Environmental education in healthy active living education courses: a justice-oriented resource for Ontario secondary educators

Abstract

The purpose of this portfolio is to develop a resource that supports Ontario Healthy Active Living Education (HALE) teachers in integrating environmental education (EE) through a justice-oriented lens. While curriculum documents may highlight the importance of EE, they often offer limited guidance on how to meaningfully apply it within Health and Physical Education (HPE) contexts. This resource aims to bridge that gap by connecting environmental issues to health, wellbeing, and social justice. There are three tasks in this portfolio. The first task is a literature review that examines how EE is defined and connected to human health, while situating it within broader social justice frameworks. It analyzes Ontario curriculum and policy documents to assess how EE is positioned within the HPE curriculum, establishing the foundation for the subsequent components of this portfolio. The second task is a digital resource in the form of a website that is designed to support HALE educators by curating relevant articles and resources. The site also features annotated summaries that outline a foundational article’s key argument and its relevance to EE, along with considerations for classroom application, to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The final task is a short reflection on the portfolio process and the portfolio's effort to challenge dominant ideologies and engage with diverse ways of knowing within HPE and EE.