When did “eliminating gender inequality” become a priority for the DOE?

Spencer Irvine writes at Accuracy in Academia.

Dept. of Ed Goes Global

The U.S. Department of Education’s report, “Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement” tries to show how American students will gain more international experience. The report features six quotes by the department secretary Arne Duncan, with phrases such as “recipe for protectionism and global strife,” “grow the pie for all” or “compassionate neighbors” and “global society.” Here are the six quotes, with the corresponding dates, in full:

• “The economic future of the United States rests not only on its ability to strengthen our education system but also on citizens in other nations raising their living standards. Thinking of the future as a contest among nations vying for larger pieces of a finite economic pie is a recipe for protectionism and global strife. Expanding educational attainment everywhere is the best way to grow the pie for all.”  –March 3, 2011
• “We must focus on integrating international perspectives into our classrooms. It is through education and exchange that we become better collaborators, competitors and compassionate neighbors in this global society.” –November 14, 2011
• “To be on track today for college and careers, students need the 21^st century skills that are so vital to success in the global economy. They need to show that they can analyze and solve complex problems, communicate clearly, synthesize information, apply knowledge, and generalize learning to other settings.” –March 14, 2012
• “America is too far behind other countries in terms of math and science. Top students from around the world are more likely to be bilingual or even trilingual than our children.” –October 2, 2012
• “I am committed to benchmarking the practices and performance of top-performing countries because it can help America accelerate achievement and elevate the teaching profession. I am convinced that education leaders can better boost student learning by working together and sharing best practices, than by working alone.” –May 24, 2011
• “Education is now the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace. And in a knowledge economy, education is the new currency by which nations maintain economic competitiveness and global prosperity. Education today is inseparable from the development of human capital.” –March 3, 2011

The goals of the Department of Education, as they outline, are “a world-class education for all students; global competencies for all students; international benchmarking and applying lessons learned from other countries; and education diplomacy and engagement with other countries.” The report says that their strategy “reflects ongoing work in implementing international education programs, participating in international benchmarking activities, and working closely with other countries and multilateral organizations.”