provinces (4%) and highest in the Yukon at 11%.

Participation in post-secondary education for youth aged 18 to 24

• In 2016/2017, 40% of Canadians aged 18 to 24 participated in postsecondary studies at college or university.  Roughly two thirds of these youth attended university, while the other third attended college.
• Among the provinces, the participation rate was highest in Nova Scotia (45%) and lowest in Saskatchewan (28%).  The participation rate in university was particularly high in Nova Scotia (37%).  Conversely, the highest college participation rate was in Quebec (20%), reflecting the existence of the unique Collèges d’enseignement général et professionel (CEGEP) system.
• As there are currently no universities in the territories, postsecondary participation was at college.  Among the territories, college participation was highest in the Yukon (13%) and lowest in the Northwest Territories (3%). 

• In every province and territory except New Brunswick, there is a gender disparity in terms of postsecondary participation in favour of young women.  In New Brunswick, the gender parity index is very close to one, indicating no disparity in favour of either gender.
• Among the provinces, the gender disparity is in favour of young women for university participation. 
• For college participation, among the provinces, the gender parity index is closer to one, with gender disparity in favour of young men in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.  The opposite is true in the territories, where the gender disparity in college participation is in favour of young women.

Definitions, sources and methodology

Out of school rate

The out of school rate indicator examines the proportion of 15- to- 17-year-olds who did not report attending school. These non-participation rates in education are based on data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Concepts and definitions

• The Labour Force Survey (LFS) asks respondents about school attendance at a "school, college or university" in the week before the survey. Respondents are considered to be students if they are:
  • taking a "credit course"; that is, a course or program of instruction that could be counted towards a degree, certificate or diploma;
  • taking classroom instruction or undertaking research towards a degree, certificate or diploma;
  • taking correspondence courses that are affiliated with a school and will be counted as a credit course;
  • attending school as a student nurse (even when engaged in the practical portion of their training in a hospital setting);
  • taking a "credit course" sponsored by their employer, and the instruction is given at a public educational institution, such as a university or community college;
  • a person with a mental or physical disability who is enrolled in a special education program.
• For those who are students, information is collected on the type of school, and whether enrolment is full- or part-time, as designated by the educational establishment.
• The number of students, used to calculate the participation rate, is based on a monthly average from September to April. Full- and part-time students are captured.
• The participation rate in education reflects the total enrolment in an elementary/high school, college, or university as a percentage of the total population for each age or in each age group.  The out of school rate is 100 – the participation rate.

Postsecondary participation rate

The postsecondary participation indicator examines the proportion of 18- to- 24-year-olds who participated in postsecondary education at a public college or university. These participation rates in education are based on data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and Demographic estimates.

Concepts and definitions

• PSIS provides a count of students enrolled in public colleges and universities in Canada based on enrolment for a single date chosen by the institution that falls between September 30 and December 1.  Therefore, students who are not enrolled during this time period are excluded.  This has a greater impact on colleges as they have a continuous intake of students and offer shorter programs.
• A demographic estimate of the total population aged 18 to 24 as of January 1, 2017 was prepared by the Demography division of Statistics Canada. 
• The participation rate in postsecondary education reflects the total enrolment in a public college or university, as collected in PSIS as a percentage of the total population of 18- to- 24-year-olds.

Gender Parity Index (GPI): is the ratio between the values of a given indicator of males and females. This is calculated by dividing the female value of an indicator by the male value of the same indicator. It is the main method chosen by the international community, such as UNESCO, to measure equity across the SDG-4 indicators. A GPI between 0.97 and 1.03 indicates parity between females and males. A value less than 0.97 indicates a disparity in favour of boys and a value more than 1.03 indicates a disparity in favour of girls.

Notes

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