EDUCATION AS ONE OF THE CORE INDICATIORS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WESTERN BALKANS
Abstract
Sustainable development implies growth that needs to be inclusive and environmentally in order to reduce poverty and create current prosperity, having in mind at the same time the needs of future generations. The multidimensional nature of sustainable development includes economic growth, environmental stewardship and social inclusion. In order to formulate effective policies and strategies, the creators of development policies need adequate information related to all vital determinants of sustainability. Therefore, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has developed the CSD Indicators of Sustainable Development. The CSD indicators contain a core set of 50 indicators related to 14 main themes. Education, as one of the core indicators of sustainable development is a measure of human capital and therefore a major element of economic growth and development. Based on the Human development report that provides information related to education, the paper explores changes in the level of education of the Western Balkans (Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania) for the period from 2005 to 2012. The aim of the analysis is to identify the position of Western Balkan countries with regards to education, and to explore critical determinants that require urgent and considerable development. The methods used in this paper are analysis, synthesis, comparison, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The research results show that Western Balkan countries have the potential to improve all determinants of education as one of the core CSD indicators and contribute to their sustainable development.
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