Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A university tracking and reporting the number of STEM scholarships it awards annually to students from least-developed countries, aligned to SDG target 4.b.
Editorial commentary
SDG 4 comprises 10 targets covering primary and secondary education completion, early childhood development, technical and vocational skills, gender equality in education, literacy and numeracy, education for sustainable development and global citizenship, education infrastructure and scholarships, and the supply of qualified teachers. Research contributions to SDG 4 span education science, learning analytics, equity research, pedagogy, EdTech, teacher development, and meta-research on educational interventions. UNESCO leads global SDG 4 coordination through the SDG-Education 2030 Steering Committee.
The targets most relevant to research reporting
- Target 4.3 — “By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.”
- Target 4.b — “By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries… for enrolment in higher education, including… technical, engineering and scientific programmes,” tracked via indicator 4.b.1 (volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships).
- Target 4.7 — “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development… including through education for sustainable development.”
Target 4.b’s stated 2020 date has passed; UNESCO’s monitoring treats the underlying goal (expanding higher-education scholarships to developing countries) as ongoing rather than closed, and 4.b.1 remains a live indicator research funders report against.
Worked example (illustrative)
Illustrative composite: a university reporting the number of scholarships it awards annually to students from least-developed countries in STEM programmes, as a contribution metric aligned to target 4.b, alongside its own institutional sustainability report — a concrete way SDG 4 shows up in a research organisation’s external reporting rather than as an abstract policy reference.
Related pages
See also SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
References
- UN Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 4 (sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4).
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, SDG 4 monitoring.
Also known as
SDG 4 · Quality Education SDG
Machine-readable encodings
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