The Sustainable Development Goals for Education: Commonwealth Perspectives and Opportunities

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Commonwealth is well placed to play a key role in catalysing both sustainable educational development (SED) and education for sustainable development (ESD). SED generates the conditions under which education systems can deliver rights to education and provide infrastructure, learning materials and teachers for high-quality learning. ESD engages with the question ‘learning for what?’ It challenges educators to develop curricula that will shape the 15,000-h children spend in school and help the next generation to manage the many threats to planetary and personal wellbeing. In 2012 Commonwealth Education Ministers set-up a Sub-Committee on post-2015 educational development. It produced a framework of Commonwealth Goals and Targets (CWGT). This influenced what became Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. This paper is in five parts. First, it offers a descriptive analysis of key features of Commonwealth education systems. Second, the Commonwealth Post-2015 framework for education is described. Third, the interrelationships between the framework and the SDGs are discussed. Fourth, the opportunities for the Commonwealth States to show leadership in developing their own agenda for the sustainable development are highlighted. Fifth a possible programme for action is outlined.