Globa l education trends and SDG 4 monitoring Nairobi 6 October 2017

1. Global education trends and SDG 4 monitoringNairobi6 October 2017 #SDG4All @GEMreport

2. Monitoring of SDG 4: GEM Report mandate “…request that the EFA GMR be continued as an independent GEM Report, hosted and published by UNESCO, as the mechanism for monitoring and reporting on the proposed SDG 4 and on education in the other proposed SDGs, within the mechanism to be established to monitor and review the implementation of the proposed SDGs” INCHEON DECLARATION • “…the mechanism for monitoring and reporting on SDG 4 and on education in the other SDGs… Itwill also report on the implementation of national and international strategies to help hold all relevant partners to account for their commitments as part of the overall SDG follow-up and review.” • FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION

3. Indicators for SDGs and SDG4: Process

4. Monitoring of SDGs and SDG4: Process

5. Target 4.1: Primary and secondary education • Global indicator: Data exist for some parts of the world that take part in the same learning assessment; e.g. across the 15 countries in the TERCE study in Latin America, 60% of grade 3 students were at level 2 and above in reading – but there is no global data yet • Thematic indicators (examples)(4) Upper secondary completion rate (2008-2014): • - 84% in high income countries - 43% in upper middle income countries • - 38% in lower middle income countries • - 14% in low income countries countries • (5) 263 million children, adolescents and youth are out of school Evidence Critical issues • The definition of ‘minimum level of proficiency’ in reading and mathematics by grade 2/3, at the end of primary and at the end of lower secondary is yet to be agreed and countries need to participate in the process • Ensure there is a national learning assessment process in place that monitors learning in a consistent way over time

6. Target 4.2: Early childhood care and education • Global indicator 1: According to theEarly Childhood Development Index, 70% of 3-year olds and 80% of 4-year olds in 56 mostly low and middle income countries were developmentally on track in at least three of the following four domains: literacy-numeracy, physical, social-emotional, and learning • Global indicator 2: 67% of children aged one year before the official primary entry age enrolled in pre-primary (or primary) school in 2014 • Thematic indicators (example)(12) Pre-primary education is free and compulsory for at least one year in only 36 countries Evidence Critical issues • Agree on a concept of early childhood development that is relevant across cultures and establish a regular mechanism for assessing whether children reach their potential • Monitoring of participation in early childhood learning opportunities requires looking at the full diversity of services, including programmes outside of pre-primary education.

7. Target 4.3: TVET, tertiary and adult education • Global indicator: Data exist for some parts of the world that monitor adult education opportunities; e.g. in 2011, across the 28 European Union countries, 37% had participated in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months – but there is no global data yet • Thematic indicators (example): (13) Tertiary education gross enrolment ratio in 2014: 34% Evidence Critical issues • Establish monitoring tools that can capture the large and growing diversity of learning programmes for this target • Costs of TVET, tertiary and adult education must also be monitored to guide government policy on affordability

8. Target 4.4: Skills for work • Global indicator: Data exist for some parts of the world that monitor ICT skills; e.g. in 2014, across the 28 European Union countries, 65% of adults could send an email with an attachment, 44% of adults could use basic arithmetic formulas – but there is no global data yet • Thematic indicator (example):(16) In 2013, the percentage of grade 8 students who had more than the most functional working knowledge of computers as tools was 85% in the Czech Republic but 13% in Thailand and 9% in Turkey Evidence Critical issues • Consider how to monitor digital literacy skills and ICT skills in a way which is culturally relevant and suitable • Hold a debate on what (if any) skills for work other than literacy/numeracyneed to be monitored on a global scale

9. Target 4.5: Equity • Global indicator: In 2014, 64% of countries achieved gender parity in primary, 46% in lower secondary and 23% in upper secondaryIn 2008-2014, according to WIDE, for every 100 of the richest youth who complete upper secondary education, only 7 do so among the poorest youth • Thematic indicator (examples): (18) By one estimate, 40% of people are not taught in a language they speak or understand (19) There is no data on the effectiveness of policies to address disadvantage in education Evidence Critical issues • Monitor education disparities not only by gender but also by location and wealth as well as by language, disability and displacement – and ensure countries use the information • Create mechanisms to collect and compare information about policies addressing disadvantage in education – so that similar countries learn from each other

10. Target 4.6: Literacy and numeracy • Global indicator: Data exist for some parts of the world that take part in the same adult skills assessment; e.g. among adults who participated in OECD PIAAC 15% did not have basic literacy skills– but there is no global data yet on the global distribution of youth and adults by proficiency level in literacy and numeracy • Thematic indicators (examples): (23) Over 2005–2014, 758 million adults had no literacy skills(24) Between 2004-2011, only 6% of adults in 29 poorer countries had ever participated in a literacy programme- but there are no global figures Evidence Critical issues • Build a national system to directly monitor adult literacy and numeracy skills • Build a national system to monitor participation in adult literacy programmes – and the characteristics of participants

