What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country)?
The Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) is a monitoring tool built to track the Belém Framework for Action (BFA), adopted by 144 UNESCO Member States at the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) in 2009. GRALE monitors whether UNESCO Member States are putting their international ALE commitments into practice. The reports combine survey data, policy analyses and case studies to provide policy-makers and practitioners with sound recommendations and examples of good practice. They present strong evidence on how ALE can help countries address current and future challenges, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
The tool, a set of questions in a survey, has been developed through four cycles administered by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in consultation with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), with input from experts and external partners in the field.
GRALE 4 has been designed to monitor the ALE activities of Member States since 2015, in line with the commitments made in the BFA, in terms of policies, governance, participation, finance and quality of provision. The monitoring tool for GRALE 4, a survey for self-reporting, was adapted from GRALE 3. Published in 2016, GRALE 3 collected information from the Member States on the five areas of commitment for ALE.
GRALE 4 follows up Member States’ implementation of the Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education (RALE). Adopted in 2015, RALE sets out principles and goals for ALE and identifies specific ways in which countries can make progress.
GRALE 4 reflects data submitted by 159 countries. It calls for a major change in the approach to ALE, backed by adequate investment to ensure that everyone can access and benefit from ALE and that its contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is fully realized.
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
A total of 159 countries (157 Member States and two Associate Member States) responded to GRALE 4, up from 139 for GRALE 3. The response rate increased from 71% in 2015 for GRALE 3 to 80% for GRALE 4. Regionally, 33 countries returned the monitoring template in sub-Saharan Africa (72% participation rate); 18 in the Arab States (90% participation rate); 6 in Central Asia (67% participation rate); 25 in East Asia and the Pacific (78% participation rate); 8 in South and West Asia (89% participation rate); 20 in Central and Eastern Europe (95% participation rate); 22 in North America and Western Europe (81% participation rate); and 27 in Latin America and the Caribbean (79% participation rate). Particularly important is the increase in participation rates from countries in the Arab States from 65% in GRALE 3 to 90% in GRALE 4, as well as in East Asia and the Pacific from 45% in GRALE 3 to 78% in GRALE 4.
Although the overall participation rate in GRALE 4 is significantly higher than in GRALE 3, potentially indicating the usefulness of the survey and willingness of Member States to monitor ALE, 20% of Member States (39 countries) did not participate in GRALE 4. Furthermore, the overall participation rate is affected by a lack of responses to certain questions in the monitoring tool. As with GRALE 3, GRALE 4 does not attempt to achieve representativeness by weighting responses but instead presents the number of responses and the percentage it represents of participating countries.
The GRALE 4 survey asked Member States to report which government ministries provided input in response to the survey. Globally, 85% of countries reported that the ministry of education was involved in providing input to responses. A further 18% of countries reported that the ministry of social affairs contributed and 14% mentioned contribution by the ministry of labour. This trend is similar across regions and income groups, showing that the government ministry mostly responsible for providing input on monitoring ALE is education.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
The GRALE series provides a means of monitoring ALE at the global level. Each report provides an overview of the latest data and evidence on ALE, highlights good practice and focuses on Member States’ commitments to improving ALE. By gathering and analysing national reports on ALE based on a structured questionnaire, GRALE encourages Member States to assess their own national systems and consider progress in each of the areas identified in the Belém Framework for Action. Publication of the report is followed up with a range of events at which the findings are discussed with a variety of partners. GRALE therefore fosters self-reflection, dialogue and mutual learning on how to measure ALE and improve policies and practices.
The ultimate aim of the GRALE series is to increase awareness of ALE across the globe and to advocate for higher levels of interest from policy-makers. At the same time, the reports encourage dialogue and peer learning among a wide range of stakeholders in Member States. GRALE 4 considers who takes part in adult learning and education and makes the case for increasing and widening participation. It is hoped that these insights will galvanize the efforts of Member States and the international policy community to realize the potential contribution of ALE to SDG 4 and to the wider sustainability agenda.
The response rate and quality of responses from countries to current and past GRALE surveys help to animate a global ‘picture’ of ALE across regions and over time.
GRALE 4 (Chapter 10) considers what we know about patterns of inequality in participation across the globe, with specific reference to women, ethnic minorities, migrants, refugees, older adults, the low-skilled, people with disabilities and people living in remote and rural areas. It explores what has helped to promote a wider culture of learning and stimulate motivation to participate, as well as what specific patterns of ALE provision have a proven track record in promoting greater equality and inclusion in ALE participation. It considers how ALE can help promote the inclusion of migrants and refugees and demonstrates why these attempts of further inclusion are essential in the light of the sustainability agenda.
The report identifies the major barriers hindering adults’ participation in ALE (Chapter 11). As with the reporting of barriers in previous GRALE reports, a distinction is made between situational, institutional and dispositional barriers; it also presents potential ways to address these barriers, focusing on increasing awareness of ALE, unequal participation as a result of adults’ working situations, the need for more ALE financing and the role of information and communication technology (ICT) and liberal education in extending the strong economic focus of current ALE initiatives.
The report concludes by identifying the main lessons learned from the GRALE 4 process, with a particular focus on policy implications (Chapter 13). It summarizes progress in respect of the BFA, discusses the extent to which it is possible to draw conclusions in respect of RALE and assesses critically the existing goals and frameworks on which the report draws.
References:
UIL. 2019. 4th Global Report on Adult Learning and Education: Leave no one behind: Participation, equity and inclusion. [online] Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372274 [Accessed 15 August 2020].
UIL. n.d. Global Report - GRALE. [online] Available at: https://uil.unesco.org/adult-education/global-report [Accessed 15 August 2020].