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UNESCO in partnership with industry leaders and global subject experts, has created an international benchmark which sets out the competencies required to teach effectively with information and communications technology (ICT). The framework emphasises that it is not enough for teachers to have ICT competencies and be able to teach them to their students. Teachers need to be able to help the students become collaborative, problem solving, creative learners through using ICT so they will be effective citizens and members of the workforce. The framework therefore addresses all aspects of a teacher's work. The framework is arranged in three different approaches to teaching (three successive stages of a teacher's development). The first is 'technology literacy', enabling students to use ICT in order to learn more efficiently. The second is 'knowledge deepening', enabling students to acquire in-depth knowledge of their school subjects and apply it to complex, real-world problems. The third is 'knowledge creation', enabling students, citizens and the workforce they become, to create the new knowledge required for the well-being of societies. This document sets out the details of each module, examples of how these modules can be turned into syllabi, and and exam specifications. The framework is intended to inform educational policy makers, teacher-educators, providers of professional learning and working teachers on the role of ICT in educational reform.

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The preparation, recruitment and retention of teachers can be seen as a continuum requiring careful planning in the short, medium and long term. In several developing countries, the number of new teachers cannot keep up with population growth. In western countries, where sufficient numbers of teachers are prepared, many of them either choose not to teach at all or leave teaching within a few years. What seems to be lacking is a framework for policy that creates a coherent infrastructure of recruitment, preparation, and support programs that connect all aspects of the teacher's career continuum into a teacher development system that is linked to national and local educational goals. This background paper discusses integrated policies, phases in the teaching profession, teaching education, continual training, the teaching career, and the collection of data to inform policymakers of the results of various policy initiatives.

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This edition of the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report demonstrates the reasons why education is pivotal for development in a rapidly changing world. It explains how investing wisely in teachers, and other reforms aimed at strengthening equitable learning, transform the long-term prospects of people and societies. With the deadline for the EFA goals less than two years away, the report provides an update on progress that countries are making towards the global education goals that were agreed in 2000. It notes that, despite advances over the past decade, not a single goal will be achieved globally by 2015 and underlines the fact that people in the most marginalised groups have continued to be denied opportunities for education over the decade.

The report is divided into three parts. Part one provides an update of progress towards the six EFA goals. The second part presents clear evidence that progress in education is vital for achieving development goals after 2015. Part three puts the spotlight on the importance of implementing strong policies to unlock the potential of teachers so as to support them in overcoming the global learning crisis.

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UNESCO together with [United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund] UNICEF, the World Bank, [United Nations Population Fund] UNFPA, [United Nations Development Programme] UNDP, [United Nations] UN Women and [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] UNHCR organized the World Education Forum 2015 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 19-22 May 2015, hosted by the Republic of Korea. Over 1,600 participants from 160 countries, including over 120 Ministers, heads and members of delegations, heads of agencies and officials of multilateral and bilateral organizations, and representatives of civil society, the teaching profession, youth and the private sector, adopted the Incheon Declaration for Education 2030, which sets out a new vision for education for the next 15 years.

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In 2015, UNESCO adopted a Strategy for TVET (2016-2021) [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 125.363] aiming to 'support the efforts of Member States to enhance the relevance of their technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems and to equip all youth and adults with the skills required for employment, decent work, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning, and to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a whole'. The Strategy identified three priority areas: fostering youth employment and entrepreneurship, promoting equity and gender equality, and facilitating the transition to green economies and sustainable societies. A final evaluation of the Strategy was conducted in spring 2021 that made recommendations for the next TVET strategy, recommending that UNESCO maintain its broad set of activities, including normative work, capacity development, policy advice, knowledge development and technical assistance. The evaluation also recommended that UNESCO build on initiatives taken as part of its response to the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 crisis, including the Global Education Coalition and its Global Skills Academy. Furthermore, the final evaluation recommended reinforcing UNESCO's partnerships with other TVET agencies and stakeholders.

This discussion document provides the background for UNESCO's new TVET Strategy [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 150.286], drafted by UNESCO in consultation with Member States, international partners and the wider TVET community, ensuring that it is relevant to each region. The new Strategy will seek to generate a global momentum for TVET, contributing to the post-COVID-19 social and economic recovery and to an acceleration of progress towards [Sustainable Development Goal] SDG 4, 'Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all'. It will seek to instil a renewed ambition for TVET in Member States and build a common vision for transforming labour markets, economies, and societies. Considering the changing context outlined above, and persistent challenges specific to the sector (quality, equity, relevance, governance, financing, and attractiveness), TVET needs to be repositioned for what it should be: a pathway for individuals to thrive, a catalyst towards sustainable economies, and a vector of social justice. Three strategic priorities are proposed: (1) skills for individuals to learn, work and live; (2) skills for economies to transition towards sustainable development; and (3) skills for inclusive and resilient societies.

