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Mainstreaming SDG4-Education 2030 in sector-wide policy and planning: technical guidelines for UNESCO field offices Year of publication: 2016 Corporate author: UNESCO Mainstreaming SDG4-Education 2030 in sector-wide policy and planning offers technical guidelines for UNESCO field offices to ensure adequate technical support to national authorities. The guidelines take into account the different profiles of countries’ need and capacities, thus avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. The document contains resources and pointers that can be combined and tailored to fit the particular context of each country. In all cases, UNESCO is expected to ensure that all the relevant information about SDG4-Education 2030 is properly disseminated in these guidelines. Field staff will adapt the guidelines provided here to the country they are serving to ensure that UNESCO plays its role as the leading United Nations agency in the field.
Evaluating the Link between Conflict and Education Year of publication: 2005 Author: Lynn Davies Corporate author: SAGE Publishing This paper examines two areas of important evaluation: the impact of education on peace and the impact of education on conflict, and argues that they are not necessarily the same type of evaluation.
Education in the twenty‐first century: Conflict, reconstruction and reconciliation1 Year of publication: 2005 Author: Alan Smith Corporate author: Taylor & Francis This paper is an attempt to map out an emerging and increasingly important field of study concerning the relationship between education and conflict. The paper argues that actions through various ‘entry points’ at each of these levels carry the potential to exacerbate or ameliorate conflict and suggests that a systemic analysis of investments in education systems from a conflict perspective should be a routine part of educational planning.
Case Study - Pakistan: Education, Religion and Conflict Year of publication: 2015 Author: Raza Rumi Corporate author: Tony Blair Faith Foundation | McGill University Pakistan is in the midst of crisis. It is threatened by virulent extremist groups and is suffering from a failing education system that is poorly funded and politically manipulated. It promulgates an undefined Islamo-nationalist ideology that lays the foundations for widespread acceptance of ideologically motivated violence. Reforms to the curriculum have been legislated but are badly implemented by the country's politicians; the international community has largely turned a blind eye to these shortcomings. Unless aid and advocacy are specifically focused on far-reaching educational reform that directly tackles extremism, the long-term consequences will be extremely severe.
Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection? Year of publication: 2003 Author: Alan B. Krueger | Jitka Maleckova Corporate author: American Economic Association In the authors' view, any connection between poverty, education and terrorism is indirect, complicated and probably quite weak. Instead of viewing terrorism as a direct response to low market opportunities or ignorance, the article suggests it is more accurately viewed as a response to political conditions and long-standing feelings of indignity and frustration that have little to do with economics.
Singapore’s educational reforms toward holistic outcomes: (Un)intended consequences of policy layering Year of publication: 2023 Author: Dennis Kwek | Jeanne Ho | Hwei Ming Wong Corporate author: Center for Universal Education at Brookings In the transition from economic imperatives to holistic drivers, there has been a gradual move over five policy phases (from 1965 to 2022 and beyond) toward curriculum and school diversification to cater to different students, with more autonomy given to schools to innovate their pedagogy and improve instructional quality to meet their students’ unique needs. Importantly, there has been a shift in policy rhetoric from focusing on educational structures to focusing on pedagogy and instructional quality. To shift pedagogy from being mainly didactic in nature—with emphasis on preparing students for national examination—the Singapore government recognized the need to focus on school leaders’ and teachers’ capacity building to enable new curricula and teaching practices. The school cluster structure was initiated in 1997 to enable collaboration and learning among school leaders, key personnel, and teachers. Opportunities for collaborative teacher learning are provided at different ecological levels: professional learning communities (PLCs) within schools and networked learning communities (NLCs) across schools. Beyond the education system, the Singapore government works with other ministries and community organizations, such as ethnic self-help organizations, to tackle educational equity issues. Ultimately, even though the official policy narrative post-1997 has been a de-emphasis on examination results and educational infrastructure to help improve the instructional quality in schools toward holistic outcomes and improved student well-being have been developed, education systems building co-exists with an alternative underlying shadow education system valued by parents who continue to chase narrow academic outcomes. Tuition and enrichment centers in Singapore constitute the shadow education system.
