Report about Education

"There are still 58 million children out of school globally and around 100 million children
who do not complete primary education. Inequality in education has increased, with the
poorest and most disadvantaged shouldering the heaviest burden. The world’s poorest
children are four times more likely not to go to school than the world’s richest children,
and five times more likely not to complete primary school. Conflict remains a steep
barrier, with a high and growing proportion of out-of-school children living in conflict
zones. Overall, the poor quality of learning at primary level still has millions of children
leaving school without basic skills.
What is more, education remains under-financed. Many governments have increased
spending, but few have prioritized education in national budgets, and most fall short of
allocating the recommended 20% needed to bridge funding gaps. The picture is similar
with donors, who, after an initial boost in aid budgets, have reduced aid to education
since 2010 and not sufficiently prioritized those countries most in need."
New education targets must be specific, relevant and measurable.
Marginalized and disadvantaged groups, hardest to reach and still not enjoying their
right to education, must be a priority. "
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf

One of STEP’s innovations was to develop
measurements for soft skills such as social
adjustment, openness to learning, confidence and
sense of security.
STEP attempted to create a
cross-culturally valid set of indicators for non-
cognitive socio-emotional skills that matter for
other outcomes. After extensive pilot testing,
the survey included a self-report of personality
traits and behaviour that were transferable and
could be considered non-cognitive or soft skills.
STEP confirmed the value of soft skills in general,
and more specifically found that ‘openness’
has positive effects on earnings, even when the
positive effect of years of education is taken into
account. ICT skills, measured by frequency of
computer use, were shown to have a similar
positive effect.