SDG 4: Introduction

  • Discover resources to help you explore SDG 4 issues
  • Figure out which education issue to solve in your community

WHAT IS SDG 4 ALL ABOUT?

SDG 4  and education affects every community. Here is an overview of SDG 4 and the issues involved. The video also has some good suggestions for ways to ensure quality education for all.

MAIN ISSUES

WHERE DO WE START?

Are you thinking,
making an educational game
is the best solution?

Did you know there
are many more powerful
things you could work on?

START: UN SDG TARGETS

Click on each tab on the left to read each target.

4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

This is a great target for this SDG and a possible focus. 

4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.

This is a good target to focus on for this SDG.

4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.

This can be a good target to work on.

4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

As with the other targets above, this could be a good target to focus on.

4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.

This target is a good one to try to solve.

4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

This is a big target for this SDG and a possible focus. 

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

This covers many areas around sustainability and is a good one to look at.

4.A Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

While it would be hard to actually build new facilities, advocacy and design are possible ways to address this target.

4.B By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries.

You could indirectly focus on this target by looking at available scholarships and promoting them.

4.C By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.

It would be difficult to address this target, other than through advocacy, or working with a teacher training organization.

Almost all of the SDG 4 targets are ones that can be addressed, in innovative ways.

NEXT STEPS

  1. Look at the SDG 4 targets.
  2. Choose some of interest.
  3. Start generating thoughts and ideas around each topic.
  4. Relate to issues in your own community.
  5. Connect ideas that relate.

Here is a brainstorming example.

Then

  1. From your map, select one or two particular areas to focus on.
  2. Dig deeper with some research into those particular ideas and topics.

For example, you might choose x and y to focus on. 

ACTIVITY: BRAINSTORMING

Estimated time: 20 minutes

Make a mind map to generate ideas around the SDG 4 targets



On paper, or digitally with a tool like Miro or Padlet:
  • Write down issues, ideas, organizations, people in boxes or bubbles
  • Connect related boxes
  • Review the ideas and themes.
  • Select one or two main themes/issues that interest you and that you have seen in your community.
  • Research those topics further and start to brainstorm solutions.

NEXT STEPS

Research

Start with the UN SDG 4 website to learn about the targets and follow links

Community

Connect issues you’ve discovered here to issues you know about in your community

People

Follow people who are working in this space on social media to learn more and even contact them

Document

Keep your links and notes organized using bookmarks and Google docs or folder