Planet, prosperity, people, peace, place, partnerships. Six Ps for transformative education
The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report provides independent monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG 4), and on the impact education has on the other SDGs.
‘Education as usual’ will not suffice. The recently released 2016 edition (the first issue of the GEM) calls for a fundamental change in the way we think about education and its role in human well-being and global development. It affirms that now, more than ever, education has a responsibility to foster the right type of skills, attitudes and behaviors that will lead to sustainable and inclusive growth.
It is widely accepted that education represents a positive force for social, economic and environmental change, as it influences how people think, perceive and act. However, the GEM Report helps clarifying HOW education functions in fostering that societal change and it presents compelling arguments as to the types of education and learning that are vital for achieving other SDGs.
Here are the Report’s KEY MESSAGES for education to be transformative in support of the Sustainable development agenda:
Collaborate across sectors . Include ministries, civil society, the private sector, at the local and national level.
Use education as a capacity-building tool in all sectors . Invest in integrated interventions that will have multiplier effects for several development outcomes.
Education cannot fight inequality on its own . Labour markets and governments must not excessively penalize lower income individuals. Cross sectoral cooperation can reduce barriers to gender equality.
Education funding needs to be both adequate and predictable to ensure the provision of good quality education, especially to marginalized groups.
PLANET : A whole-school approach is needed to build green skills and awareness. Campaigns, companies, as well as community and religious leaders must advocate for sustainability practices. Non-formal education and research and development should also help solve global environmental challenges.
PROSPERITY : Invest in teaching green and transferable skills in school and the workplace. Incentivize universities and agricultural extension to focus on green economic growth and sustainable agricultural
production. Promote cooperation across all sectors to encourage full economic participation by women or minority groups.
PEOPLE : Ensure universal access to basic services. , Support the integration of marginalized groups by investing in early childhood care and education, social protection programmes and awareness campaigns.
Fund integrated delivery of basic services in schools.
PEACE : Expand education on global citizenship, peace, inclusion and resilience to conflict. Emphasize participatory teaching and learning especially in civic education. Invest in qualified teachers for refugees and displaced people, and teach children in their mother language. Incorporate education into the peacebuilding agenda.
PLACE : Distribute public resources equitably in urban areas, involving the community in education planning. Include education in all discussions on urban development. Improve and fund urban planning programmes and curricula to include cross-sector engagement and develop locally-relevant solutions.
PARTNERSHIPS : Develop equitable funding mechanisms. Use progressive public finance policies to fund lower levels of education; combine grants and loans to finance upper levels of education. Increase multilateral aid mechanisms and engagement with the private sector. Mobilize domestic resources by improving knowledge about tax systems, halting tax evasion, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.
See here the full report and the Summary