people and planet

8
Policy recommendations......................................................................................................163
Planet...................................................................................................................................... 164
Prosperity............................................................................................................................... 165
People...................................................................................................................................... 165
Peace....................................................................................................................................... 166
Place........................................................................................................................................ 166
Partnerships...........................................................................................................................167
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development grew out
of intensifying concerns over the health of the planet and
the prosperity of all its inhabitants. Clearly, education
matters for people and planet. It transforms the lives
of children, youth and adults. The fact that education is
a positive force for social, economic and environmental
change – that it can significantly influence how we think,
perceive and act – is neither new nor revolutionary. And
yet important questions remain: How does education
function to create societal change? In what contexts does
it matter more or less? Which types of education have
lasting impact on sustainability issues? Answers to these
questions are critical as concrete proposals for improving
economic, social and environmental sustainability are
being considered.
There are concerns
that evolving global
conditions may
weaken the impact
They are particularly salient
in places where widespread
access to schooling is a
recent achievement or
remains an ambition.
The preceding chapters –
of education
Planet, Prosperity, People,
Peace and Place – have
showcased evidence about
the many and varied
effects of education. The benefits of completing primary
and secondary education are substantial, not only
for the individuals involved but also for their families,
communities and workplaces. Adult men and women
who have completed some secondary education tend
to be more environmentally aware, more resilient to the
impact of climate change, more productive and able to
generate income, and more likely to live healthier lives,
be politically engaged and exercise greater control over
their lives. The effects of broadening access to girls and
women, in particular, are numerous and intergenerational.
The Projections chapter goes one step further and
underscores the stakes involved in universalizing primary
and secondary education by 2030. Enabling every child
in the world to complete 12 years of schooling would
not only catalyse education progress more broadly
(e.g. in many targets of the education goal, Sustainable
Development Goal 4), but would also help save millions
of lives among children who might not otherwise reach
age 5 and among those residing in disaster-prone areas.
It would also improve overall worker productivity and
economic growth.
Concern exists, however, that evolving global conditions
– social, economic, political and environmental – may
weaken the impact of education. Over the past two
centuries, the world economy has been massively
transformed through industrialization, mechanization,
computerization, innovation and globalization, the latest
iteration resulting in today’s ‘knowledge economies’.
These transformations have created enormous wealth
for some and, in many instances, helped expand sizeable
middle classes. At the same time, huge populations
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 161