What If More Education Is Not the Answer? Beyond the Business-as-Usual Approach to SDGs

As the world approaches the 2030 deadline, the promise of education in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains unfulfilled, while the dominant educational models prevail without critical scrutiny. Our analysis dives into the SDG targets and their portrayals in seminal reports from UNESCO, the OECD, and the World Bank, revealing the heavy hand of these international bodies in shaping the global education trajectory. The evidence suggests that these influential bodies often perpetuate a business-as-usual approach in education, continuing to idolize economic growth and social equity, while relegating environmental concerns to the back burner. This approach not only compromises our future survival, but also solidifies a global education agenda that may, inadvertently, be scripting the planet’s peril. Focusing on the complex interplay between education and the sustainability agenda, our essay urges a cultural shift towards a more ecologically attuned approach in education response.