Pathways to change: The transformative potential of human rights and sustainable development in and through education

The international human rights framework and United Nations’ Agenda 2030 with its Sustainable Development Goals are two closely linked frameworks. Agenda 2030 has galvanized much interest and action within the education sector around Education for Sustainable Development. The human rights framework, with its calls for Human Rights Education, provides a legal imperative for embedding these pedagogies in education. This article argues that for the education sector, unifying actions and embracing the two pedagogies of Education for Sustainable Development and Human Rights Education can form a foundation for a new social contract for education. For these frameworks to meet their potential in education, they must be embedded at both curricular and institutional levels. We will need robust and committed governance at national and institutional levels for these approaches to achieve their transformational potential.