The Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum series takes a closer look at the progress that is being made towards the UN Agenda 2030 goals. So far, the events have examined three of the agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDG4 Decent work and economic growth in May 2022, SDG8: Quality education in October 2022, and finally, SDG11: Climate action in May 2023.
You can read more about first and third events in the series by clicking on the following news items. The text below reports on the second SCDF event that focused on the UN goal of quality education.
Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum: Cities have important role in mitigating climate threats
October event explored ways to improve learning outcomes
How can differences in children and young people’s learning outcomes be reduced? This was one of the timely themes discussed in the second event of the Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum series. The two-day event on 26-27 October 2022 was co-hosted by HundrED, an organization specialized in educational innovation.
The event highlighted equality and innovation in connection with the future of education. One of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, SDG4: Quality education, is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Participants from over 30 different countries were represented in the over 900 online registrants, alongside a live audience present at the venue in Hanasaari.
Wednesday’s keynote speech by development economist and education specialist Lant Pritchett was a summary of the latest research on education. He pointed out that even though most children around the world now have access to schooling, overall learning outcomes have still become weaker.
There are staggering differences between students in their level of mastery of basic skills, depending on where they come from. These differences start to develop right from the start of schooling. Learning outcomes are affected by, for example, children’s domestic situation, but even when several underlying factors are taken into consideration the differences remain. Outcomes in rich countries are generally better.
“This results in a crisis of teaching. Some of the pupils attending school don’t even learn to read,” Pritchett said.
In Zambia, which has a population of 19 million people, only 5 pupils achieve the best PISA results, while the corresponding number in Finland, which has a population of 5.5 million, is 25,000. However, prosperous countries are in no way in the clear. Research indicates that there is a clear trend of literacy rates plummeting.
Pritchett presented a list with five points that could reverse this negative development and drive better learning outcomes.
- His first point is that we have to commit to understanding the learning process. If teaching is conducted at a swift pace without proper understanding of the learning process, learning outcomes remain narrow and lack mastery of larger entities of knowledge.
- The second point involves measurement. It is crucial to measure the skills and knowledge learned by pupils, since education policymakers must know what it is that pupils don’t know.
- Pritchett’s third point is alignment. Teaching must take into consideration what the pupils are capable of learning. Without the basic skills and knowledge to build upon, it doesn’t matter how much is invested in teaching. A study carried out in Indonesia showed that if children still lack basic numeracy skills in sixth grade, they will not acquire them later either.
- His fourth point stressed the importance of providing adequate teaching support, which he said is quite separate from remedial teaching.
- The fifth and final way to improve learning outcomes according to Lant Pritchett involves adaptation. Teaching methods and innovations that have been proven successful elsewhere must be adapted to each unique situation.
Focus on work opportunities
UNU-WIDER Director Kunal Sen asked in his speech at the event whether it is possible to increase social mobility with the help of education. His short answer to the question was: “Yes, but”, underlining the word 'but'.
Social mobility, or the idea that children will become more successful than their parents, is quite common in, for example, China, where it is currently even more prevalent than, for example, the United States.
But in order to increase social mobility by means of education, young people’s motivation to study must also be ensured. If educating oneself does not open up better job opportunities or better pay, there is less motivation to carry out studies. His main point was that education can only go so far in advancing social mobility, it also needs to be paired with inclusive economic development.
It is OK to fail
Deputy Director of the startup Dream a Dream, Varsha Pillai, gave an example of an 11-year-old Indian boy who harboured a lot of anger. He was disappointed in his parents and in his school, and he dropped out. However, he was later connected with an engaged adult and today he is a team member at Dream a Dream.
“This example illustrates clearly what it is we do at Dream a Dream,” said Pillai. “Disappointed children and youths need support from a caring adult who can teach them life skills.”
Nowadays, the Dream a Dream community collaborates systematically with decision-makers, as they want to keep them updated on the current needs of children and youth.
“To young people, we must communicate that it is completely OK to fail. The important thing is to get up and try again,” she added.
More funds to those in need of special support
During the panel discussion on Wednesday, one of the questions asked what consequences the pandemic has had for learning, children, and youths.
Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen said that during the pandemic, young people have experienced more loneliness and insecurity than before. It seems that the polarization between those who are successful in school and those who are not has grown. Vartiainen pointed out that the situation was being taken into consideration by the city, as more funds were being directed to children in need of special support.
Pritchett mentioned that it was crucial to minimize the learning gaps between pupils as soon as possible. He gave an example related to Pakistan’s earthquake. The schools in the area were closed for a couple of months. When the children from the earthquake zone were later compared with other pupils in the same age group, it was discovered that in the long run, the two-month pause in schooling meant a three-year lag in learning outcomes.
When the children return to school, their teaching must quickly be adjusted to the right level, which is not necessarily the level where they left off, he said.
In Varsha Pillai’s opinion, other factors affecting young people’s lives during a pause from school must be continuously considered. In India, schools were closed due to the pandemic for up to two years. Corona wreaked havoc in communities and many pupils lost their parents to the pandemic. One must always understand the human factor as well, she said.
Where do we go from here?
Pritchett cites a study conducted in Vietnam. The country’s schools had shown excellent results, and a research team studied the underlying reasons for the success. He said, “One clear reason was their strong desire to succeed. It was a very simple answer, but still explained the reasons behind the results.”
It is now possible to watch a subtitled recording of the October event and the other two events in the Sustainable Cities Discussion Forum series on the City of Helsinki’s video service at Helsinkikanava.fi. Stay tuned for more similar events.
Text: Kirsi Riipinen