A report by Doug Bourn (UCL) and Jenny Hatley (Bath Spa) on behalf of the Our Shared World coalition of organisations, was launched the other day. The report gathered evidence of the extent to which the themes of Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.7 are being engaged with within schools in England, examining how they are being delivered, areas of success, identifiable gaps, and what the priorities for policymakers should be in the future. The report can be downloaded here and there's an edited video of the event here.
The launch event said that the report aims, "whilst summarising evidence within sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, peace, cultural diversity, and global citizenship education, to demonstrate their interconnectedness and common purpose as to how education can contribute to securing a more just and sustainable world."
I had to leave mid-event so missed any conclusions; however, the introduction to the report at the launch made a number of key recommendations:
– All schools should be made aware of the SDGs, particularly Target 4.7
and be encouraged to reflect them in their teaching and learning.
– Department for Education creates a process to measure the progress
that all schools are making on including the SDGs and Target 4.7 which
can then be used as part of the UK government's reporting on
progress towards the Goals.
– Bodies responsible for both the initial training and continuing
professional development of teachers should be given resources and
support to enable all teachers to have the knowledge, skills and
confidence to include the themes of Target 4.7 within the classroom.
– All schools should be encouraged to consider how they are including a
social purpose in their visions and mission statements.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'm struck by the first recommendation as I think there is a preposition missing. I've inserted this in bold:
"All schools should be made aware of the SDGs, particularly Target 4.7 and be encouraged to reflect on them in their teaching and learning"
I 've added the work "on" as otherwise the report seems to tell telling schools and teachers to present the goals as something to be accepted uncritically – to pass on to students as gospel, perhaps – rather than thinking about (reflecting on) them.
This is not only unhelpful to students, given the goals' contested nature, but surely is also anti-educational.
Respond