Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
3,435 Results found
Guidelines for ICT in education policies and masterplans Year of publication: 2022 Author: Fengchun Miao | Juan Enrique Hinostroza | Molly Lee | Shafika Isaacs | Dominic Orr | Fabio Senne | Ana-Laura Martinez | Ki-Sang Song | Alexander Uvarov | Wayne Holmes | Benjamin Vergel de Dios Corporate author: UNESCO Countries across the world have been leveraging information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance education for decades. These initiatives are driven by public institutions and involve commercial technology companies, and have resulted in paradoxes such as increasing digital inequalities and uneven access to high-quality digital learning opportunities. The COVID-19 crisis further exacerbated this trend: At least one third of students globally did not have access to distance learning during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.The publication aims to guide policy-makers to ensure that when adopting technology, human rights should be defended; inclusion, equity and gender equality should be at the heart of solutions; and innovations should be considered as a common good. Based on these principles, the publication presents a human-centred view on the potentials of technologies ranging from low-bandwidth technologies to emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Web 3.0 or “metaverse”. It advocates for national policies to protect the digital well-being of teachers and students, to reduce and neutralize the digital emission footprint, and to avoid ‘techno-solutionism’.This publication proposes policy planning frameworks and an iterative roadmap to examine the digital readiness of local education systems, assess needs of learners and teachers, and plan well-resourced national ICT in education programmes. This is followed by a deep dive into examples of national masterplans on the use of ICT in different types of education. 
Challenging Systematic Prejudices: An Investigation into Bias Against Women and Girls in Large Language Models Year of publication: 2024 Author: Daniel Van Niekerk | Maria Peréz Ortiz | John Shaw-Taylor | Davor Orlic | Ivana Drobnjak | Jackie Kay | Noah Siegel | Katherine Evans | Nyalleng Moorosi | Tina Eliassi-Rad | Leone Maria Tanczer | Wayne Holmes | Marc Peter Deisenroth | Isabel Straw | Maria Fasli | Rachel Adams | Nuria Oliver | Dunja Mladenić | Urvashi Aneja | Madeleine Janicky Corporate author: UNESCO | International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) This study explores biases in three significant large language models (LLMs): OpenAI’s GPT-2 and ChatGPT, along with Meta’s Llama 2, highlighting their role in both advanced decision-making systems and as user-facing conversational agents. Across multiple studies, the brief reveals how biases emerge in the text generated by LLMs, through gendered word associations, positive or negative regard for gendered subjects, or diversity in text generated by gender and culture. The research uncovers persistent social biases within these state-of-the-art language models, despite ongoing efforts to mitigate such issues. The findings underscore the critical need for continuous research and policy intervention to address the biases that exacerbate as these technologies are integrated across diverse societal and cultural landscapes. The emphasis on GPT-2 and Llama 2 being open-source foundational models is particularly noteworthy, as their widespread adoption underlines the urgent need for scalable, objective methods to assess and correct biases, ensuring fairness in AI systems globally. 
Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law for the Judiciary Year of publication: 2023 Author: Miriam Stankovich | Ivana Feldfeber | Yasmín Quiroga | Marianela Ciolfi Felice | Vukosi Marivate Corporate author: UNESCO What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How does it work? And more importantly, how does it find its way into the judicial context? Technologies such as AI have been around for decades, but only recently have they begun to be used in a variety of justice and law enforcement settings. While AI has immense potential for the justice system, helping judges make better decisions, improving efficiency, increasing access, and helping to detect and prevent crime, there are also some important issues that justice stakeholders should consider as they prepare for a future in which AI is increasingly used in justice systems.In 2022, UNESCO launched two needs assessments. First, through UNESCO’s Artificial Intelligence Needs Assessment Survey in Africa, 90% of the 32 countries surveyed requested capacity building support for the Judiciary on AI. At the same time, a second global survey of judicial actors in 100 countries underlined the need for better understanding the use of AI in the administration of justice and its wider legal implications on societies.The “Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law” for the Judiciary responds to these needs and provides judicial actors (judges, prosecutors, state attorneys, public lawyers, law universities and judicial training institutions) with the knowledge and tools necessary to understand the benefits and risks of AI in their work. The toolkit will assist judicial actors in mitigating the potential human rights risks of AI by providing guidance on the relevant international human rights laws, principles, rules and emerging jurisprudence that underpin the ethical use of AI. 
