Building confidence for a sustainable future - evaluating education for sustainable development

What is the role of education and skills in building a sustainable future? How does education and training support equity, environmental and economic sustainability and social inclusion? How can we ensure that the education and training system achieves its objectives? Education evaluation has an important role to play in this respect, as a provider of national knowledge and as a support for the development of education and training providers and higher education institutions. 

This article launches FINEEC's blog series on sustainable development. The series will focus on FINEEC's goals and principles for promoting sustainable development. In this blog post, we explain what FINEEC is committed to, what the evaluation results show about sustainable development in education and early childhood education and care, and what kind of evaluations we will carry out in the coming years.

Three key objectives for the evaluation of education

The Finnish education system is in a state of constant change, and evaluation information is needed to improve education. FINEEC updated its strategy in the context of its new four-year evaluation plan for the years 2024-2027 and set a vision to build confidence for a sustainable future through education evaluation. This vision has not been created in a vacuum - it is the result of a wide-ranging collaboration, in which hundreds of education stakeholders from different levels of education have brought us their views on national evaluation priorities and future directions. 

Drawing on extensive stakeholder consultations, the FINEEC has identified three strategic objectives to guide national evaluation across the education system, from early childhood education and care to higher education and liberal adult education:

1️ Raising skills and educational attainment - How do we ensure that education provides equal opportunities for all to develop and succeed?

 2️ Promoting sustainability - How does education and training support social, environmental and economic sustainability?

 3️ Continuously improving the quality of education and early childhood education and care - How do we ensure that education is of high quality and responsive to the needs of a changing society?

Education, skills and sustainable lifestyles - the cornerstones of sustainable development

FINEEC is committed to promoting sustainable development in line with the UN's Agenda2030 for Sustainable Development. The Finnish Commission for Sustainable Development's roadmap and strategy 2022-2030 identifies six areas of change for Finland, of which Education, Skills and Sustainable Lifestyles is a particular area of change focusing on education. 

According to the Finnish Commission for Sustainable Development's strategy, learning and education are keys to social change. According to the strategy, change towards a more sustainable society is made possible by changes in worldview, broader and deeper understanding and new knowledge and skills. It is expressed in knowledge, creativity and a sense of responsibility and ownership that extends across generations. The Sustainable Development strategy is based on the premise that education, science, culture and the arts maintain and renew the identity of individuals and communities and provide tools for understanding the relationship and interaction between humans and nature (Prime Minister's Office, 2022.)

According to the Sustainable Development strategy, in the area of education and training, sustainable development change requires

- renewing the value base of society and mainstreaming sustainable lifestyles

- strengthening understanding and skills for sustainable development

- promoting cooperation between formal, non-formal and informal education (Prime Minister's Office, 2022.)

Evaluation of education and training to support change 

Comprehensive and reliable evaluation data on sustainability competences and on cooperation between education and training actors and modes are needed to support change in sustainable development. The promotion of education, skills and sustainable lifestyles requires evaluation methods that can view education as a systemic phenomenon and identify interlinkages in a changing context. Cross-sectoral evaluation of societal activities and interactions is also needed. 

In its evaluations, FINEEC monitors the implementation of the sustainable principles of education and training and contributes to their development. But what does this mean in practice? The projects included in the four-year evaluation plan for education 2024-2027 will provide information in particular on social sustainability. Social sustainability means developing an education system that promotes well-being and equality for learners and staff alike. Socially sustainable development aims to reduce inequalities by ensuring equal opportunities and rights to education and early childhood education and care. Strengthening communities and involving them in development and decision-making are important elements of social sustainability. Access to and quality of education are also key elements in promoting social sustainability.

FINEEC produces evaluation data on, for example, supply and accessibility of education and early childhood education and care as well as equality. For early childhood education and care, we evaluate in particular the provision of early childhood education for children aged three and under. For general education, we evaluate the framework conditions for general upper secondary education and for vocational education and training, we evaluate employment. The development of teacher training and continuing education of teachers and pedagogical leadership are key elements in promoting sustainable development. These are also topics for the cross-degree evaluation to be carried out in 2024–2026. We will also evaluate the social impact and accessibility of liberal adult education. Evaluations of learning outcomes in primary and lower secondary education and vocational education and training will also provide valuable information on how education can contribute to social sustainability. In addition to the above, we have launched an evaluation to provide information on the implementation and status of sustainability skills across the different levels of education.

Evaluating the strategic themes of sustainable development will help steer education and society towards a more sustainable future. Evaluations can strengthen the capacity of education systems and organisations to change and adapt, and help actors in the field of education to prepare for the future. The findings of the evaluations will be used to develop tools and practical solutions, to identify ‘levers of systemic change’ and to make recommendations for improving education.

Participation brings trust and hope

FINEEC's evaluations are based on the principles of enhancement-led evaluation. Enhancement-led evaluation emphasises the involvement and participation of the subjects of the evaluation. Systemic change requires that all actors at different levels of the education system are involved in promoting sustainable development principles as part of their own work. The transformation of sustainable development requires change at many levels. Profound change occurs at the level of individuals, communities and organisations in terms of mindsets and practices.

Finland's sustainable development strategy emphasises the message of hope. The strategy highlights that participation in change can bring meaning to people's lives. The principles of FINEEC's enhancement-led evaluation include the importance of involving children and young people in development and thus supporting them in taking responsibility for their own actions. The principles of enhancement-led evaluation include a message of hope and participation that helps build trust in a sustainable future.

FINEEC attaches great importance to the principles of sustainable development in its evaluations. FINEEC wants to promote the principles of sustainable development and a sustainable future for all. Now more than ever, perseverance, trust and courage are needed to move towards the goals of sustainable development.

Written by

Hannele Seppälä, Marja-Liisa Saarilammi, Risto Hietala & Tarja Frisk