UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Achievable With New Models of Learning, Assessment

In the 1970’s, Finland had an economic crisis. The stakeholders concurred that education was the foundation to improve quality of life and build a sustainable society for all its citizens. To achieve education excellence, the Finns looked beyond academic achievement and built a new model that was equitable, accessible and flexible, giving priority to human well-being, quality of life and happiness. Today, Finland is one of the world’s leading models for quality education.

Global education publisher, advocate and futurist C.M. Rubin believes the world now faces a similar crisis. Since 2015, Rubin has been a contributor to the OECD’s four-year Future of Education and Skills 2030 study and the just released Learning Compass framework. The OECD’s new framework sets out a shared vision by widespread international stakeholders for what students should learn to be ready for the future. “Our planet faces numerous challenges as identified in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” says Rubin. “I believe that every global challenge we face, whether it be climate change, health and well-being, wealth inequality, gender equality, or peace and prosperity can be conquered if we are willing to pioneer new models of lifelong learning and assessment.” She adds, “Our world has changed. Smart machines have edged their way into virtually every domain. What makes us human now matters more than ever. We need to understand our complex problems and determine what kind of learning models will resolve them.”

CMRubinWorld launched in 2010 to explore what kind of education would prepare students to succeed in a rapidly changing globalized world. Its award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, is a celebrated trailblazer in the renaissance of the 21st century, and occupies a special place in the pulse of key issues facing every nation and the collective future of all children. It connects today’s top thought leaders with a diverse global audience of parents, students and educators. Its highly readable platform allows for discourse concerning our highest ideals and the sustainable solutions we must engineer to achieve them. C. M. Rubin has published hundreds of interviews and articles discussing an expansive array of topics under a singular vision: when it comes to the world of children, there is always more work to be done.