Concept note for the 2020 Global education monitoring report on inclusion

In line with its mandate, the 2020 GEM Report will assess progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets, as well as other related education targets in the SDG agenda.

Echoing the overall orientation in the SDGs to “leave no one behind”, this year's Report will also take an in-depth look at inclusion and education. Inclusion is central in the formulation of SDG 4 but is also taken up in other targets in the goal, notably targets 4.5 on gender equality and 4.a on learning environments. Responding to this emphasis, the 2020 GEM Report will analyse policies the world over and present evidence on the different elements of education systems that can support inclusion, such as laws and policies, governance and finance, curricular and learning materials, teachers, school infrastructure, school selection and parental and community views.

The Report will focus on the barriers faced by all learners, especially those with overlapping characteristics that make them particularly vulnerable to exclusion. It will also take an in-depth look at people with disabilities, a group whose particular challenges gave rise to the inclusion debate. The Report will look at a range of indicators measuring inclusion in education using both quantitative and qualitative data. The analysis will be based on geographically balanced evidence, and will pay special attention to contexts where disadvantaged children might be particularly at risk of exclusion from education, such as in situations of conflict.