Education International Research
Realising SDG 4 in the UK and abroad The government needs to take a closer, more critical look at whether its policies — both domestic and international — are hindering or helping the realisation of SDG 4. The government also needs to identify any gaps in policy. The government must engage meaningfully with unions and civil society organisations regarding implementation of SDG 4 both domestically and internationally. This includes ensuring that unions and civil society organisations can influence decisions about government policy and priorities. Implementation of SDG 4 in the UK must be prioritised. Robust mechanisms must be put in place to monitor and drive progress. DFID’s international education policy must be amended to ensure that it champions equity and the interests of learners and communities rather than private interests.
Since 2015, some positive curricular reforms have been made with the involvement of teachers; others have narrowed education and impacted quality Numerous countries have introduced curricular reforms since 2015 to encourage studentcentred learning, the development of competencies, and teaching about global issues. Where unions have been involved in the curricular design, educators welcome having co-constructed a curriculum that corresponds to 21st-century labour and societal needs. For instance, in Sweden, the curriculum has been renewed to include Sustainable Development as one of the overarching themes. However, in countries such as Algeria and Kenya, teachers note that these curricular reforms have been made without being supported by sufficient resources or adequate teacher training on how to teach the new curriculum. Many curricular reforms have aimed to ensure that students finish primary and secondary education with adequate proficiency in numeracy and literacy. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, the government has introduced a “national literacy initiative” which includes, among other things, training administrators and teachers in literacy leadership and instructional practices and the revision of primary school literacy standards. In South Africa, educators report that the Department for Basic Education is engaged in a national reading programme aimed at improving learner literacy levels through the National Education Collaboration Trust.
GRO.EI-IE
However, unions point out that an increased focus on numeracy and literacy, coupled with the expansion of standardised assessments, has too often come at the expense of a broad, holistic curriculum. For example, the Danish Union of Teachers argue that test and accountability pressures have taken time away from “test-free” areas of the curriculum, and the increasing bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities placed on teachers have limited the time they have to prepare studentcentred lessons and collaborate with colleagues. In the UK, educators explain that curricular reforms have concentrated on numeracy and literacy whilst neglecting “non-core” subjects such as art, languages and humanities. In New Zealand, NZEI notes that the introduction of national standards was an unsuccessful attempt to improve literacy and numeracy, and the legislation has now been reversed. In South Africa, SADTU69 argue that a key obstacle to achieving Target 4.1 is that “a focus on compliance distorts coherent, meaningful teaching and learning”.
Conclusions
0302 NOITA CUDE
Inadequate funding is the top obstacle to quality primary and secondary education, and privatisation can be seen as the reverse side of the same coin. Where there are underfunded education systems, privatisers justify policies that commercialise education by pointing to poorquality public schools. Despite the SDGs, many governments continue to undermine public education systems by allowing commodification of education and corporate profit to be placed before student wellbeing. However, through EI’s Global Response to Privatisation and Commercialisation of Education campaign, education unions around the world are fighting to stop privatisation trends in defence of SDG 4.1’s commitment to free education. 69 South African Democratic Teachers Union
32