Professor Nienke van Atteveldt supervises UNESCO education report

UNESCO is calling on policymakers worldwide to re-evaluate education systems. Governments, education policymakers and senior decision-makers must recognise that personalised education is a human right for every student. This is evident from UNESCO MGIEP's new International Science and Evidence Based Education (ISEE) Assessment report that recommends using a cognitive-emotional approach to learning in education that nurtures the development of the whole brain, rather than focusing on cognitive functions. Also, each child should be their own benchmark when evaluating learning. Since 2019, VU Professor Nienke van Atteveldt (Mind, brain & education) has been co-chairing the project with more than 300 experts from 45 countries, together with co-chair Anantha Duraiappah, director of UNESCO MGIEP and VU lecturer and researcher Marieke Buil (Developmental Psychology).  
 
Personalised education
Van Atteveldt emphasizes that a shift in the focus of education is needed: "The current education policy with a focus on meritocracy has unintentionally contributed to increasing inequality, new forms of 'elitism' and a focus on the individual, both internationally and in the Netherlands. In order to reshape education, a shift is needed, among other things, to emphasize learning potential instead of merit, and that education must simultaneously stimulate both cognitive and social-emotional development."

The report also shows that 80% of education itself, such as teachers, students but also parents, want exactly what personalized education can offer. Van Atteveldt: "This is now possible with the support of digital pedagogy, where it is important that it is implemented ethically. We can ensure that each student receives the quality education they are entitled to, work at their own pace and are their own benchmark for maximising their potential to flourish."

Governments responsible 
The report mainly appeals to governments on their responsibility that personalised education is a human right for every pupil and calls on them to make more investment; money that should be spent mainly on the cognitive-emotional approach proposed by UNESCO in education. The report also calls for future education policy to be guided by science and evidence and a multidisciplinary dialogue.  
 
However, the report notes that advances in education are constantly threatened by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More than a third of refugee children of primary school age do not attend school and only 24% have access to secondary education. Access to higher education is a dismal 3% among refugee populations. "We need to address issues such as the fact that 40% of the world's population does not have access to education in a language they understand and build a resilient education system for the future," van Atteveldt said. 

Over UNESCO (MGIEP)
The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), in New Delhi, India, was established with the support of the Indian government and is an integral part of UNESCO. It is the first and only Category 1 research institute in Asia-Pacific and focuses on achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 towards education to promote peaceful and sustainable societies. Unesco MGIEP's Social Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions are based on the science of learning and aim to build intellectual and emotional intelligence in learners through innovative pedagogies.

Full report: https://mgiep.unesco.org/iseeareport