CIES 2014 "Revisioning Education For All

For more than half a century, the notion of “education for all” has formed an aspirational horizon for national policy makers and global governors in education. The phrase first emerged at the time of the formation of UNESCO, alongside the recognition of education as a universal human right. “Education for all” returned as the central organizing theme for World Conferences in Jomtien (1990) and in Senegal (2000). It continues to frame global social imaginaries about the actionable links between learning systems and social justice. Yet almost seventy years later, global institutions, national policy makers, civil society organizations and citizens struggle and compete to give tangible meaning to EFA.

Is EFA the right frame, the right social imaginary, for global and national education goals? Or is it a frame that has outlived its utility and relevance? Critics have argued that EFA is meaningless if it does not address equity of learning outcomes and bridge widening inequality of access to higher levels of learning. Some view EFA as too tightly tied to traditional models of schooling, outdated in a time of massive technological innovation. Others are intent on adding new, highly prescriptive learning goals into a post 2015 vision for EFA. More broadly, EFA has been viewed as a Western effort to legitimate economic globalization – providing little more than a bandage on more grievous forms of social injustices within and across nations. Yet others note that the EFA agenda has played an important role in one of the most rapid expansions of access to schooling in modern history.

CIES Toronto will provide a unique opportunity to reflect on EFA during the final months leading up to the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We will ask conference participants, including researchers, representatives of global institutions, civil society, and education practitioners, to explore the adequacy and future of EFA, moving us beyond the historical focus on access to basic schooling. Our goal will be to spark new conversations about inequality, inclusion and innovation both inter-nationally and within nations and about global governance in education.

We also encourage scholars of other levels of education – from early childhood through to adult education and tertiary level learning, as well as those interested in learning outside formal educational systems - to share their views on a reinvigorated framing of the “education for all” concept.