Ireland's UN SDGs 2019 - Report on Indicators for Goal 4 Quality Education

SDG 4.7.1 Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in: (a) national education policies, (b) curricula, (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment; data are classified as Tier 2 in the Tier Classification for Global SDG Indicators (See Background Notes) as they are not regularly produced by countries.

SDG 4.7.1 is an indicator of characteristics of different aspects of education systems: education policies, curricula, teacher training and student assessment as reported by government officials, ideally following consultation with other government ministries, national human rights institutes, the education sector and civil society organizations.  It measures what governments intend and not what is implemented in practice in schools and classrooms.  For each of the four components of the indicator (policies, curricula, teacher education and student assessment), a number of criteria are measured, which are then combined to give a single score between zero and one for each component.  Metadata for SDG 4.7.1 is on the UN SDG website.

Information collected with the questionnaire for monitoring the implementation by UNESCO Member States of the 1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-Operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms will be used for the construction of the global indicator.  Only information for primary and secondary education will be used for calculation of indicator SDG 4.7.1.

The first data will be available for 2020.  It may be possible to produce estimates for some countries for 2016 but this work has not yet been carried out.

At a national level, information relating to SDG 4.7.1 is outlined in the Department of Education and Skills (DES) 'National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland, 2014-2020'.  

It provides a framework to support the contribution that the education sector is making and will continue to make towards a more sustainable future at a number of levels: individual, community, local, national and international.  This strategy is primarily influenced by the national strategy on sustainable development, Our Sustainable Future - A Framework for Sustainable Development in Ireland, which was published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in 2012.

The development of the strategy was informed by a public consultation process that was facilitated by the DES, and by key messages from relevant policy documents and research literature, both national and international. 

Important policy documents include:

1) the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development;

2) the EU Council conclusions on Education for Sustainable Development 2010; and

3) UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development – The Global Action Programme after 2014.

This strategy has also been informed by previous work that was undertaken in this area by the DES, supported by ECO-UNESCO, in 2007.

SDG 4.a.1: Proportion of Schools with Access to: (a) Electricity; (b) the Internet for Pedagogical Purposes; (c) Computers for Pedagogical Purposes; (d) Adapted Infrastructure and Materials for Students with Disabilities; (e) Basic Drinking Water; (f) Single-Sex Basic Sanitation Facilities and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions) was published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).  These data are classified as Tier 2 in the Tier Classification for Global SDG Indicators (See Background Notes) as they are not regularly produced by countries.

Close to 100% of lower and upper secondary schools in 2017 had access to electricity, as reported by UIS for SDG 4.a.1.  The internet was available for pedagogical purposes in 96.4% of lower secondary and 97.7% of upper secondary schools, while a computer was available in 98.7% of lower secondary and 99.2% of upper secondary schools.  Virtually all second level schools had access to basic drinking water, single-sex basic sanitation facilities and basic handwashing facilities.  See Table 3.1.

Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020

The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Assessment, currently being implemented, sets out the Department of Education's current policy on the use of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment.  Its aim is to help students and young people to become engaged thinkers, active learners, knowledge constructors and global citizens.  It supports the development of 21st century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and digital literacy.

The implementation of the Digital Strategy is supported by a €210m investment programme for the provision of ICT equipment in schools.  To date €160m of this funding has issued to schools.  The balance will issue during the forthcoming school year 2020/2021.  The funding is focussed on assisting schools to address ICT needs including the acquisition of digital devices, software and other ICT solutions to support the effective use of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment.  All schools at both primary and post primary level have the use of digital devices/computers for pedagogical purposes.  Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme (SBAP), costing an average of between €12m-€14m per annum, the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary and post primary schools, and some 98% of schools are included in this scheme.  A small number of schools have opted for services outside the SBAP.

SDG 4.b.1 Volume of Official Development Assistance Flows for Scholarships by Sector and Type of Study, information is provided in the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) Annual Report 2018.  The information provided here is an extract from the DFAT Annual Report 2018.  For further information refer directly to the report.

Ireland’s Fellowship Training Programme (FTP) aims to assist in reaching long-term development goals through the training and development of key individuals, generally drawn from the public service and NGO sectors.  Scholarships to study post graduate level courses are offered in areas aligned to Ireland’s development objectives in specific partner countries.  In September 2018, 40 students from Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe came to study at Irish Higher Education Institutions across Ireland.  These students are pursuing a range of courses such as international development, climate change, agricultural sciences, peace studies and human rights law.  A further 11 chose to study courses in their home countries or regions.  In addition to awards made under the FTP, a further 44 fellowships were awarded under various strands to students from Kenya, Nigeria, Burundi, Vietnam, South Africa and Palestine.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data for 2019 expenditure on fellowships is provided here:

• Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme:        €854,945
• Africa FTP (Fellowship Training Programme):    €2,113,573
• Kader Asmal Programme (South Africa):           €384,155
• IDEAS (Vietnam):                                              €674,046          

This brings 2019 expenditure on fellowships to a total of €4,026,719.

SDG 4.c.1 Proportion of teachers in: (a) pre-primary; (b) primary; (c) lower secondary; and (d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country is outlined in this section.

SDG 4.c.1(a) Pre-Primary Teacher Qualifications

Childcare – Staff Qualifications

Preschool services are delivered outside the formal education system by a diverse range of private, community and voluntary interests and are described variously as crèches, early years centres, nurseries, pre-schools, naíonraí (Irish language pre-schools), playgroups and day care services.  

Under the Child Care Act (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, all staff working directly with children in an Early Years Setting must hold a minimum of QQI Level 5 Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education.  Under the ECCE scheme all ECCE room leaders must hold a minimum QQI Level 6 Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education (or equivalent).  A higher capitation is available to Preschool Services where the Preschool Leader has achieved a major award in early childhood care and education at Level 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) and where the assistants have achieved the minimum Level 5 Award.

In 2018/2019 the vast majority of staff working directly with children (94%) have qualifications at Level 5 National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or higher (See Background Notes for NFQ details).  Over two thirds (67%) have qualifications at NFQ Level 6 or higher.  The proportion of staff with NFQ Level 7 qualifications and above increased in recent years with one in four staff now holding a qualification at NFQ Level 7 or higher.  The proportion of staff with no qualification relevant to the Early Learning Council (ELC) and School Advisory Council (SAC) sector is 6%, the same as in the previous year. 

Childcare staff were more likely to have qualifications than relief staff, with 25% of childcare staff having at least NFQ Level 7 (an ordinary bachelor degree), compared with 11.9% of relief staff.  Childcare staff were less likely to have no relevant qualification than relief staff.  Only 5.8% of childcare staff had no relevant qualification compared with 14.7% of relief staff.  See Table 3.2, Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2.