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This publication focuses on distance higher education, with an emphasis on the lifelong learner, and in the light of the increasing need for international co-operation and for co-ordinated policies in areas such as quality assurance, funding and appropriate use of ICTs. It contains papers by experts on the various topics covered and aims to provide current information on the important relevant issues, problems and trends, and practical advice for educational planners and decision-makers. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the issues to be discussed. Chapters two and three provide a broad background survey, indicating some of the general trends, issues and challenges in the area of distance higher education and lifelong learning at their current stage of development. Chapter four examines funding. Chapters five, six and seven cover the experiences of Senegal, China and Finland, in order to provide useful insights and policy lessons. Chapters eight, nine and ten look at key overarching issues such as quality assurance, accreditation, recognition of qualifications for certification, and cross-border student mobility, describing some important national and international initiatives in these areas. Chapter 11 focuses on the need for a sound and constantly growing base of research to inform the planning and implementation of effective distance and lifelong education programs. At the end of each of the main chapters is a checklist of policy implications relating to the area covered by the author, i.e. specific lessons that can be used by planners and policy-makers. Each chapter contains a bibliography, notes, and a list of relevant websites. The final chapter synthesises the main threads of the book and identifies some of the broad implications for the future that can be drawn from it. The chapters are as follows: Introduction / Christopher McIntosh; Lifelong learning for equity and social cohesion: a new challenge for higher education / Suzy Halimi; The impact of ICT on lifelong learning / Mary Thorpe; Approaches to funding / Greville Rumble and Fredric M. Litto; Lifelong learning in the African context: a practical example from Senegal / Olivier Sagna; The Chinese approach / Ding Xingfu, Gu Xiaoquing and Zhu Zhiting; Quality assurance survey of mega universities / Insung Jung; The higher education open and distance learning knowledge base / Zeynep Varoglu; The Finnish Virtual University and Finland’s path to a learning society / Marja Kylama; Promoting cross-border recognition and mobility developments in the Netherlands / Jindra Divis, Astrid Scholten and Anne Marie Mak; Charting the evolution of lifelong learning and distance higher education: the role of research / Tony Bates; Conclusion / Christopher McIntosh. Show less

Saint Lucia is a small island developing state centrally located in the archipelago that constitutes the Eastern Caribbean chain. This tropical island has a land mass of approximately 616 sq km and a population of roughly 172,000. Independent since 1979, the small open economy of Saint Lucia has a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature consisting of an elected lower house of parliament, and a nominated upper house or senate. Historically, Saint Lucia's economic base has depended on the agricultural sector. Sugar cane, the first monocrop, was abandoned in the 1950s and replaced by bananas, which were exported to the United Kingdom, and provided over 80 per cent of the island's foreign exchange. The dominance of the banana industry was made possible through a preferential trading arrangement with the European Union, which was substantially removed by the year 2005. The removal of the preferential trading arrangement was not without its fair share of hardship and dislocation. In response to declining earnings from bananas, Saint Lucia's production capacity shifted to a complete reliance on the service sector, with particular emphasis on financial services and tourism. This new investment in tourism meant a concomitant investment in human resource development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). It became patently evident that this new thrust into tourism would require a more well-rounded and skilled labour force, and that TVET would hold the responsibility for making a critical contribution to achieving this goal.

Saint Lucia's education and training system has made tremendous strides over the last two decades in embracing TVET as the medium for developing knowledge, skills and attitudes which are needed for productivity and sustainable economic development. The Education Act of 1999 made provision for the establishment of a ten-member Saint Lucia Council for TVET (SLCTVET) to coordinate TVET at all levels of the education system. Against this background, the SLCTVET noted the need for a comprehensive review of the TVET policy environment in order to identify gaps and policy considerations to inform the development of a policy framework for TVET. The review was undertaken in response to an official request from Saint Lucia for assistance from UNESCO to undertake a TVET Policy Review towards the development of a national TVET Policy for Saint Lucia. The evidence and analysis presented in the policy review highlight a range of findings and policy considerations for the future, which have national, regional and global dimensions.

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This recommendation applies to all forms and aspects of education which are technical and vocational in nature provided either in educational institutions or under their authority, by public authorities, the private sector or through other forms of organized education, formal or non-formal, aiming to ensure that all members of the community have access to the pathways of lifelong learning. This recommendation should be understood as setting forth general principles, goals and guidelines to be applied by each individual country according to its socioeconomic needs and available resources in a changing world. The application of the provisions and the timing of the implementation will depend upon the specific conditions existing in a given country.

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This document is available in English, French and Spanish.

Quality basic education for all children provides a basis for economic growth and social stability within nations and facilitates stability and equity amongst the international community. The World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, urged all countries around the world to develop and adopt policies that would ensure universal basic education by the year 2000. Several research projects were undertaken as a result. These studies were conducted on international, regional and national bases and documented the disparities in learning achievement both between different regions and countries of the world and within certain nations. This report, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the International Consultative Forum on Education for All, provides an analysis of the findings of this research effort. It investigates the reasons for the global interest in educational measurement, identifies some of the major outcomes of research in this field and discusses how assessment of student outcomes can be used to promote quality education for all students. The chapters are as follows: Introduction; How countries measure student achievement; How measurement can improve teaching and learning; Recent research on the quality of education; Broad findings of recent research; Factors that contribute to achievement; How countries use assessment to improve student learning; Issues of measurement; Conclusions. The appendix contains statistical data on the educational systems of various world regions. Show less

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) connects education and the world of work, unlocking the potential of young people and adults for a brighter future. Yet, it is estimated that 267 million young people are not in employment, education or training. This strategy presents UNESCO's vision to transform TVET for successful and just transitions during the period 2022 to 2029, by promoting skills development for empowerment, productive employment and decent work, and facilitating the transition to more digital, green and inclusive economies and societies. UNESCO will support Member States to respond to current and future challenges in TVET, proposing three main priorities: (1) develop skills for all individuals to learn, work and live; (2) develop skills for inclusive and sustainable economies; and (3) develop skills for inclusive and peaceful societies. UNESCO intends to work alongside bilateral and multilateral partners, institutions, governments, the private sector, and educators from all over the world to put TVET at the top of the education agenda.

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