Education for All and Arts in Education Hong Kong, 9 January, 2004 by Vibeke Jensen, UNESCO Bangkok
Pre-Jomtien (1980 s) Severe under-funding of (basic) education Parents, students and communities lost confidence and trust in the (formal) education system Direct, indirect, and opportunity costs too high Quality and relevance of education very poor
From Jomtien(1990) to Dakar(2000) Increased access achieved, but high dropout rates and poor quality persisted Gender disparities persisted Increased investment made in primary education, but secondary suffered Recognition that new approaches had to be found emphasising quality, life skills and gender equality
Dakar Framework for Action (DFA) 6 goals: Expand and improve quality of ECCE Achieve universal free and compulsory primary education by 2015 Provide young people with life skills and learning opportunities Reduce adult illiteracy, especially for women
Dakar goals (cont.) Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and promote gender equality by 2015 Improve all aspects of the quality of education so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all.
Ten components of quality from the Framework for Action: 1) Healthy, well-nourished, and motivated students 2) Well-motivated and professionally competent teachers 3) Active learning techniques 4) A relevant curriculum 5) Adequate, environmentally friendly, and easily accessible facilities...
Ten components of quality (cont d.) 6) Healthy, safe, and protective learning environments 7) Adequate evaluation of environments, processes, and outcomes 8) Participatory governance and management 9) Respect for and engagement with local communities and cultures 10) Adequately and equitably resourced educational institutions and programmes
Learning for All EFA means education and learning for All: It means reaching the most vulnerable, marginalized children and adults excluded from education because of ethnicity, sex, disabilities, HIV/AIDS, remoteness, migration,
EFA Goals Progress 1990-2000 NER in Primary Education (weighted average) GER in Secondary Education (median) 100 90 96.0 92.7 90.7 100 80 98.0 78.5 76.4 80 81.4 80.6 60 70 72.7 40 48.7 34.2 48.7 60 1990 2000 Adult Literacy Rate (%) (weighted average) 100 98.9 99.6 99.8 93.3 90 86.6 80 80.3 20 1990 2000 Central Asia East Asia and the Pacific South and West Asia Total Public Expenditure on Education as % of GNP (median) 8.0 7.0 6.0 7.8 70 60 50 47.5 55.3 65.6 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.7 3.8 3.7 40 1990 2000 2015 2.0 1990 2000
Proxy Indicators for Quality Education
Proxy Indicators for Quality Education
Challenges: Bridging the rural/urban divide pockets with severe problems of educational access and quality even in fairly developed countries Overcoming teacher de-motivation and poor training: obstacles to eliminating rote learning Overloading of the written curriculum which is not always (often rarely) enacted Including children excluded from learning (ethnic minorities/language issue)
Challenges (cont.) Lacking school and community collaboration and trust Education systems not serving neither in content nor delivery mechanism - the development of communities and empowering individuals Eliminating gender bias in the class room
DFA and ART A word count on the DFA shows that the word ART did not exist in the vocabulary of the drafting committee in April 2000 however the spirit of the DFA is in line with promoting creativity, problem solving and making learning environments more child friendly
What can ART do to help overcome these challenges? All communities have some kind of local art: music, dance, weaving, wood carving, dyeing.. By bringing local artists/crafts people into the school, the community/school divide can be diminished and life and earning skills promoted. It can help to bring recognition to the diverse needs in the class room and help teachers appreciate children s different learning styles and capacities.
What can ART do to overcome these challenges? Build team spirit, teach children to work together Promote creativity, problem solving, and more sophisticated ways of articulation of feelings, opinions etc Teach children to express their emotions important for promoting equality and respect for diversity and eliminating violence Challenge and/or perpetuate traditional gender roles
How to promote art in education in a low cost manner? Use local resources (natural and human) Promote a broad definition of art (including crafts which can be used for income-generation) Integrate art in (all) other subjects instead of separate art education lessons ( arts for arts sake not feasible in poor, remote rural areas) Teach teachers to do low cost home made teaching-learning materials
UNESCO education activities Tool Kit for Inclusive and Child Friendly Learning? Add an extra booklet on arts in education Essay competition among secondary students on masculine and feminine roles in Pakistan