An overview of the state of environmental assessment education at Canadian universities.

Purpose - Environmental assessment (EA) is a proactive planning tool designed to consider the ecological, cultural, socio-political and economic impacts of potential projects, making it a major tool for achieving sustainable development. Meaningful EA requires a bridging of the natural sciences with the social sciences to broaden understanding of the overall environmental impacts of development projects on humans, the natural environment and other organisms. As a result of this complexity, education and training needs are great. The purpose of this paper was to consider EA educational opportunities at Canadian universities and to test a model for the analysis of the state of such education. Design/methodology/approach - The research design used a qualitative interactive approach, including a survey of 2001 university course calendars, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings - Results indicate that the number of universities offering EA courses has tripled to 40 since the mid-1980 s. While this is a positive finding, data illustrate that the bulk of the courses offered are survey-oriented and introductory in nature, with little opportunity to specialize. This cursory approach is exacerbated by a lack of teaching resources and instructor development. Despite the nature of the courses offered, many professors encourage critical thinking and use innovative teaching techniques, including role-playing, to promote self-reflection. In fact, the interdisciplinary approach to the curricula and the promotion of critical thinking outside disciplinary boundaries are two strengths of current EA programming. Originality/value - In light of this state of formal EA education in Canada, more research and international level dialogue are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]