The written submission from the committee responsible for monitoring the achievement of SD Goal #4 (Education) to the UN High Level Political Forum in July 2019 cause concern for those seeking to ensure that the educational objectives described in Target 4.7 of the Goal include attention to health and life skills education as per the 2015 Incheon Declaration which includes health and life skills as essential parts of a high quality education (See below). Most of the SDG committee's submission does a good job of calling for more investments in equity/access and in describing how Goal #4 (education) is connected to other goals such as #10 (inequalities), #5 (gender), #8 (employment), #16 (peace, good government), #13 (climate action) and the role of education sector in coordination (#17), Notably, Goal #3 (health), #6 (water, sanitation) and #2 (hunger) are missing from this discussion. The exclusion of these goals from the submission needs further explanation given that the theme of the HLPF was "Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality".

The submission from the SDG committee does not directly address the content/learning objectives that should be part of Target 4.7 but it does refer to the Brussels Declaration (see below) which was published subsequent to a series of UNESCO-led consultation in December 2018. It is disappointing to note that the work done by FRESH Partners in adding the concepts of health and life skills to the Incheon Declaration continues to be ignored or misunderstood. We are not opposed to adding new elements to the definition of quality student learning content but surely it is easy to understand that sexuality education is part of health education and at least equal in importance to physical education. And surely life skills, a key concept in most curricula around the world deserve more attention. 
     
These two documents underscore the importance of the work of the FRESH Working Group on Health Literacy, Life Skills and Social Inclusion which is building the case and demonstrating how Health, Personal & Social Development (HPSD) education is already a core subject in most countries and should be considered and monitored by the SDG committee monitoring progress in Goal #4 and Target 4.7.

The 2015 Incheon Declaration included this wording: "Quality education fosters creativity and knowledge, and ensures the acquisition of the foundational skills of literacy and numeracy as well as analytical, problem-solving and other high-level cognitive, interpersonal and social skills. It also develops the skills, values and attitudes that enable citizens to lead healthy and fulfilled lives, make informed decisions, and respond to local and global challenges through education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED)." as well as this reference tolife skills "We further commit to ensuring that all youth and adults, especially girls and women, achieve relevant and recognized functional literacy and numeracy proficiency levels and acquire life skills, and that they are provided with adult learning, education and training opportunities. We are also committed to strengthening science, technology and innovation.". These statements define the content for a holistic, high quality education that meets the needs of the whole child.    .

The 2018 Brussels Declaration defines the content of a high quality education. Health and Life Skills education are absent from the statement, ignoring the foundation provided by Incheon Declaration but adding pieces such as sexuality education and physical education.  "we commit to supporting lifelong learning opportunities for all to ensure necessary competencies for personal development, decent work and sustainable development, with attention to climate change, adaptation and mitigation. Additionally, education institutions must provide children, youth and adult learners with the competences to be active citizens in democratic and sustainable societies. This includes efforts to promote education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, democracy and human rights, gender equality, age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, physical education and sports, education in native language, peace and non-violence, global citizenship and active participation, appreciation for cultural diversity, multilingualism, intercultural dialogue, solidarity and more peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies. This requires attention to pedagogy, curricula, teaching and learning materials, assessments, initial teacher training and continuous professional development, inter alia.

Social inclusion is an often stated goal for education, health and social development programs. But how can we measure progress towards this challenging goals in educational systems that have a mandate to certify students for further studies and ultimately, social placement? An article in Volume 96 of the International Journal of Educational Research "presents the results of a descriptive survey study developed with the objective of identifying the level of inclusion (LI) of elementary schools in Catalonia (Spain) and classifying them according to the consolidation level of their inclusive practices in six dimensions: school organization, inclusive school climate, classroom organization, educational support, community involvement and lifelong learning. Conclusions form a starting point to generate changes in future educational policies of Catalonia based on evidences, that could influence international trends."  Read more...

(An item from the ISHN Member information service)  A blog post this week from Sean Slade of ASCD reminds us why we,proponents of health/personal/social education need to be more engaged in the global debate about the purposes of education now underway around the world. We have noted the current legislative debates now underway in England and the USA in this blog before. Thanks to ASCD, we can now add Australia to the list. In the review done for the Australian government, there are five purposes of education posited: (1) to help students develop practical skills and focus on work-related outcomes, (2) to prepare students to deal with current issues affecting the well-being of society, (3) to help students develop by focusing on their individual needs, interests and learning styles, (4) to teach students about inequality and justice and (5) to introduce students to the accumulated knowledge of their society. These Australian goals are quite similar to a more traditional view of the intellectual (academic), social, vocational, custodial and accreditation functions of schooling. As Slade points out, they are also similar to the utilitarian, future-focused, personalized learning, core basics and classical views of education. His point, is that we need to debate these goals before we settle on the curricula, structures and other aspects of schooling. Proponents of health and social development will note that these concepts are missing or at best, implicit, in all of these goal statements. We need to be better engaged. Indeed, the UN agencies are close to closing the debates about educational goals as they clarify the meaning of a high quality education in Target 4.7 of the Framework for Action, a document that will go for UN approval this September. If you want to comment on the indicators being proposed for the final FFA document go this web page and scroll down to Target 4.7. (PS We suggest that you comment on the wording of the summary statement, where the word "sustainable" lifestyles was inserted to replace an earlier version of "healthy" lifestyles. Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service)  We do not often pay attention to the various companies that supply goods and services to educational systems but one item caught our eye this week. Education Week reported that Pearson, a multi-national education company, had sold the business newspaper Financial Times to a Japanese company so that it could focus solely on its global education strategy. The story noted that "To many in the world of K-12, it might seem that Pearson is already just that focused on education. The Wall Street Journal reported that Pearson generates about 60 percent of its sales in North America, and three-quarters of its revenue from education". ISHN has been hearing more and more about the influence that Pearson has been exerting on the UN discussions on education targets in the revised millennium development goals. We obviously need to listen even more. Read more>>