10/29/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/29/2024 16:01
This article provides insight into how countries are accelerating progress towards the global Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG 4). It highlights specific examples of countries' actions to transform their education systems, based on the findings of the Transforming education towards SDG 4: Report of a global survey on country actions to transform education', published ahead of the 2024 Global Education Meeting. This event is organized back-to-back with the G20 Education Ministers Meeting in Brazil, emphasizing common priorities of the Brazilian G20 Presidency and UNESCO, such as inclusion, equity and education financing.
The report highlights seven ways that are important for countries to transform their education systems.
The survey report underscores the necessity of a multifaceted, context-specific approach to transforming education. It is essential to recognize that countries are in different places in their education transformation journeys and are taking various approaches to support what is needed most in their unique contexts.
Transformative action encompasses gradual or small-scale improvements and larger systemic changes that better align with the evolving learning needs within a new social contract. Transforming education needs to be contextualized within each country's unique realities. Not only do countries have different priority areas but they also have different economic and socio-cultural conditions that factor into decision making.
Three examples of how countries have contextualized their approaches to transform education within their political, economic and socio-cultural environments:
Lebanon's 2025 education strategy aims to provide equal opportunities for vulnerable children - both Lebanese and refugees - through government-funded tuition for grades K to 9 and a 'Cash for Education' programme that assists with non-tuition expenses, benefiting about 90,000 students from the most vulnerable groups in public schools. This financial support of 15 to 20 USD per child per month over two consecutive years will help mitigate the economic pressures that often drive families towards short-term solutions like child labour or early marriage for girls. Thus, this initiative also aims to contribute to a reduction in child labour.
Bangladeshhas institutionalized the World Teachers'Day as a major national event to elevate the social status of teachers, which is part of a broader strategy to professionalize and empower the teaching workforce. Additionally, the country has focused on improving teacher working conditions, including salary raises and career development opportunities through the "teachers'pact."
Singaporerevised its Nurturing Early Learners Framework to emphasize developing children's values, social, and emotional competencies and learning dispositions. These efforts reflect Singapore's focus on holistic education that imparts academic knowledge and nurtures well-rounded individuals, preparing students to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment.
Financing must be prioritized and sustained, and innovative measures must be adopted to accelerate transformation. Without sufficient funding, the quality of education can decline, adversely impacting the future of countless learners.
Countries must increase investments in education from all sources, including international aid and innovative financing, to meet their SDG 4 targets while ensuring efficient and effective use of resources. Achieving effective education financing requires cutting inefficiencies, enhancing governance, and linking investments to education outcomes, focusing on maximizing impact and accountability.
Three examples of education financing to ensure equitable resource distribution, transparency, and sustainability:
The Dominican Republichas made significant strides in education financing by incrementally increasing its education budget to meet international benchmarks and setting a minimum investment of US$2,500 per child per year. Additionally, the country has implemented a "Comprehensive Strategic Intelligence System"to improve the transparency and monitoring of educational spending, ensuring resources are allocated effectively and equitably.
Indonesia's Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has taken a targeted approach to ensuring equitable resource distribution, particularly focusing on disadvantaged groups such as low-income households, rural residents, and children with disabilities. The ministry has also incorporated gender responsiveness into its public expenditure monitoring, demonstrating a commitment to equity and efficiency in education financing.
Argentinacommitted to long-term education financing by adopting an education financing bill (Law No. 25,075) in 2023. This bill ensures that a minimum level of government funding is allocated to education, aiming to reach 8% of GDP by 2033. This forward-thinking strategy reflects a strong commitment to sustained investment in education.
Inclusion, equity and gender equality are at the heart of SDG 4. In the face of challenges, countries are guided by these principles as they transform their education systems.
All countries have reported actions towards inclusion, equity and gender equality in education. Still, significant challenges remain, particularly for refugee and displaced children and youth, who are at high risk of educational exclusion. Achieving inclusion requires targeted strategies and systemic transformation to ensure all learners have equal access to quality education, essential for meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Three examples of how countries are taking action toward inclusion, equity, and gender equality in education:
Bahrainhas integrated special education programmesinto 175 mainstream schools. This initiative includes awareness raising for teachers, administrative staff and the entire student body to ensure that schools are equipped to meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities, allowing them to learn alongside their peers in regular classrooms.
Estoniahas integrated nearly 80,000 Ukrainian refugees into its education system by providing substantial financial, material and mental health support to enhance access to education for children and youth affected by crises through inclusive educational systems.
Argentina has been updating its education policies to comply with national laws (laws 26,150 and 26,206), which mandate comprehensive and universal educational actions in human rights and gender equality. These laws guarantee that all students, in both public and private institutions across all levels, receive comprehensive sexuality education, ensuring that gender equality and inclusivity are deeply embedded in the education system.
Digital transformation is essential to transforming education, with countries focusing on enhancing connectivity, digital resources and educator training. While many countries have committed to expanding internet access and integrating digital tools to promote equity and inclusion, there remains a need to address the quality of digital content and ensure that digital platforms are both accessible and secure. The effort is guided by principles of inclusion, equity, quality, and accessibility, emphasizing the need to prevent digital transformation from exacerbating existing inequalities in access to technology.
