Textbooks pave the way to sustainable development

Abstract

This policy paper is launched to mark International Day of Human Rights on 10 December, 2016, in the context of the mandate of the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report to monitor the education-related targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the third in a series of policy papers about textbooks released this year by the GEM Report. It follows the release of the 2016 GEM Report, Education for People and Planet, which contained new analysis of the content of curricular documents. This paper’s focus on textbooks is directly related to the global indicator established for Target 4.7, which seeks to measure the extent to which global citizenship education and education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed in national education policies, curricula, teacher education and student assessments. Textbooks are related mostly to policy implementation and curricular intentions but also to teacher preparation and student assessment.