11. Target 4.7: Sustainable development / global citizenship • Global indicator: Based on GEM Report research: 75% of curricula emphasized sustainable development in 2005-1550% of secondary textbooks mentioned human rights in 2000-13- but there is no formal process to assess the extent to which GCED and ESDare mainstreamed in (a) education policies (b) curricula (c) teacher education and (d) student assessments • Thematic indicators (example): (27) The share of 15-year-old students who scored at the lowest level of environmental science knowledge or below was 25% in Canada but over 70% in Indonesia - but no global data on those with adequate understanding of global citizenship / sustainable development issues Evidence Critical issues • An approach needs to be taken to collect and communicate information about the content of curricula: coordinate with other countries in the region through regional or international organizations to work on the task • Initiatives to monitor knowledge and skills in these areas must reach common ground and address the tension between national values and commitment to a global agenda

12. Target 4.a: Learning environments • Global indicator (example): According to UNICEF, among primary schools 71% had adequate water and 69% adequate sanitation- but no global data on electricity, internet and computer availability (and no definition of adjusted infrastructure for students with disabilities) • Thematic indicators (examples): (33) About 40% of 13- to 15-year old students in 37 countries reported being involved in physical fights(34) Schools were used for military purposes in 26 countries between 2005 and 2015. Evidence Critical issues • Introduce regular monitoring of school infrastructure • Ensure different types of measures of violence in school are developed and monitored – and work to align with other countries’ definitions

13. Target 4.b: Scholarships • Global indicator: In 2014, US$2.8 billion of aid was allocated to scholarships and imputed student costs but only US$386 million was directed to least developed countries and small island developing states. (but this is partial: only few countries report scholarships as aid) • Thematic indicator: (35) According to GEM Report commissioned research, 25,000 scholarships were offered by government programmes in 2015 (reaching just 1% of mobile students from developing countries) Evidence Critical issues • Establish global mechanism for reporting on scholarships that includes information on the number of scholarships and the characteristics of their recipients, including their origin, destination and field of study

14. Target 4.c: Teachers • Global indicator: In 2014, 82% of teachers had the minimum qualifications required to teach in pre-primary education, 93% in primary education, and 88% in secondary education • Thematic indicators (examples): (40) Pupil/trained teacher ratio in primary education: 54 in low income countries(42) In 34 countries that participated in the OECD TALIS, 88% of lower secondary school teachers participated in at least on professional development activity in the previous year- but there are no global data Evidence Critical issues • Develop comparable definitions and measures of qualified and trained teachers • Personnel databases need to be better linked to overall EMIS to monitor the distribution of teachers, their working conditions and attrition rates • Consider expanding tools that collect information directly from teachers, for example on their continuous professional development

15. Finance • There is no global indicator but countries have committed to spend at least 4% of GDP and/or at least 15% of government expenditure on education: at least 35 countries spent less than both thresholds • Aid to education needs to increase at least sixfold to fill the annual financing gap, but in 2014 it was below its peak in 2010 by: - 8% in terms of total aid to education- 14% in terms of aid to basic education- 22% in terms of aid to basic education in sub-Saharan Africa Evidence Critical issues • A comprehensive picture of all finance sources is needed: institutionalize national education accounts approach to capture government, external and household financing sources – to better understand how costs are shared

16. Recommendations: National level Build capacity • Education ministries should use the findings of household surveys to monitor inequality in their education systems. • Establish a national assessment framework that monitors a range of learning outcomes, including for those who left school early. • A focus on education quality means more than just a focus on learning outcomes: review curricula and textbooks as well. • Monitor a fuller range of lifelong learning opportunities, including adult education. • Use national education accountsapproach to improve monitoring of spending. Credit: UNESCO/Nguyen Thanh Tuan

17. Recommendations: Regional level Support peer learning • Countries should be encouraged to voluntarily exchange information on education systems and policies with other countries in the region to better understand good practices and challenges • Involve regional organizations to facilitate such exchanges Credit:GEM Report / Anup Vaswani

18. Recommendations: Global level Generate consensus • Give countries chance to contribute to discussions on SDG 4 indicators in an informed and meaningful way: ensure decision-making mechanism of Technical Cooperation Group strengthens its legitimacy • Foster coordination • Introduce international household survey dedicated to education • Support monitoring of learning outcomes with code of conduct among donors to pool resources • Establish research hub related to the new global indicators Credit:GEM Report / Sydelle Willow Smith We do not need a technology-driven data revolution but rather(i) better coordination between agencies (ii) more resources