Sustainable Development Goal 4: Inclusive and equitable education

In 2015, governments from around the world committed themselves to renewed goals for international development. These are called the Sustainable Development Goals:

The goals are interconnected in many ways but I am particularly interested in SDG 4 with its focus on education. The question that resonates with me for this goal is: How do we build inclusive and equitable schools in every part of the world?

It's difficult supporting every student in a progressive, heavily resourced school system such as those that we have in Canada. Over the past few years, I have been studying how school principals foster these types of schools. To read more about this research, click here.

If it's difficult to build high quality educational environments in Canada, how is it possible to even start to think how this might be accomplished in more fragile and challenging contexts? There are so many (seemingly) insurmountable barriers: poor facilities, lack of basic resources, poorly trained teachers, and challenging community contexts just to name a few.

However, what amazes me in my work in different international contexts is that those barriers don't seem to stop people from working hard to support education. I have met teachers in some of the most impoverished global contexts who, despite the barriers, are working to make learning opportunities available to students. They may not have all the tools or most effective teaching methods. They may not even be highly engaged in the teaching and learning process ... but, even at a visceral level, they seem to understand that formal education has a value.

What is particularly intriguing to me is that I have met exemplary teachers in contexts where there is no reason to be exemplary. They are not receiving a regular salary. They have not received the benefits of higher education. There are no opportunities for promotion or receiving any kind of teaching award. They may even be under threat of harm. Despite the barriers, these exemplary teachers are committed to their craft and to the students that they teach.

I don't have an answer as to why these teachers are exemplary. What I do know is that their commitment to inclusive and equitable education is not predicated on an international agreement. It is based on what they know to be important. 

In fact, this is no different for the exemplary teachers in my own community. 

They know, therefore they are.