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Global Education Monitoring Report 2024: Gender Report; Technology on Her Terms Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | Global Education Monitoring Report Team The 2024 Gender Report tells the increasingly positive story of girls’ education access, attainment and achievement, which is helping reverse decades of discrimination. But there is much more to say on gender equality in and through education. A companion to the 2023 GEM Report, this report looks at the interaction between education and technology with a gender lens. First, it looks at the impact of technology on girls’ education opportunities and outcomes. Although many instances are seen of radio, television and mobile phones providing a learning lifeline for girls, particularly in crisis contexts, gender divides exist globally in both access to technology and in digital skills, although the latter are smaller among youth compared to among adults. Biased social and cultural norms inhibit equitable access to and engagement with technology in and outside of school, with girls always left on the wrong side of the divide. While technology offers many girls opportunities to access important education content in safe environments, for instance on comprehensive sexuality education, technology in practice often exacerbates negative gender norms or stereotypes. Social media usage impacts learners’ and particularly girls’ well-being and self-esteem. The ease with which cyberbullying can be magnified through the use of online devices in the school environment is a cause of concern, as is the biased design of artificial intelligence algorithms. Second, the report looks into the role of education on the shape of future technological development. It shows that women struggle to pursue STEM careers, which manifests from an early age in the form of anxiety in mathematics and develops into a reluctance to study STEM subjects, ultimately resulting in a lack of women in the technology workforce. Women make up only 35% STEM graduates, and hold only a quarter of science, engineering and ICT jobs. Ensuring women participate on equal terms in shaping the world’s ongoing digital transformation will ensure that technology works for everyone and takes into consideration the needs of all humanity. 
The Global State of Play: Report and Recommendations on Quality Physical Education Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | Loughborough University Active lifestyles are key to ensuring both individual well-being and sustainable, social development. Quality Physical Education (QPE) plays a key role in achieving this by fostering lifelong physical activity, improving young people’s mental and emotional well-being, and developing critical life skills. UNESCO’s sport initiative, Fit for Life, advocates QPE as a cost-effective investment. Despite its potential as a core curricula subject, UNESCO data reveal that PE is often under-prioritized and due to a lack of investment in certain areas, such as staff training and facilities, potential benefits are not fully realised for students around the world. This investment gap connects directly to a delivery gap. Although 83% of countries worldwide report PE as compulsory in schools, there remain significant issues with the quality of delivery and the diversity of lesson planning within curricula:• Only 1 in 3 secondary school students worldwide meet the minimum requirement of 180 minutes of PE minutes per week set out in UNESCO’s Quality Physical Education Policy Guidelines.• Only 61.7% of schools fully include students with disabilities alongside their peers without disabilities in PE classes.• Only 7.1% of schools implement equal PE time for boys and girls, despite 54.5% of countries having policies or plans for it. Policymakers, PE practitioners and academia are encouraged to take action to implement PE policies, increase investment in PE, upskill PE teachers, enhance PE curricula and promote more equitable and inclusive PE environment. 
[Summary] Global Education Monitoring Report Summary 2024/5: Leadership in Education; Lead for Learning Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: Global Education Monitoring Report Team The 2024/5 Global Education Monitoring Report assesses progress towards the 2030 targets and shows that, while more children are in school and completing secondary education than ever before, there is stagnation in many areas. Leadership is central to addressing this. There are no schools that improve student outcomes without a good leader showing the way. Building on a review of legislation and policies on the selection, preparation and working conditions of school principals in 211 education systems, the report discusses policy levers to attract and retain talented leaders.Leadership’s potential is not limited to school leaders: it extends to individuals in positions elsewhere in the education system as well as outside of it, from assistant principals, teachers and students, when leadership is shared, to political leaders, civil society, international organizations, unions and the media, who help shape education goals.The report calls for efforts to develop leaders in four key leadership dimensions so that they can set expectations, focus on learning, foster collaboration and develop people. For these dimensions to be realized, people in leadership positions should be trusted and empowered; recruited through fair hiring practices; supported to grow; and encouraged to develop collaborative cultures. The report also calls for investment in education officials’ capacity to serve as system leaders, with a particular emphasis on instructional leadership and quality assurance. 
School Leadership Roles and Standards: Observations from the International Study of Teacher Leadership Year of publication: 2024 Author: Charles F. Webber | Dorothy Andrews | C.P. van der Vyver | Clelia Pineda-Báez | Janet M. Okoko | Edith J. Cisneros-Cohernour | José Gabriel Domínguez-Castillo | Mohammed Elmeski | Molly P. Fuller | Joan M. Conway | Cristina Moral-Santaella | Gloria Gratacós | Samira Idelcadi Corporate author: UNESCO | Global Education Monitoring Report Team This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2024/5 GEM Report, Leadership in education. This report summarizes the findings of the International Study of Teacher Leadership(ISTL), conducted in 12 countries. The researchers share descriptions of the increasing interest in teacher leadershipas a factor in student learning and school improvement. ISTL researchers focus primarily on classroom-based teachers who—in collaboration with formal school leaders, parents, community members, and colleagues—impact school-wide decision making and pedagogical practices. The report offers insights related to teacher leader behaviours, the complexity of teacher leadership, how teacher leaders learn to lead, and the importance of contextual factors that support and impede teachers who provide informal leadership to schools and the communities they serve. The researchers compare cross-cultural requirements of good leadership and offer contextually situated analyses of leadership visions and goals, the impact of teacher leadership on educational outcomes, necessary preconditions for effective leadership, and policies that develop teacher leadership. The researchers also describe the readiness of school communities to embrace teacher leadership, described variously as parallel leadership, shared leadership, and distributed leadership. The report argues for a shift from considering standards for teacher leadership—too often based on the assumption that leadership is consistent across cultural and organizational settings—to the more flexible and contextualized conceptualization of leadership dimensions such as purpose, self-awareness, intentionality, and culture building. The ISTL researchers also argue that teacher leadership is but one component of an integrated approach to educational governance that addresses the complexities of teaching and learning in relation to rapid socioeconomic change, global migration, political tensions, and the emergence of new technologies. The ISTL also reinforces the ongoing importance of classroom teachers in the achievement of educational objectives. The ISTL team concludes this report with a set of research recommendations. 
