Education for Sustainable Development: Global Progress and China’s Experience
Abstract
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a key component of the concept of sustainable social development advocated by the international community. The international community has successively set periodic goals for ESD, e.g. The Dakar Framework for Action and Education 2030 Framework for Action, to advance universal education that is conducive to global equity and quality development. According to the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) reports of UNESCO, ESD has made great strides on many fronts worldwide since 2000, but the gaps between countries with different incomes and levels of development remain significant, and gender and class inequalities in educational opportunities persist. China has yielded substantial results in ESD with all its indexes reaching or even surpassing the goals set in The Dakar Framework for Action. And in response to the Education 2030 Framework for Action, the Chinese Government is formulating Education 2030: Modernization of Education in China to guide China’s ESD, with the aim to raise the level of education for all, gradually address the educational inequalities among regions, between urban and rural areas, and among different social strata, and develop more inclusive and equitable quality education, thus achieving the goal of lifelong education for all.