Abstract
In light of the United Nations’ Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China launched its national plan on the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in September 2016. The fourth goal of Sustainable Development is “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, an unevenly-developed economy, the spread of technology and multi-media, and the constantly emerging crucial global issues, my compelling question arises: what actions should China take to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of Quality Education by 2030? Aiming to answer this question, an exploratory study from the perspective of K-12 schools is conducted in this project.
In light of the United Nations’ Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China launched its national plan on the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in September 2016. The fourth goal of Sustainable Development is “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, an unevenly-developed economy, the spread of technology and multi-media, and the constantly emerging crucial global issues, my compelling question arises: what actions should China take to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of Quality Education by 2030? Aiming to answer this question, an exploratory study from the perspective of K-12 schools is conducted in this project.
The sponsorship by Beijing Royal School sets the prerequisite for the valuable opportunity of study in the NLGL Program at NCSU. Three core courses including ECI 546, ECI 524 and ECI 508 contribute greatly to the final synthesis of this study. Besides, other specialty coursework like ECI 620, ECI 550 and FLE 402 provides many inputs as well. A comprehensive research on American’s prevailing educational policies and practices is conducted based on these courses. After comparing with China, two guiding values of Education for Sustainable Development and Cosmopolitanism are proposed in this project so as to optimize the current education system and practices in China for achieving SDG 4. Specifically, Education for Sustainable Development “empowers learners to take informed decisions and responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society, for present and future generations, while respecting cultural diversity. It is about lifelong learning, and is an integral part of quality education.” In addition, as advocated by Appiah, cosmopolitanism means “we have obligations to others, obligations that stretch beyond those to whom we are related by the ties of kith and kind … taking an interest in the practices and beliefs that lead them significance” (p xv).
As a HR of over five years' working experiences in BRS, I integrate what I've acquired at the NLGL Program with the actual situations in China's education for seeking answers to the compelling question that is mentioned in the first place. In this synthesis, four sub themes are illustrated from the perspective of K-12 schools: teacher leadership, foreign experts, curriculum and instruction and K-12 education system. These four sections assemble plans of actions and leadership advocacy for accomplishing quality education by 2030.
As a HR of over five years' working experiences in BRS, I integrate what I've acquired at the NLGL Program with the actual situations in China's education for seeking answers to the compelling question that is mentioned in the first place. In this synthesis, four sub themes are illustrated from the perspective of K-12 schools: teacher leadership, foreign experts, curriculum and instruction and K-12 education system. These four sections assemble plans of actions and leadership advocacy for accomplishing quality education by 2030.