Engagement Strategies in Unesco's Sdg4 Document: an Appraisal Theory Analysis

Abstract

As a major actor in global education governance, UNESCO not only sets policy direction but also builds legitimacy through language strategies that carry ideological meaning. Therefore, analyzing Engagement strategies in its official discourse is essential to uncover the hidden evaluative dimensions, especially in how global ideological meanings are shaped and communicated. This study aims to identify the types of Engagement strategies used in UNESCO’s document, analyze how they construct ideological meaning, and explore the motivations behind their use. It adopts a qualitative approach based on Miles and Huberman's model, using the framework of Appraisal Theory (Martin & White, 2005) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as framed by Teun van Dijk to examine the ideological structures in the text. The main data source is the 2024 UNESCO document United for SDG4: The Global Education Coalition in Action, which spans 103 pages. A total of 523 clauses were analyzed at the level of words, phrases, and clauses. The findings show that monoglossic strategies are the most dominant (51.4%), often used to present claims as single truths and reinforce institutional authority. Meanwhile, heteroglossic strategies (48.6%) are mostly realized through the Entertain type (23.1%), which creates an appearance of openness, though still controlled by institutional narrative. These results reveal that the Engagement strategies in the UNESCO document are not merely rhetorical; they also function to realize neoliberal governmentality by normalizing logics of efficiency, performativity, and market-based partnerships in global education governance.