Th ON ADULT LEARNING AND EDUCATION - UNESCO …

4th GLOBAL REPORT ON ADULT LEARNING

AND EDUCATION

LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND: PARTICIPATION, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

4th GLOBAL REPORT ON ADULT LEARNING

AND EDUCATION

LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND: PARTICIPATION, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

2

Published 2019 by

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Feldbrunnenstra?e 58 20148 Hamburg Germany

Photos Front cover, clockwise from far left: ? UNHCR/Colin Delfosse ? UNHCR/Gordon Welters ? UNESCO ? UNESCO

? UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) undertakes research, capacity-building, networking and publication on lifelong learning with a focus on adult and continuing education, literacy and non-formal education. Its publications are a valuable resource for education researchers, planners, policymakers and practitioners.

While the programmes of UIL are established along the lines laid down by the General Conference of UNESCO, the publications of the Institute are issued under its sole responsibility. UNESCO is not responsible for their contents.

The points of view, selection of facts and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with official positions of UNESCO or UIL.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO or UIL concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of the frontiers of any country or territory.

ISBN 978-92-820-1232-1 (print version) ISBN 978-92-820-1233-8 (electronic version)

Part 1, from far left: ? UNESCO ? Clinton Robinson/UNESCO ? UNHCR/Gordon Welters ? UNESCO

Chap. 1: ? UNHCR/Gordon Welters Chap. 2: ? UNESCO Chap. 3: ? UNHCR/Colin Delfosse Chap. 4: ? UNESCO Chap. 5: ? UNHCR/Marie-Jo?lle Jean-Charles Chap. 6: ? UNESCO Chap. 7: ? Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock

Part 2, clockwise from far left: ? UNESCO ? goodluz/Shutterstock ? UNHCR/Antoine Tardy ? goodluz/Shutterstock

Chap. 8: ? Michel Ravassard/UNESCO Chap. 9: ? Raihan Ahmmed Chap. 10: ? READ Nepal Chap. 11: ? UNESCO Chap. 12: ? Brendan O'Malley/UNESCO Chap. 13: ? Sakel Rigpkema/UNESCO

Conclusion, clockwise from far left: ? READ Nepal ? Brendan O'Malley/UNESCO ? Sakel Rigpkema/UNESCO ? UNESCO

Back cover, clockwise from top left: ? UNHCR/Marie-Jo?lle Jean-Charles ? Carolina Jerez/UNESCO ? Sofie Tesson/Taimani Films/World Bank ? Clinton Robinson/UNESCO

This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) licence ().

Copy-editing Alec McAulay

Design Christiane Marwecki

By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository ().

Printed by Druckerei Girzig+Gottschalk GmbH, Bremen

FOREWORD

3 FOREWORD

Education is a fundamental human right, a precious public good and an indispensable tool in building peaceful, sustainable and fairer societies.

However, the educational challenges we face are complex. They include the rise of inequalities, demographic change and climate change. More seriously, the world is also changing drastically and quickly. If we do not adapt and enhance adults' skills, they will be left behind. This challenge is at the heart of UNESCO's global mandate, as reflected in the Education 2030 Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4. Adult learning and education (ALE), as UNESCO's Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE ) very clearly shows, has a crucial role to play in achieving this goal.

While participation in ALE has increased overall since 2015, rates vary considerably and progress has been uneven. I am pleased to note the increased participation of women who, in some countries, now represent the majority of adult learners. However, in many parts of the world, women still have limited access to education and employment opportunities. In poor and rural areas especially, low literacy levels mean that women struggle to engage in learning and participate fully in society. Improving access to education for women and girls has been one of my priorities since taking up my role as Director-General of UNESCO. This is why we launched the Her education, our future initiative in July 2019 as part of the G7 Education Ministers Meeting.

Troublingly, in many countries, disadvantaged groups ? adults with disabilities, older adults, refugees and migrants, and minority groups ? participate less in ALE. In some countries, provision for these groups is regressing. We know less about the participation of these groups than for other sections of society. Yet this information is essential if we are to develop inclusive policies for all.

Looking ahead, the report stresses the need to increase national investment in ALE, reduce participation costs, raise awareness of benefits and improve data collection and monitoring, particularly for disadvantaged groups. In addition, by ensuring that donor countries respect their aid obligations to developing countries, we can make ALE a key lever in empowering and enabling adults, as learners, workers, parents, and active citizens.

