Chapter 9: Case Studies

In this section, we turn to two case studies to discuss and exemplify efforts at educational reform and the pursuit of SDG Four. The case studies highlight the issues, complexities and challenges involved in pursuing SDG Four, as well as the progress made to-date, across two seemingly dissimilar country contexts – Latvia, a country in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe and Jamaica, a Small Island Development State in the Caribbean. As much of the literature on inclusivity and associated paradigms such as ESD has a predominantly geographic focus on the Global North, we wished to ‘disrupt’ this slightly by focussing on a setting (or settings) that are not usually at the forefront of the literature. It is hoped that the case studies can serve as useful examples from which lessons can be drawn as efforts are made to pursue the current global developmental agenda and, in particular, SDG Four.