The Comprehensive Learning Diagnosis: Chile’s approach to assess socio-emotional learning in schools Year of publication: 2023 Author: José Weinstein | Juan Bravo Corporate author: Center for Universal Education at Brookings Education in Chile has important challenges of quality, equity, and social integration. For decades, policies tried to respond to these concerns with a high-stakes accountability institutional framework, which has not had success. The underlying vision of educational quality was limited. The assessment system in place privileged cognitive and academic dimensions of educational results. Socio-emotional learning had been neglected or considered secondary, without an infrastructure of assessment tools that allowed teachers and principals to diagnosis students’ situations and monitor their progress. The COVID-19 crisis was an opportunity for change: Students’ socioemotional needs were a main concern for schools and society, and the regular accountability system based on standardized tests was interrupted. Subsequently, the Comprehensive Learning Diagnosis (DIA) was launched by the Education Quality Agency. The DIA is a voluntary assessment tool made available to all Chilean schools. The DIA promotes the comprehensive development of students, providing timely information and guidance to internally monitor students’ learning in the academic and socio-emotional domains at several points during the school year. Specifically, with respect to socio-emotional learning, three areas were considered: personal, community, and citizenship. In each of these areas, a set of socioemotional skills were defined, operationalized, and became possible to monitor by school communities. The DIA also collects students’ opinions of school management practices regarding socio-emotional skills. The DIA has received a wide acceptance in school communities. Despite being voluntary, an ample majority of schools decided to participate. The information collected from the DIA allows for practical use by principals and teachers. Moreover, the DIA provides the opportunity for students to inform school management. The new Chilean government has decided to strengthen DIA as an important component in a four-year national plan for reactivating academic and socio-emotional learning in schools. The previous high-stakes accountability system, which involved external assessments, has been suspended and is under discussion. The DIA experience has shown that critical social and educational situations can provide fertile ground to motivate deep and rapid transformation, if an educational actor (in this case the Education Quality Agency) is capable of enacting a pertinent, timely, and practical response to school needs. The DIA is not only an example of productive uses of students´ assessment by schools, but also a demonstration that it is possible to build an institutional arrangement among local, intermediate, and national levels of school systems, where a vertical hierarchy is changed by a collaborative relationship based on local agency, mutual trust, and differentiated technical contributions.
South-Eastern Europe regional synthesis: climate change, displacement and the right to education Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO In 2021 alone, 23.7 million people were displaced in 137 countries and territories due to natural disasters, which the scientific community has recognized have become more frequent and intense due to climate change. Climate change and displacement is currently taking place in Europe, with particularly disastrous consequences in South-Eastern Europe due to regional specificities. Comparative country case studies were carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova, and Serbia, as they exemplify clear, present patterns of climate displacement, to examine the impacts of climate change on the right to education in the region. The case studies show that climate change directly threatens education through the destruction of schools and property. It also indirectly puts learning in peril by leading people across borders where their legal residency nor right to education is ensured. This publication aims to guide policy-makers by providing recommendations on how to ensure the protection of the right to education in South-Eastern Europe in the face of climate change and displacement. It is one of four regional reports that will lead to the development of a global report providing global policy guidance.
Central America and the Caribbean regional synthesis: climate change, displacement and the right to education Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO From rising sea level to drought and increasingly frequent natural disasters - the effects of climate change are well-known today. However, its effect on human mobility is just coming to the forefront of the political discussion. In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people globally were displaced by natural disasters. Central America and the Caribbean region is prone to the effects of climate change and displacement due to its socioeconomic characteristics and geographic location. Country case studies were carried out in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Jamaica to examine the impacts on the right to education in the region. The research shows that climate change directly threatens education through the destruction of schools and property. It also leads people across borders where their legal residency and right to education are not guaranteed. This report aims to guide policy-makers on how to ensure education is protected in the face of climate change and displacement. The report is one of four being developed and will contribute to UNESCO’s global initiative on climate change, displacement and the right to education. It will inform the development of a Global Report with policy recommendations.
Her Atlas: Interactive Advocacy Tool on Girls’ and Women’s Right to Education Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO Many girls and women cannot exercise their right to education due to gender inequality and discriminatory practices. Poverty, early marriage, and gender-based violence are just some of the many reasons behind the high percentage of global female illiteracy and school drop-outs. Strengthening the right of girls and women to quality education is key to eliminate discrimination and to achieve equal rights between genders. This cannot be achieved without solid national legal frameworks that are rightsbased, gender responsive and inclusive. This is where HerAtlas comes in. HerAtlas, is a first of its kind online tool that maps the right to education of girls and women. It aims to enhance public knowledge and monitor the status of national constitutions, legislation and regulations related to education rights for girls and women to encourage countries to take action, strengthen their laws and policies, and lead to long term change. Concrete changes are already apparent. In 2019, 4% of countries were explicitly restricting the right to education of married, pregnant, and parenting girls. This has dropped to 2% in 2022, benefiting millions of girls who can now legally attend school when they marry or become pregnant. 