“Leaning in” for Education:Goals, Targets and Systems for

a Transformed Post-2015 Agenda

Dr. Karen Mundy Professor & Associate Dean, Research

Proposed Education Goals:

•HLP: Provide quality education and lifelong learning.

•SDSN: Ensure effective learning for all children and youth for life and livelihood.

•TST Brief: equitable quality education and lifelong learning.

Why Education Transmits knowledge across generations.

Underpins sustainable development across all three dimensions: economic, social and environmental.

Creates new capabilities: self-determination, health, work, creativity, parenting, citizenship.

A learning threshold: good evidence that economic and social development depend on evenly spread educational opportunities.

Endorsed as a global goal by almost everyone.

UNESCO Charter (1946)“…full and equal opportunities for education for all.”

UN Declaration of Human RightsEveryone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. …..

Current Context: Enormous progress on primary access: 57 million primary

age children not in school - from over 100 million in 1999.

250+ million primary age children not learning the basics.

Inequality in the opportunity to learn at every level, from basic to tertiary. Intersecting forms of discrimination and exclusion - ethnicity, gender, disability and economic and social circumstance.

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All over the world: rapid expansion and diversification of learning systems at post-basic levels: but limited commitment to ensuring that new opportunities are equitably distributed.

Principles1. Universal goal, framed as a human right:

relevant for all countries and levels of education, leaving no one behind.

2. Focused on equity – not only equity in access but quality of provision, rates of completion and learning outcomes.

3. A commitment to learning and learning outcomes (recognizing right to local self-determination).

4. Simple, meaningful and measurable targets.

5. Actionable, with focus on accountability.

What proposals have in common:

• A broadened agenda that includes early childhood education, lower secondary, and skills.

• A new focus on learning with measurable targets for learning outcomes.

• Attention to equity (but not consistently)

Provide quality education and

lifelong learning.(HLP)

Equitable quality education and

lifelong learning(TST Brief)

Targets:HLP TST Brief

Early Childhood

Increase % access and completion

All children access and complete for agreed period

Primary All children complete primary education able to read, write and count well enough to meet minimum learning standards

Equal access and completion of full course quality primary with recognized learning outcomes

Secondary Universal access to lower secondary education and increased % meeting learning outcomes

Universal access to lower/secondary education with recognized measurable learning outcomes

Skills Increase # of youth and adults with skills needed for work by %

All youth and adults access post-secondary skills relevant to work and life.

What’s Missing

1. Inclusion of equity in the broad goal, and in measures for each sub-goal and target, with specific targets to end exclusion.

2. A simple encompassing metric of learning: literacy across the life-span.

3. Clarity about lifelong learning. What is really being offered for youth and adults?

4. Financing targets and a framework for action by the international community.

Leaning in for Education: A Platform for Action:

1. Lean in on Equity.

2. Set financing targets.

3. Include youth & adult literacy.

4. An actionable agenda for our global institutions:

• Fewer prescriptions & more peer learning and accountability.

• A data revolution for citizen-led accountability.

Goal 12: Create a Global

Enabling Environment and Catalyze Long Term

Finance (HLP)

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

(MDG)

Source: Global Partnership for Education