Monitoring Progress towards SDG Target 4.7 on Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | Global Education Monitoring Report Team This document introduces key messages from the GEM Reports and other related publications and online resources regarding the progress towards SDG Target 4.7. 
Global Education Monitoring Report 2024, Pacific: Technology in Education; A Tool on Whose Terms? Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | Global Education Monitoring Report Team | Commonwealth of Learning Information transmission and connectivity is crucial in the Pacific, a region characterized by high geographic dispersion. While the application of ICT in education has significant potentials, it is hindered by the region's limited and costly infrastructure. This edition accompanies the 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, which acknowledges technology as a useful tool but invites the education community to question on whose terms it is deployed. The report considered four key policy areas of the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) (2018–2030): In terms of quality and relevance, mobile technology has offered an affordable and flexible approach to learning, and social media have improved communication between institutions, parents and learners. Moodle is the most widely used digital platform in the region. Textbooks are being digitalised and digital resources made available. Yet content is not always developed or adapted to local languages and cultural contexts. Open and distance learning has historically expanded learning pathways in the Pacific, specially in higher education and as a response to natural hazards. The University of South Pacific is a leading example of open and distance learning connecting campus across 12 countries. With the aim to enhance student outcomes and well-being, efforts have been made to incorporate digital skills into curricula and initiatives have increased outside formal education. Yet regulations do not adequately address threats from the use of technology to privacy, safety and well-being. With a focus on the teaching profession, countries leverage technology to provide training opportunities and transform the teaching profession. However, ICT training varies greatly across the region and limited digital infrastructure hinders technology integration into classrooms and teacher training. Three conditions need to be met for technology's potential to be fulfilled: equitable access to technology, appropriate governance and regulation, and sufficient teacher capacity. Supporting this publication is seven background thematic studies that provide a comprehensive overview of education technology issues; Commonwealth of Learning’s short case studies on some of its projects; a survey administered to key informed respondents from the region; and a series of country profiles on PEER, a policy dialogue resource describing policies and regulations related to technology in the region’s education systems. 
Global Priority Africa Flagships 2023: An Update from UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO Harare Two years into the implementation of the Operational Strategy for Priority Africa 2022-2029 (OSPA), a new biennium has commenced through the Programme and Budget for 2024-2025. With a goal of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 “The Africa We Want”, the OSPA remains pivotal in accelerating the achievement of SDGs amidst a growing threat of regression and stagnation on some of the SDG targets. The relentless climatic changes have resulted in droughts and cyclones whose incessant rains have caused food insecurity, waterborne diseases and loss of biodiversity. Geopolitical crisis and the remnants of the impacts of COVID-19 continue to waylay the aspirations of the continent. Gender inequality, youth unemployment, education and HIV and AIDS continue to be areas for concern. Despite this plethora of challenges, Member States remain committed to Agenda 2030 and 2063 and the strong partnership existing with UNESCO and the rest of the UN system. While the OSPA is driven to address challenges in the areas of demography and sustainable development, education and knowledge, climate change, cultural renaissance, and peace and democracy these all have far-reaching consequences beyond their focus hence addressing these contributes widely to other thematic areas. Priority Africa reinforces UNESCO’s partnerships with African governing bodies such as the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Member States as well as other UN agencies. Being also aligned with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and UNESCO’s Joint Programme of Action (JPA) 2022-2025, the OSPA continues to demonstrate its relevance to the region. 
Pathways for Peace with Nature: Achieving Global Biodiversity Goals in UNESCO Designated Sites; Latin America and the Caribbean Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO UNESCO designated sites in Latin America and the Caribbean harbour over 60% of the region’s mapped species richness, i.e. over 14,000 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fishes. They are also important for strengthening culture and nature linkages. However, biodiversity in these sites is threatened by human pressures and climate change and countries should take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.This publication provides a regional overview of the status and trends of species in UNESCO designated sites, as well as key information to facilitate dialogue among all stakeholders. Additionally, it promotes the development of effective actions aimed at achieving global biodiversity goals. 
Assessment for Advocacy to Transform Communities, Programmes and Policies in the Global South Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | Global Education Monitoring Report Team | PAL Network This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2024 Spotlight Report on basic education completion and foundational learning in Africa. It has not been edited by the team. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to the Global Education Monitoring Report or to UNESCO. The papers can be cited with the following reference: “Paper commissioned for the 2024 Spotlight Report on basic education completion and foundational learning in Africa”. 
Hydro Resilience: Citizen and Open Science for Climate Adaptation Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO Human-induced climate change is affecting weather and climate extremes worldwide and causing changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere leading to widespread adverse impacts on people and nature. These conditions have exposed people to reduced water security and negatively affected food security and ecosystem services. Despite advances in climate and water sciences, there is still a significant gap between information availability and its uptake by stakeholders. Although there is abundant data and information available on the potential impacts of climate change, there is a lack of expert knowledge on the user side, which limits the development and implementation of effective adaptation strategies at the local level. There is also an opportunity to bring communities more on board to manage their climate risk through citizen engagement and to ensure that vulnerable communities can benefit from climate science foresight. To address these challenges, a new project was developed called ‘Hydro Resilience: Citizen and Open Science for Climate Adaptation’ to pilot citizen and open science applications for climate risk management and to support water management under climate change uncertainty.