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.

Produced under the auspices of the SDG - Education 2030 Steering Committee, this special report shows the different ways that countries have taken on the challenge of implementing SDG 4 at the national level. It showcases good practices from countries that have reflected SDG 4 in their policies since 2015 and suggests a new framework for assessing the extent to which their policies match their 2030 commitments in the future. Read more...

Co-produced with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, this paper highlights the first ever projections for SDG 4 targets. A third of the way to 2030, it shows that the world is drastically off track. By 2030, one in six children, adolescents and youth will still be out of school. Only six in ten young people will be completing secondary education. Read more....

 In April 2019, the Advisory Committee for the OECD Education 2030 initiative met and learned that the first phase of this initiative has been completed. The OECD Learning Compass has several components, described in seversl concept notes, many of which relate to the health, personal and social development of students. ISHN has prepared a brief analysis listing of the components and their implications for HPSD education.Here are a few of the ISHN observations:

• The OECD 2030 Initiative has evolved effectively to truly reflect the broad range of educational opportunities that should be available in a holistic, whole child education approach. Equity, health and social development are included in several of the summaries emerging from Phase One of the initiative.
• The term “well-being” is used as an over-arching concept for the different elements of the Learning Compass, but the use of the term is very broad, going beyond the use of the term in health promotion and welfare. The term “quality of life” might be a better understanding of how the term is used
• The documents make the linkages among knowledge, skills and attitudes/values explicit and essential.
• The description of student competencies goes beyond the 2005 OECD documents (using information/tools, ability to engage with others, personal responsibility) to include transformative competencies (creating new value, reconciling tensions/dilemmas, acting autonomously) that lead to student agency. Various national and global over-arching and cross-curricular frameworks are discussed. To better promote and integrate health, personal and social development education within these frameworks, advocates will need to better define the essential, generic skills, knowledge and attitudes/values and how they fit within these over-arching frameworks that cover all subjects.
  
• Health, both physical and mental, as well as social and emotional learning and morals/ethics are among the foundations described as essential for developing student competencies and agency. These HPSD concepts are described as being at par with literacy and numeracy.
  

Read more....