people and planet

16
In Cairo, the Recycling
School, created with
the support of UNESCO,
gives children from the
Zabbaleen community
basic education,
as well as health
recommendations and
practical training to
turn recycling into a
true profession.
CREDIT: Anne-Laure Cahen/Sipa Press/
GEM Report
KEY MESSAGES
Target 4.7 is closely aligned with the vision of the 2030 SDG agenda. But the proposed ways of measuring
progress towards it do not reflect its full ambition.
Curricula are the main way countries promote knowledge and skills on sustainable development and global
citizenship to students. Most countries report that human rights education is included in their curricula and
education standards. Comprehensive sexuality education, however, is not widely included.
Three-quarters of countries had some emphasis on sustainable development in their curricula over 2005–2015,
but far fewer referred to terms related to global citizenship. Only 15% of countries included key terms related to
gender equality.
Textbooks are a valuable source of information about national commitment to sustainable development. Close
to 50% of secondary school textbooks mentioned human rights over 2000–2013, compared with around 5% over
1890–1913. A regular monitoring mechanism on textbooks is needed.
Teachers need to be trained to teach sustainable development and global citizenship, yet more than twothirds
of European countries do not include these topics in teacher training. The share of countries completely
integrating sustainable development in teacher education rose from 2% in 2005 to 8% in 2013.
Monitoring knowledge and skills relevant to target 4.7 is not easy. Few assessments examine understanding
of history, politics, geography, science and their interdependence. An assessment of grade 8 students in 38
countries showed that only two-thirds were familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Initiatives to monitor this target must address the tension between national values and commitment to a global
agenda. Equally important is the need to evaluate knowledge and skills about sustainable development among
adults as well as children and adolescents.
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CHAPTER 16 | TARGET 4.7 – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP