Learning outcomes have been enshrined as central policy objectives in the new international education and development agenda, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Unlike goals that seek to universalize access for education, for which consensus is strong, debates around learning are considerably more contested. Proponents argue that more robust global learning metrics have the potential to reduce academic disparities and improve learning outcomes for children across different contexts, while critics note that such universal measures typically focus on a narrow assessment of basic skills at the expense of learning related to human rights or environmental sustainability, as well as support the data-fixated punitive accountability regimes, privatization and marketization of public education. The Office of Global Engagement at MLFTC has facilitated a series of global debates surrounding the desirability, feasibility, use, and misuse of global learning metrics, resulting in a series of symposia, podcasts, research and publications.
Why Measure Un-Sustainable Education?
by Janna Goebel, Gustavo E. Fischman and Iveta Silova
Animation by Bernardo Medeiros