Although your students are currently learners, there will come a time when they will have to face the job market. For this reason, working on SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in the classroom is essential, as it will help your students become more aware of what they will encounter once they enter the professional world.
In this blog post, we want to dive deeper into what the Sustainable Development Goals are, what SDG 8 consists of, and practical strategies to develop it in class with your students.
Remember that this article is part of a series dedicated to the SDGs. We encourage you to take a look at other posts from the same series, such as:
Do You Know What the SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals – Are?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of the 2030 Agenda, an action plan promoted by the UN to build a fairer and more sustainable future. They consist of 17 global goals that aim to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure a dignified life for all people. Each goal is interconnected, addressing the major social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time together.
The 17 SDGs are:
- No Poverty
- Zero Hunger
- Good Health and Well-being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Affordable and Clean Energy
- Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
- Life Below Water
- Life on Land
- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Partnerships for the Goals
Working on the SDGs in the classroom helps students develop a critical and committed perspective toward today’s global challenges. In this post, you’ll find proposals and practical resources to incorporate SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth into your lessons. Let’s go!
What Is SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth About?
SDG 8 aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, as well as decent work and productive employment for all. It’s not only about achieving sustained economic growth but ensuring that it benefits everyone in a way that respects the environment.
With SDG 8, the goal is for everyone to have the opportunity to obtain dignified and productive work that provides economic security, safe working conditions, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. This is supported by UN data, which indicates that although global unemployment has decreased, 25% of young people are neither employed nor in education or training, with this issue being more severe among women.
Another aspect of SDG 8 is eradicating labor exploitation and child labor, which still exist in many countries (more than 138 million children are affected by it).
Integrating SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in the classroom helps students prepare for the future and raises awareness of the importance of developing innovation and critical thinking skills, which are essential today to secure decent employment.
Practical Strategies to Apply SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in the Classroom
At this point, you already know what this SDG is about. Now, you may be wondering: how can I apply SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in my classroom? Here are some practical strategies to help you work on it, no matter your subject!
Analysis of Inspiring Stories
A great way to address SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in the classroom is to watch (or read) and analyze inspiring stories centered around decent work. You can look for newspaper articles or documentaries that showcase people in dignified jobs or address issues such as the eradication of child labor.
Some examples of inspiring stories include:
- Documentary: La Fageda: A Factory with Purpose
- Audio Story: Flecha Pursues Her Goal
- Tedx Talk: The Keys to Social Entrepreneurship
This is just a small selection, as there are many more free resources that will inspire your students. If you use Additio App, it’s very easy to share these resources with your students through the Resources section. You can send files, videos, infographics… whatever you like! This is especially useful if you use flipped classroom methodologies.
Once in class, you can easily and dynamically assess the students’ understanding of the materials using interactive quizzes. You can customize them with as many questions as you want and different types of answers.
Integrating content on Entrepreneurship, Equality, or Inclusion into the curriculum
Another straightforward way to apply SDG 8 in class is to integrate it directly into your subject content. You can create content around entrepreneurship, equal pay, inclusion… And remember, all subjects can address these topics!
- For example, you can explore equal pay through Math exercises or in Economics classes.
- Entrepreneurship can be a key topic in History, as all inventions were the result of entrepreneurial people in their time.
- You can debate texts about decent work in Language and Literature classes.
- And much more!
If you decide to incorporate this SDG into your subjects, don’t forget to include it in your lesson plans.
Promoting the development of essential skills for today’s job market
Another way to integrate SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth into the classroom is by proposing activities and projects that develop key skills that are essential in today’s job market.
Indeed, to access decent employment, it is increasingly crucial for people to have certain competencies and skills. We’re talking about critical and analytical thinking, creativity, innovation, flexibility, emotional intelligence, digital skills, teamwork, leadership, empathy…
Therefore, when you design tasks and exercises, make sure they help develop these skills and competencies. This will help your students be better prepared for their professional future.
Skills-based assessment can help you better analyze how your students are developing these skills. At Additio App, we make it very easy so you can focus on teaching!
What other ideas do you have to work on SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth in the classroom?
Surely, you have some great ideas that could inspire the rest of the educational community. Share them with us on social media! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
Remember that with Additio App, you can carry out competency-based assessment that puts students at the center of the learning process, keeping them informed about their progress and helping them identify strengths and areas for improvement.
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See you in the next post!
