This is a discussion post that I completed on 2018-01-11 for the class, EDF 6855: Factors Affecting Equitable Educational Opportunity and Life Chances: A Cross-National Analysis, taught by Judit Szente, Ph.D. at University of Central Florida.
What is your reflection on the goals of the Education for All initiative? What are some major areas in which we urgently need some growth internationally?
The goals of the Education for All (EFA) initiative (World Bank, 2014) revolve around equitable access via a focus on disadvantaged populations, such as girls and women, minorities, the poor, and those living in war zones and other conflict-stricken areas. Although females earn a majority of high school diplomas and postsecondary degrees in the United States (Kirst, 2013), in developing nations females’ access to education is impeded by many factors. Despite the costs and challenges, improving education and access is a moral imperative that produces great human and economic gains. While the EFA does little without practical action from signatory nations and organizations, it sets the tone, and the accompanying analyses and policy work guide funding priorities and debates.
One area where growth is needed internationally is in school attendance (UNESCO, 2014). From 2007 to 2012 the global rate of primary school attendance (Ages 6–11) has not increased beyond 91%, although great gains were made prior to 2007. The 9% of primary-age children not in school is a considerable figure—58 million, 43% of which have not and will probably never attend school. The lack of growth in school attendance is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, where slightly more than half (29.6 million) of non-attending primary aged children reside. While in 2000–2012, the proportional decline in primary out-of-school rate was the same in sub-Saharan Africa (39% to 21%) as in the rest of the world (10.5% to 5.5%), in the same timeframe the primary school age population increased by 35% in sub-Saharan Africa as compared with a 10% decrease elsewhere. Based on 2012 data, UNESCO (2014) expects this population explosion to continue in sub-Saharan Africa, which means this region will continue needing urgent attention.
References
Kirst, M. W. (2013, May 28). Women earn more degrees than men; Gap keeps increasing [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://collegepuzzle.stanford.edu/women-earn-more-degrees-than-men-gap-keeps-increasing/
UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2014, June). Progress in getting all children to school stalls but some countries show the way forward. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002281/228184E.pdf
World Bank (2014, August 4). Education for all. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/education-for-all