2a. Provision, Quality of and Access to Education

Track chairs:

Riccardo Beltramo. Department of Management, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. riccardo.beltramo@unito.it

Péter Tóth. Department of Technical Education, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary. toth.p@eik.bme.hu

Goals and objectives of the track:

On the Stockholm Conference in 1972 education for sustainable development was recognised as a vital topic for shaping the future (UNEP, 1972). In 2005, the topic of education for sustainable development has once more become the focus of public attention by the United Nations. Implementing sustainability issues into learning and education was the main aim during the United Nation Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005 until 2014.

Therefore, four major thrusts and seven strategies were formulated (UNESCO, 2005, p. 5):

(i) improving access and retention in quality basic education,
(ii) reorientation of existing educational programmes to address sustainability,
(iii) increasing public understanding and awareness of sustainability, and
(iv) providing training to advance sustainability across all sectors.

Strategies (UNESCO, 2005, p. 17):

(1) vision-building and advocacy,
(2) consultation and ownership,
(3) partnership and networks,
(4) capacity-building and training,
(5) research and innovation,
(6) use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and
(7) monitoring and evaluation.

Based on this variety significant impulses were set during the decade, and at the same time different foci emerged. There emerged different foci at different levels and areas of education in the respective countries (UNESCO, 2014; Riess, 2010; Schrenk and Holle-Giese, 2005). Commonly, there were manifold activities and initiatives, but a comprehensive and holistic concept is still missing (Scott et al., 2012; Grindsted and Holm, 2012). Moreover, the current UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report stresses the global lack of education and the need for shared activities. Education is shared responsibility. So, how about the provision, quality of and access to education in the light of sustainability and development towards sustainability?

Contributions can focus on the above stated four thrusts and seven strategies, but also on the SDG 4 and further related topics, e.g. new methods and tools, etc., in order to stress the provision, quality of and access to education for sustainability.