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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is becoming an integral part of national education policies

Country reports from UNESCO Member States reveal that more than half have integrated ESD into their national education policies.

UNESCO commissioned an analysis of the country reports to the fourth and fifth consultations on the implementation of the Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1974) in light of Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goal on Education. The analysis included 57 reports from 2012. These series of key findings are presented ahead of the forthcoming data from 2016.

The analysis reveals that in 2012, 51% of responding countries positively reported on the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into national education policies.

Meanwhile, the percentage of countries reporting to have a stand-alone education national policy, plan or law for sustainable development (SD) in 2012 was 12%. In 2012, 33% of reporting countries reported that ESD is mandatory in curricula, which indicates the significance and visibility of ESD within the national education policies.   

The development of specific education policies on sustainable development appears to lag behind the rate at which the education sector is integrating an overall ESD agenda in national education policies.

UNESCO has received 82 country reports with data from 2016 and data will be available by mid-2017.

As the world moves forward on the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda, UNESCO is committed to monitoring the progress towards the achievement of Target 4.7, with a focus on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship. Regular reports, news, analyses, publications and links to data sets produced by UNESCO and its partner provide evidence that indicate how the world is progressing towards the achievement of the Target.

URL: 
http://en.unesco.org/news/education-sustainable-development-esd-becoming-integral-part-national-education-policies