Three examples of how digital transformation is being utilized to impact and enhance education systems:
Uzbekistan's"One Million Programmers"project incentivizes teachers to use digital tools by offering prizes for completing digital education training. This initiative reflects a broader commitment to integrating technology into education, emphasizing the importance of strengthening teacher support and digital learning content as the cornerstones for effective digital learning.
Andorra adopted the Digital Strategy for Education 2022-2025, focusing on enhancing digital skills among students and teachers. The strategy also prioritizes the security, accessibility, and quality of digital tools, ensuring a comprehensive approach to digital transformation in education.
Türkiye is leveraging advanced technology by incorporating virtual reality into technical and vocational education and training. This innovative approach highlights how emerging technologies can be harnessed to provide practical, immersive learning experiences that align with today's educational needs.
Investing in the teaching profession is crucial for transforming education. This investment includes enhancing professional development, equipping teachers with new pedagogical skills, digital tools, and updated curricula.
As the backbone of educational transformation, teachers need systemic support to address the global shortage and meet evolving educational demands. Improving working conditions, fostering professional autonomy and ensuring adequate training are essential to making the teaching profession more attractive and sustainable, with many countries already taking transformative actions in these areas.
Three examples of countries' efforts to prioritize investments in the teaching profession:
Mauritius, to address the significant shortage of primary school teachers, has created additional teaching posts in all subject areas and actively recruited 600 trainee primary school educators. This initiative is expected to increase the primary teaching workforce by 16.4%, ensuring that more teachers are available to meet students'needs and improve the quality of education.
Kyrgyzstan has made substantial improvements in its teacher certification process by automating it and creating an electronic certification platform. Additionally, in 2022 and 2023, Kyrgyzstan provided advanced training to a large number ofits teaching staff, ensuring that teachers are better qualified and equipped to deliver high-quality education.
France has implemented salary raises, additional compensation, and career development opportunities through the "teachers'pact"to improve teacher working conditions and address recruitment and retention challenges. These efforts aim to make the teaching profession more attractive and sustainable, ensuring teachers are motivated, appreciated and well-supported.
Transforming education requires a comprehensive and integrated approach that reimagines curricula, teaching methods, and lifelong learning opportunities. Central to this transformation is the renewal of educational practices to cultivate diverse knowledge through interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives. This includes embedding environmental sustainability and socio-emotional skills into the curriculum, preparing learners to meet future challenges as resilient, well-rounded individuals.
The transformation also emphasizes the integration of digital tools to support personalized learning, innovative pedagogical strategies, and the development of critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. By fostering an environment that nurtures autonomous and lifelong learning, education can effectively bridge the gap between traditional methods and the evolving needs of the future.
Three examples of how countries are adopting holistic and lifelong approaches to transforming education:
Zambiahas focused on creating learner-centered pedagogies at the forefront of all lessons at all levels by integrating various pedagogical approaches, including creativity, playful learning, and project-based learning. These efforts, exemplified by the Zambia Education Enhancement Project (ZEEP), prioritize the holistic development of students by fostering an environment that encourages autonomy and critical thinking, aligning with the needs of the 21st century.
Jordanhas integrated socio-emotional learning (SEL) into its core curriculum, embedding it within subjects like mathematics and the Arabic language. This approach ensures that students develop academically and acquire essential life skills to manage emotions and build supportive relationships. Integrating SEL across subjects reflects a commitment to nurturing well-rounded individuals prepared for future challenges.
Omanhas embraced environmental education as part of its holistic educational transformation. The Green School project encourages eco-friendly practices and infrastructure within schools, ensuring that students are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to address environmental challenges.
Many countries increasingly recognize the importance of embedding youth engagement within their governance frameworks, ensuring that policies and decision-making processes include the voices of those directly impacted by transforming education.
Genuine and meaningful youth engagement is inclusive, rights-based, and accountable. It creates spaces for youth and students to access transparent information and opportunities to express their views, receive the necessary support to succeed and actively participate in decision-making. By fostering a sense of ownership among those impacted by education, these approaches ensure that educational change is more likely to be embraced by those they affect the most.
Three examples of how countries are engaging youth in decision-making:
Albaniahas developed the National Youth Strategy for 2022-2029 and its Action Place,which focuses on ensuring equal rights, opportunities, and support for marginalized and vulnerable youth. By institutionalizing youth engagement, Albania is making strides in ensuring that young people's voices are integral to shaping the future of the nation's education system.
Sierra Leone has embedded youth engagement within its legal framework to ensure the sustained participation of young people in educational reforms. Sierra Leone's Youth advisory group representing all districts is enshrined in the 2030 Education Act. This initiative provides a structured platform for youth to contribute to educational decision-making. It ensures that their participation is maintained beyond political changes, securing a stable and ongoing role for youth in shaping the country's educational landscape.
Lithuaniahas established youth advisory bodies, such as the Youth Affairs Councils, at both the national and local levels. These councils serve as effective platforms for fostering closer cooperation and coordination between youth representatives and relevant institutions. These councils assess and discuss legal acts and strategies affecting young people with the goal of actively involving them in decision-making processes.
The global survey on country actions to transform education is not just about showcasing good practices and transformative actions. It's about encouraging collaboration among countries and joint actions. Sharing and learning from each other's successes and challenges propel countries toward achieving SDG 4 by 2030.