Education 2030 adopted in September 2015, as fourth of SDGs emphasizes quality education, above all, learning outcomes. Meanwhile, aid increasingly uses results-based financing, moving away from conventional projects in favor of program approach in line with principles of Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, although evidence suggests that budget support has failed to achieve learning improvement. Emerging approaches to the new education agenda are characterized by emphasis on system and assessment.
The paper covers issues of educational development and aid after Jomtien World Conference on Education for All of 1990 and (1) re-contextualizes significance today of SDG4 and clarify challenges, (2)examines features and identifies gaps of the ‘mainstream approach’ of international cooperation for educational development, in comparison with existing and emerging alternative approaches, and (3) present actions needed to ensure policy-implementation-results linkage that will more likely achieve learning improvement and its outcomes.