Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
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Mainstreaming Social and Emotional Learning in Education Systems: Policy Guide; Highlights Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO UNESCO’s policy guide unpacks social and emotional learning (SEL) as a broadening of the educational process, from a focus on cognitive aspects to a balance between cognitive, social and emotional, and behavioural dimensions of learning, putting forward initial action ideas to guide its systematic mainstreaming in education. It builds on and extends previous work undertaken by UNESCO on SEL from the perspective of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Building Strong Foundations for Health and Well-being Education, the Happy Schools Framework, and in multiple UNESCO Offices and Institutes. 
Global Education Monitoring Report 2024/5: Leadership in Education; Lead for Learning Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: Global Education Monitoring Report Team Leadership matters in education. Strong leaders are needed to help institutions, systems and societies change for the better. Strong leaders work in collaboration with other actors towards the same goals. At the school level, they are the principals but also those who surround them, in the school and in the community, in positions of responsibility. At the system level, they are civil servants working as district officers, supervisors or planners. At the societal level, they are political leaders, as well as a very broad range of actors who help shape education goals, from unions and researchers to civil society and the media.Entitled Lead for learning, this report argues that, in pursuing specific goals, education leaders are more than just managers. They are change agents, who need the time, trust and support to focus on setting a vision and developing the people they serve and work with. The report calls for investment in and empowerment of school and system leaders. There should be fair hiring processes and growth opportunities that recognize the full scope of leaders’ roles. Moreover, leadership works best when it is shared, empowering others to lead as they can within their roles.There is no one leadership style that works. Different contexts, capacities and personalities mean that styles vary, and rightfully so. This, combined with the different goals that each leader is trying to achieve, means that their impact is hard to fully assess. Yet, all research points towards the critical need for strong leaders to continuously improve education quality. School leaders are second only to teachers for transforming student outcomes. Meanwhile, politicians wield huge influence in making equitable and inclusive education a national priority.Supporting this seventh Global Education Monitoring Report is a new series of country profiles on PEER, an online resource supporting policy dialogue and describing policies and regulations on school principal selection, preparation and development in the world’s education systems. 
Implementing the Right to Education: a Compendium of Practical Examples Year of publication: 2016 Corporate author: UNESCO This publication is a compilation of practical examples of measures taken by Member States in implementing the provisions of the UNESCO Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education. These examples are taken from national reports submitted to UNESCO for the Eighth Consultation of Member States on the implementation of these two international standard-setting instruments. The Convention and the Recommendation celebrated their fi fty-fi fth anniversary in 2015. Both express the fundamental principles of non-discrimination and equality of educational opportunities enshrined in UNESCO’'s Constitution. Since these fundamental principles were essential in the process of Education for All, the instruments have naturally become the cornerstone of this important domain.The Education 2030 development agenda will provide further opportunity to mobilise the Convention and the Recommendation in guiding Member States in the effective realization of the right to education. This compendium seeks to provide an overview of promising measures taken to ensure equality of educational opportunities and non-discrimination, while also serving as a tool for information sharing and advocacy in connection with the right to education. 
Dialogue for Prevention Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO In an era where geopolitical power struggles disrupt traditional peacebuilding, where identity and misinformation fuel divisions, and where trust in institutions is eroding, UNESCO’s Intercultural Dialogue for Conflict Transformation briefs series presents an adaptable, culturally grounded, and people-centred approach to peacebuilding. With 1.5 billion people living in contexts with low intercultural dialogue where global challenges such as absolute poverty, terrorism and forced displacement are more prevalent, this four-part series draws on firsthand experience, country case studies, and expert analysis to demonstrate the transformative potential of dialogue in fragile and conflict-sensitive settings. The Dialogue for Prevention brief, developed with the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, explores the powerful role intercultural dialogue can play in preventing large-scale identity-based violence, particularly in the upstream and downstream phases of conflict. Grounded in the idea that dialogue can bridge divides and foster mutual understanding, the brief argues that enabling environments for intercultural dialogue—marked by stability, inclusive governance, freedom of expression, horizontal equality, and social cohesion—also mitigate key risk factors for atrocity violence. Drawing on diverse examples from Cambodia, Colombia, Italy, and Kenya, it showcases creative, context specific applications of dialogue. Through practical guidance, the brief equips policymakers, practitioners and civil society seeking to embed dialogue into prevention strategies. 
Dialogue for Social Cohesion Year of publication: 2025 Author: Isaure Vicarini | Euan Mackway-Jones Corporate author: UNESCO In an era where geopolitical power struggles disrupt traditional peacebuilding, where identity and misinformation fuel divisions, and where trust in institutions is eroding, UNESCO’s Intercultural Dialogue for Conflict Transformation briefs series presents an adaptable, culturally grounded, and people-centred approach to peacebuilding. With 89% of conflicts worldwide occurring in countries with limited capacity for intercultural dialogue, this four-part series draws on firsthand experience, country case studies, and expert analysis to demonstrate the transformative potential of dialogue in fragile and conflict-sensitive settings. The Dialogue for Social Cohesion brief—developed in collaboration with the Berghof Foundation and Search for Common Ground—bridges theory and practice to explore the horizontal (community-to-community) and vertical (citizen-to-state) dimensions of social cohesion and highlights how inclusive dialogue can support both. Case studies from Afghanistan, Germany, Somalia, and South Sudan illustrate how dialogue—whether through theatre, education, local governance, or environmental peacebuilding—can cultivate mutual understanding and trust, bridge identity-based divides, and restore, step by step, the social fabric in fractured societies. Through actionable recommendations, this brief equips practitioners, policymakers, and civil society with the essential guidance needed to tailor and embed dialogue in their respective contexts, helping to ensure that peace processes are inclusive, locally driven, and enduring. 
AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way we learn, teach and make sense of the world around us, but it is doing so unequally. While one-third of humanity remains offline, access to the most cutting-edge AI models is reserved for those with subscriptions, infrastructure and linguistic advantage.These disparities not only restrict who can use AI, but also determine whose knowledge, values and languages dominate the systems that increasingly influence education.This anthology explores the philosophical, ethical and pedagogical dilemmas posed by disruptive influence of AI in education. Bringing together insights from global thinkers, leaders and changemakers, the collection challenges assumptions, surfaces frictions, provokes contestation, and sparks audacious new visions for equitable human-machine co-creation.Covering themes from dismantling outdated assessment systems to cultivating an ethics of care, the 21 think pieces in this volume take a step towards building a global commons for dialogue and action, a shared space to think together, debate across differences, and reimagine inclusive education in the age of AI.Building on UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, its Guidance on Generative AI in Education and Research and its twin AI competency frameworks for teachers and students, such a global commons can direct collective sense-making and bold reimagination around curricula, pedagogy, governance and policy with human rights, justice and inclusion at its core. 
Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development: An Implementation Guide Year of publication: 2025 Corporate author: UNESCO There is no peace without education. With conflicts rising on so many fronts, there has never been a more urgent need for a transformed education geared towards building and sustaining peace.The Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, adopted by all 194 Member States of UNESCO in 2023, articulates a humanistic and transformative vision of education that can help address contemporary and future affronts to peace. These challenges range from the resurgence of conflicts driven by systemic inequalities and injustices, the rise and spread of hate speech, racism and discrimination particularly online, to the adverse effects of digital technologies and the existential threat of climate change.UNESCO has developed this Guide as the first of several tools to assist Member States in unpacking and fully implementing the 2023 Recommendation. The Guide elaborates its contents, integrating the 2023 Recommendation’s transdisciplinary lens to connect key concepts and issues. It also provides concrete ideas and curated resources for action at different levels and types of education, while calling for a multi-stakeholder and whole-of-society approach that includes everyone and builds on existing positive efforts.The Guide is a timely addition to the pool of available collective resources to fully implement the 2023 Recommendation and foster an education that is transformative for a just and peaceful world. 
Guidelines and Recommendations for Reorienting Teacher Education to Address Sustainability Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO Members of the International Network made recommendations related to reorienting teacher education to address sustainability. The recommendations are pieces of wisdom garnered through the experimentation and hard work of teacher educators.The recommendations concern ministerial and national levels to the local level. The recommendations involve curriculum, pedagogy, policy, practice, programs, rewards, research, information and computer technology, partnerships, networking, communications, etc.Members of the International Network repeatedly mentioned the urgency to act and the need for profound change. While many spoke of the enormity of the task at hand, all who participated were able to make signifi cant and positive inroads. Interested individuals operating within their own spheres of control (e.g., weaving sustainability themes into their own classroom curricula) made great headway reorienting their programs. Also, many institutions were able to develop new courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Problems arose, however, when the Network members advocated for change beyond the sphere of direct control. ESD within teacher-education institutions is currently endorsed by early-adopters. However, it will take concerted effort and resources to establish ESD in curricula, programs, practices, and policies across teacher-education institutions. 
Drivers and barriers for implementing learning for sustainable development in pre-school through upper secondary and teacher education Year of publication: 2007 Author: Inger Björneloo | Eva Nyberg Corporate author: UNESCO This publication is the product of the workshop on Drivers and Barriers for Implementing Learning for Sustainable Development in Pre-School through Upper Secondary and Teacher Education held in Göteborg, Sweden in March 2006. The workshop was the second in the series of workshops emanating from the Learning to Change Our World International Consultation on Learning for Sustainable Development, held in Göteborg in May 2004 on behalf of the Swedish Government. The purpose of this paper is to make visible some of the pluralism of different perspectives on education for sustainable development. This pluralism, which, during the workshop seemed to hinder progress, could through this be turned into a forceful driver instead of remaining a frustrating barrier. 
A Post-GAP (Global Action Programme for ESD) Position Paper Year of publication: 2018 Corporate author: UNESCO The 5-year cycle of the GAP is due to end in 2019. To build a post-GAP position, this draft position paper has been prepared. Once revised through the consultation processes planned in 2018, the final draft will be submitted in 2019 to the Governing Bodies of UNESCO and the UN for their respective approval processes. Once the position is approved, it will be summarised into a post-GAP programme and launched in 2020 for implementation onwards to 2030.