Empowering Students for Just Societies: A Handbook to Teach Integrity in Secondary Schools Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO | UN. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) The importance of education lies in its power to shape the values of upcoming generations and equip them with the knowledge to make informed decisions. Contemporary challenges, including corruption must be addressed through education, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, among other efforts. This joint publication by UNODC and UNESCO is a response to this important issue. It is aimed at educators who are striving to inspire and prepare future generations to actively contribute to societies grounded in integrity, ethics and respect for the rule of law. The handbook builds on the first two launched in 2019. This publication highlights the transformative power of education in strengthening the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for addressing global challenges, especially those that stem from a lack of integrity, like corruption. It underlines the crucial role education plays in nurturing critical thinking, empathy, ethical behaviour, and a commitment to justice and equality among people. The handbook presents a catalogue of educational activities, lesson plans and outside the classroom resources designed to empower youth to reject corrupt practices and become agents of change, promoting integrity and upholding democratic values. 
Climate Change and Sustainability in Science and Social Science Secondary School Curricula Year of publication: 2024 Author: Marcia McKenzie | Aaron Benavot Corporate author: UNESCO There is an urgent need to transform the way climate change and sustainability are taught in classrooms and at schools. Learners must grasp the environmental impacts of climate change, how climate change relates to their own context and what actions can be undertaken and contribute to making societies more sustainable, equitable, just and climate-resilient. The findings presented in this publication indicate that accelerated efforts are needed. In a study of over 530 Grade 9 science and social science curricula from 85 countries worldwide, we found that 69 per cent of curricula contained no references to climate change, while 66 per cent had no references to sustainability. Furthermore, while 69 per cent of surveyed teachers from eight of the countries studied reported that environment, sustainability and climate change topics were included in the science and social science curricula in their schools only 50 per cent included them in their teaching. While there is a notable inclusion of environment, sustainability and climate change in science and social science curricula across countries, the depth of focus of this inclusion varies widely. Cognitive learning prevails over social and emotional or action-oriented learning. Climate change and sustainability in school practices must be strengthened, with teachers playing a key role in enhancing integration through teaching methods and materials. 
Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Global Outlook Year of publication: 2024 Author: Galindo Moreno | Manuel Ricardo Corporate author: UNESCO This publication explores the design, implementation and impact of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy instruments across regions, revealing diverse policy priorities and support strategies. Data from the UNESCO Global Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Instruments (GO-SPIN) platform shows that STI policy instruments are closely linked to the SDGs, particularly with SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 4 (quality education). Over three-quarters of these policy instruments target these goals. This publication advocates for the use of evidence in designing policies and policy instruments and underscores the importance of continuous monitoring of their implementation. Additionally, it recommends diversifying funding sources, enhancing program management, fostering communication with stakeholders, and applying policy instruments to promote transformative learning. 
평화, 인권, 국제이해, 협력, 기본적 자유, 세계시민성, 지속가능발전을 위한 교육 권고: 해설서 Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: 유네스코 '평화, 인권, 국제이해, 협력, 기본적 자유, 세계시민성, 지속가능발전을 위한 교육 권고'를 소개하고 교육에 관심이 있는 이해관계자들 대상으로 권고의 내용과 활용을 담은 해설서. 
Рекомендация об образовании в духе мира, прав человека и устойчивого развития. Пояснительная записка Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO Данная брошюра знакомит с обновленной Рекомендацией и кратко разъясняет, каким образом сформулированные в ней руководящие принципы могут быть применены на практике и в повседневной жизни различными субъектами деятельности в сфере образования. 
Global Citizenship Education in a Digital Age: Teacher Guidelines Year of publication: 2024 Corporate author: UNESCO This book is an essential resource for teachers seeking to understand the critical role that digital citizenship education plays in promoting a more informed, engaged, and responsible global citizenry. While digital technologies have opened up new opportunities for life-long learning, they have also given rise to emerging concerns, notably in relation to the rise of disinformation and hate speech online. Aimed at building the capacities of teachers to prepare learners to act ethically and responsibly in physical and digital environments, these guidelines stress the importance of considering how Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and related knowledge, values, skills and attitudes can be fostered for teaching, learning and engaging for a more sustainable, inclusive, just and peaceful world. 
Revision Process of the 1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: Compilation of Member State Comments Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO Adopted in 1974, the Recommendation concerning education for international understanding, co-operation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms is considered a landmark legal instrument that brings together for the first time peace, international understanding, human rights, fundamental freedoms and education. As per Circular letter 4401, the preliminary report and the first draft of the revised 1974 Recommendation were transmitted to Member States for their written comments and observations. These written comments were taken into consideration by the Director-General when preparing the revised second draft of the Recommendation to be discussed at the Intergovernmental Special Committee Meeting (Category II), in view of its submission to the 42nd session of the General Conference in November 2023 and eventual adoption.