Teach4Reach: Teaching the Global Goals - Exploring synergies between teacher education programmes and the SDGs

Teach4Reach: Teaching the Global Goals - Exploring synergies between teacher education programmes and the SDGs

This research project explored how teacher education programmes in the Global South and Global North can be used to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objectives of the project were to raise awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals among teachers and teacher educators, to develop future-oriented research agendas on quality education, gender equality, reducing inequality and promoting health and well-being, to build international cooperation networks in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to support knowledge development on the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the education sector.

Currently, only 7% of Teacher education programmes worldwide cover education for sustainable development (Global Education Monitoring Report, 2017/8; Accountability in Education, pp. xvii). This project was seeking to expand the curricula on Sustainable development and the Global Goals in teacher education programmes as a strategic initiative to impact on and optimally support Agenda2030.

The project was led by a team of researchers from the University of Pretoria (Irma Eloff and Kgadi Mathabathe), the University of Innsbruck (Ann-Kathrin Dittrich) and the University of Vienna (Evi Agostini); the expert advisor to the project was the academic Head of department in Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria. The participants included teacher educators, pre-service and in-service teachers, postgraduate students and stakeholders from four selected UN Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Reducing Inequality (SDG 10) and Promoting Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3); PhD students and undergraduate and postgraduate students from three Faculties and schools of Education (UP, Innsbruck, Vienna).

In this project, a series of online webinars (and face-to-face events where possible) took place over a two-year period (April 2021 - March 2023), coupled with research colloquia, workshops and knowledge dissemination events.

Four webinars were hosted on a rotational basis, over a two year period:

• Webinar 1: SDG 4 Quality Education
• Webinar 2: SDG 5 Gender equality
• Webinar 3: SDG 10 Reduced inequalities
• Webinar 4: SDG 3 Good health & wellbeing

An explorative, qualitative study design using vignette research and in-depth interviews was used for the research track of the project. The project was also generative in terms of lesson plan development for the SDGs.

Project duration: April 2021 - March 2023

Financial support: BMBWF // AfricaUniNet