Policy-makers, education experts and the wider public will be able to draw useful insights from this comprehensive picture of adult learning and education, viewed through the lens of inclusion and equity. We urge all governments and the international community to join our efforts and take action to ensure that no one ? no matter who they are, where they live or what challenges they face ? is left behind.

Audrey Azoulay UNESCO Director-General

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The UIL GRALE team

David Atchoarena Director

Jan Kairies Librarian

Werner Mauch Head of Monitoring and Assessment of Lifelong Learning

Christiana Nikolitsa-Winter Programme Specialist

Samah Shalaby Assistant Programme Specialist

Paul Stanistreet Head of Knowledge Management and Communications

The aim of the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE ) is to deepen our knowledge of adult learning and education (ALE) as a key component of lifelong learning across the globe, in order to improve education policies, concepts and practice within the framework of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Three GRALE reports have been published to date ? in 2009, 2013 and 2016 ? all of them with reference to the Bel?m Framework for Action (BFA), adopted by Member States at the sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in Bel?m, Brazil, in 2009. One important purpose of the report is to monitor progress against the BFA, through the GRALE survey. Following the adoption by UNESCO Member States of the 2015 Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education (RALE), GRALE 4 additionally provides monitoring information on the implementation of RALE, also based on the GRALE monitoring survey. It is pleasing to note that the response rate for the GRALE 4 survey increased to 80% from 71% for GRALE 3.

The production of a report on this scale is a substantial undertaking and would not be possible without the support of a wide range of partners and colleagues. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize their contributions.

My deepest gratitude goes to the governments of the 159 countries and the focal points nominated by UNESCO National Commissions that submitted national reports.

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks also go to UNESCO colleagues in regional and field offices, specialized institutes and National Commissions, as well as the Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, who offered invaluable support in facilitating the consultation process during the survey.

GRALE 4 was written and edited by recognized researchers, international experts and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) staff. Special thanks go to the editors of the report, Ellen Boeren (University of Glasgow) and John Field (University of Stirling), as well as to the authors of its two main sections: Ricardo Sabates and Ashley Stepanek (University of Cambridge), who wrote the segment on monitoring, and Kjell Rubenson (University of British Columbia), who prepared Part 2 on participation.

Soonghee Han (Seoul National University). UIL colleagues Nicolas Jonas, Lisa Krolak, Silke Schreiber-Barsch, Rika Yorozu and Rakhat Zholdoshalieva also provided useful feedback.

The following UIL staff assisted during the consultation process for the GRALE 4 survey, and I would like to acknowledge their contribution: Ana Ba so glu, Carolina Belalcazar Canal, Mary Einbinder, Alexandru Gaina, Alex Howells, Angela Owusu-Boampong, Konstantinos Pagratis, Bettina Rei? and Claire Schumacher, as well as interns Alexandra Chronopoulos and Jennifer Danquah, and trainee Evalyne Mungai. I would also like to thank University of Cambridge intern Michael Griffiths, who supported the drafting of the monitoring chapter.

They were supported throughout the process by colleagues from UIL, notably Jan Kairies, Werner Mauch, Christiana Nikolitsa-Winter, Samah Shalaby and Paul Stanistreet, who comprised the UIL GRALE team. Members of UIL's publications unit, Jennifer Kearns-Willerich, Maya Kiesselbach and Cendrine Sebastiani, assisted the UIL GRALE team with the editing and production of the report.

The report was copy-edited by Alec McAulay and designed by Christiane Marwecki.

I would also like to express my appreciation of the valuable and constructive suggestions of the senior experts who reviewed the draft report: Sergio C?rdenas (Centro de Investigaci?n y Docencia Econ?mica, Mexico), Borhene Chakroun (UNESCO HQ), Hendrina Chalwe Doroba (African Development Bank), Friedrich Huebler (UNESCO Institute for Statistics), Libing Wang and colleagues (UNESCO AsiaPacific Regional Bureau for Education), Jyri Manninen (University of Eastern Finland), and

This is an important report, which I hope will have a strong positive impact, both among Member States and within the international community. It demonstrates the important role participation in adult learning and education can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, highlights the distance we have to travel, and offers clear guidance on how to move forward. As the report clearly also shows, it is only by prioritizing ALE, and rebalancing resources accordingly, that can we ensure that the commitment of the 2030 Agenda to `leave no one behind' in the pursuit of equitable, inclusive and sustainable development is fully and fairly realized.

David Atchoarena UIL Director

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