New horizons for quality education within the framework of the 2030 Agenda

Abstract

A world that is interconnected and finite, combined with knowledge management for the benefit of the few (Boff in Ética planetaria desde el gran sur. Trotta, 2001), mean that educational institutions must strive, with commitment and determination, to ensure the education and training of future citizens.The economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the concept of sustainable development make it possible to achieve development that is both sustainable and dynamic, through the use of a general framework of action whose slogan “Leave no one behind” is directly linked to the key goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, as set out in the 2030 Agenda (UN in Resolution adopted by General Assembly on 25 September 2015, 2015). The global challenges facing the planet demand professionals and citizens who possess skills for sustainability and act as agents to ensure that the immediate needs of our local societies -both current and future- are met (Novo in El desarrollo sostenible. Su dimensión ambiental y educativa, UNESCO. Pearson Educación, 2006; Murga-Menoyo in Foro de Educación 13(19):55–83, 2015). Education needs to connect different areas of knowledge in order to meet the challenge of preparing the professionals of the future, in light of the fact that-despite the considerable progress made in terms of access to and participation in education-in 2017 there were still 262 million children and adolescents who did not attend school. This figure represents almost one-fifth of the global population of school-age children, and highlights the role that territory can play in human development. We present a descriptive analysis of performance in relation to SDG 4, using the UN’s annual reports from 2015 to 2020 within the European context to identify the changes that have taken place in education in general, and in the processes of teaching and learning in particular, with regard to quality education.