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Challenging Norms: The Drive for Equitable Education
Criticism of standard education often stems from the fear that it reinforces societal disparities. Educators, however, are actively working to diversify perspectives and challenge established norms. By looking beyond traditional methods, we hope to create a learning environment where all students, particularly those from marginalized groups, can succeed. Education must not only impart knowledge, but also cultivate a sense of civic duty.
SDG 4, one of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, focuses on educational equity. What are some of the biggest challenges in implementing SDG 4 globally?
In SSRN, researchers Baiju Parakkal Anthony and Anupam Yadav (of Birla Institute of Science and Technology, in India) explore this question in their article, “The Significance of Feminist Advocacy Practices for SDG 4.” Specifically, the researchers investigate the role of feminist advocacy in achieving SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive education and lifelong learning. Anthony and Yadav argue that education must actively challenge dominant social norms and power structures that marginalize certain groups. The incorporation of feminist advocacy into educational methodologies, they argue, allows learning to become a transformative tool for empowerment.
A key theme in the article is the role of advocacy in promoting inclusion by amplifying marginalized voices. Advocacy promotes democratic participation in knowledge creation, shifting education away from institutionalized narratives and towards more inclusive practices. Teachers play a fundamental role in this process by nurturing critical awareness. The researchers also critique social “imaginaries”—deeply embedded societal beliefs that shape knowledge—distinguishing between “instituted imaginaries” that reinforce power structures and “instituting imaginaries” that challenge and transform them. Feminist advocacy seeks to dismantle exclusionary imaginaries by reimagining knowledge systems to be more representative of diverse perspectives.
The researchers also analyze two educational initiatives in India, BBBP and ULLAS, to demonstrate advocacy's impact. BBBP promotes girls' education, but faces criticism for excessive publicity spending, while ULLAS focuses on lifelong learning, but could benefit from integrating “feminist ecological thinking,” an interdisciplinary concept that combines feminist theory with ecological perspectives in order to address the interconnectedness of gender and environmental issues.
The researchers acknowledge that advocacy faces resistance from entrenched power structures and, if not critically examined, can unintentionally sustain ignorance, rather than challenge it. Effective advocacy requires continuous reflection. Ultimately, they argue that feminist advocacy is essential for achieving SDG 4, as it transforms education from a system that reinforces inequalities into a tool for social change. Addressing power dynamics in knowledge production helps create a more equitable learning environment for all students.
This approach, however, does raise concerns about politicizing education and diverting focus from core academic skills. When it comes to “challenging dominant social norms,” which norms do we mean, exactly? Some established hierarchies and structures of authority are woven into the institutional structure itself, for better or for worse. And many parents would ultimately prefer a neutral, skills-based education over one that prioritizes concepts of social justice.
For a bit more background: Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG 4 focuses on ensuring equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. It recognizes education as a fundamental human right, and a key driver of sustainable development; it also aims to address disparities in access to education and improve learning outcomes worldwide.
SDG 4 also includes specific targets, such as universal access to primary and secondary education, early childhood development, technical and vocational training, and eliminating gender disparities in education. It also emphasizes the importance of quality teaching and policies that support lifelong learning. While significant progress has been made globally in increasing school enrollment rates, challenges such as poverty and gender inequality continue to hinder educational access and quality, especially in developing regions. SDG 4 seeks to tackle these issues by encouraging governments, along with educators themselves, to work towards more effective education systems.