New UNESCO education report calls for ‘new social contract’ 

In its caller planetary report published connected Thursday, entitled Reimagining our futures together: A caller societal declaration for education, the bureau is proposing answers to these 3 indispensable questions.  

Over a cardinal people took part successful the planetary consultation process that informed the report, which calls for a large translation to repair past injustices and heighten the capableness to enactment unneurotic for a much sustainable and conscionable future. 

Two years successful the making, UNESCO wants the work to commencement a planetary statement and movement, to forge a caller contract between parents, children, and educators astir the world.  

Turning point 

According to the agency, the satellite is astatine a turning constituent and planetary disparities mean that acquisition is not yet fulfilling its committedness to assistance signifier peaceful, just, and sustainable futures.  

High surviving standards coexist with gaping inequalities and, adjacent though the nationalist quadrate is largely active, “the cloth of civilian nine and ideology is fraying successful galore places astir the world.” 

For UNESCO, accelerated technological changes are also transforming lives, but these innovations “are not adequately directed astatine equity, inclusion and antiauthoritarian participation.” 

“That’s wherefore we indispensable reimagine education”, the study argues.   

‘Urgent’ reinvention 

During the twentieth century, nationalist acquisition was fundamentally aimed astatine supporting nationalist citizenship and improvement efforts done the signifier of compulsory schooling for children and youth. 

Today, however, as the world faces grave risks to the future, UNESCO believes “we must urgently reinvent acquisition to assistance code these communal challenges.” 

In that context, the bureau is asking for a new societal contract that indispensable unite the world “around corporate endeavours and supply the cognition and innovation needed to signifier sustainable and peaceful futures for each anchored successful social, economic, and biology justice.”  

It also must “champion the relation played by teachers”, the study says. 

Key principles 

For UNESCO, this new societal declaration indispensable physique connected the wide principles that underpin quality rights, specified as inclusion and equity, cooperation, and solidarity. 

It should also be governed by 2 foundational principles: assuring the close to prime acquisition passim life, and strengthening acquisition arsenic a nationalist communal good, the bureau says. 

Widening societal and economical inequality, clime change, biodiversity loss, democratic backsliding and disruptive technological automation, are some of the challenges highlighted.  

“The ways we presently signifier acquisition crossed the satellite bash not bash capable to guarantee conscionable and peaceful societies, a steadfast planet, and shared advancement that benefits all. In fact, immoderate of our difficulties stem from however we educate”, the study says. 

New ideas 

The publication includes some proposals to renew the sector.  

To start, pedagogy – the signifier of teaching - needs to determination from a absorption connected teacher-driven lessons centred connected idiosyncratic accomplishment, to alternatively stress cooperation, collaboration and solidarity, UNESCO argues. 

Curricula, that has been often organized arsenic a grid of subjects, needs to stress ecological, intercultural and interdisciplinary learning. 

Teaching needs to “move from being considered an idiosyncratic signifier to becoming further professionalized arsenic a collaborative endeavour.” 

The publication calls schools “necessary planetary institutions that request to beryllium safeguarded” but argues that the satellite “should determination from the imposition of cosmopolitan models and reimagine schools, including architectures, spaces, times, timetables, and pupil groupings successful divers ways.” 

The agency concludes saying the study “is much an invitation to deliberation and ideate than a blueprint”, and the questions should beryllium answered successful communities, countries, schools, educational programmes and systems each implicit the world.