QUALITY EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING: REIMAGINING SDG 4 IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD

Abstract

Learning is foundational to sustainable human development, economic prosperity and social inclusion. Target 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4) commits the global community to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by 2030. This chapter unpacks critically what ‘quality education’ for all entails, outlines the learning crisis that impedes efforts to provide education for all, and emphasises why learning across the life course is important for succeeding in work and life and active citizenship. Based on recent literature from 2021 to 2026, key topics addressed include the interconnected dimensions of the learning crisis and its worsening due to the COVID-19 pandemic; digital learning and technology-enabled learning for education during and beyond emergencies; the foundational importance of teacher quality in determining learning; and what evidence tells us about learning in early childhood development, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and tertiary education to help foster lifelong learning. Learning for sustainable development means reaching a consensus that learning takes place far beyond school years and throughout the entire lives of all people; SDG 4 cannot be achieved unless we reimagine what learning is and ensure all systems are built to provide it equitably.