(1994). In Defense of Juvenile Court. Debate. Update on Law-Related Education, v18 n1 p33-36 Win. Describes the early history of the juvenile court system and ties it to the reforms of the U.S. Progressive Era. Examines the arguments of those who call for the abolition of juvenile courts. Concludes that much of the criticism is misplaced and that efforts should be made to make juvenile courts work rather than abolish them. (CFR)…
(2006). HIV & AIDS and Safe, Secure and Supportive Learning Environments. Good Policy and Practice in HIV & AIDS and Education. Booklet 2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Although there is a need for enhanced evidence-based information on successful HIV and AIDS education interventions, much has already been learnt about good practices and policies in the education sector's response to the pandemic. This booklet, to be used in tandem with others in the series, aims to further expand our knowledge by highlighting lessons learnt in the realm of safe, secure and supportive learning environments. The Good Policy and Practice in HIV & AIDS and Education series presents ideas, research results, policy and programmatic examples which project and policy developers and implementers can draw on as they prepare education systems to respond to the needs of HIV affected and infected learners and their communities. Understanding that the education system reaches beyond the traditional classroom into homes, communities, religious centres and other learning forums, this booklet addresses educational practices in both formal and non-formal learning environments. It… [PDF]
(2006). Spotlight on Speech Codes 2006: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation's Campuses. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (NJ1) This year, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) conducted an expansive study of just how pervasive and how onerous restrictions on speech are at America's colleges and universities. Between September 2005 and September 2006, FIRE surveyed over 330 schools and found that an overwhelming majority of them explicitly prohibit speech that, outside the borders of campus, is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Highlights from FIRE's research include: (1) Davidson College in North Carolina prohibits "comments or inquiries about dating," "patronizing remarks," "innuendoes," and "dismissive comments"; (2) At Jacksonville State University in Alabama, students can be punished if they "offend" anyone "on university owned or operated property"; and (3) At the University of Mississippi, "offensive language is not to be used" over the telephone. This report is intended to serve as a brief… [PDF]
(2006). Educating Citizens for Participatory Democracy: A Case Study of Local Government Education Policy in Pelotas, Brazil. International Journal of Educational Development, v26 n5 p456-470 Sep. A case study was undertaken of Pelotas, a large town in southern Brazil, where a recent government of the Workers' Party (PT) implemented a range of social policy reforms. The study draws on interviews with key members of the Municipal Secretariat of Education and policy documents, analyzing them in relation to theoretical literature on citizenship and education. The Pelotas approach is seen to be distinctive for its emphasis on active political participation as a citizen's right and as a means to social justice for all. The local government also places a higher value on critical and autonomous attitudes towards the authorities than on cultivating allegiance to the municipality or nation-state…. [Direct]
(2006). From Liberation to Human Rights: Challenges for Teachers of the "Burakumin" in Japan. Race, Ethnicity & Education, v9 n2 p183-202 Jul. The "Burakumin," a culturally defined minority group among ethnic Japanese, face continued discrimination even as effective national policies and programs offering educational and social equity are terminated. Based on interviews and conversations in Japan with activist educators, teachers and administrators, the schooling for children of "Burakumin" families is discussed in the context of human rights education and the changing economic and social context of urban Japan. Isolation combined with ostracization in a country where difference is seldom discussed have enabled the average Japanese to accept Government pronouncements of the eradication of discrimination. However, historical stereotypes, liberation struggles, and ambivalence about cultural identity continue to present teachers with difficult challenges in attaining the national goal of equal educational opportunity for all children…. [Direct]
(2006). Toward a Practical and Normative Ethics for Librarianship. Library Quarterly, v76 n3 p251-269 Jul. Just about everything that librarians do as professionals carries ethical implications. Matters of intellectual freedom are most commonly recognized as loci for ethics-based decision making, but the totality of individual and collective conduct is in need of practical, normative ethical structure. What is argued for here is a framework founded on rights. In order to achieve the goal of rights as foundation, processes of deliberation within librarianship must be established. The most attractive form of deliberation is discourse ethics that recognizes the dialectic nature of this (or any) profession. The result is an ethical state that serves the good of both the profession and communities…. [Direct]
(2006). Professional and Personal Values and Virtues in Education and Teaching. Oxford Review of Education, v32 n2 p171-183 May. This paper distinguishes the key dimensions of professional value in teaching under three headings: (i) deontic norms; (ii) aretaic norms; and (iii) technical norms. With regard to (i) it is held that aspects of the professional conduct of teachers are properly (though not exclusively) implicated in the observance of moral principles and duties–especially in so far as education may also be considered a human right. With regard to (ii), however, it is argued that professional development is not exhausted by fidelity to obligations, and also needs to be understood in terms of the development of personal qualities of character. That said, some criticism is here offered of a recent critique by Chris Higgins (2003) of the \ascetic\ ideal of teaching, and of his defence of a more \self-regarding\ conception of professional development. The final section of the paper argues that insofar as it seems difficult if not impossible to separate the technical from the moral in teacher expertise,… [Direct]
(2006). Terri Schiavo: A Disability Rights Case. Death Studies, v30 n2 p163-176 Mar. The author argues that Terri Schiavo was a \person with a disability\ who faced disability discrimination, a view that is consistent with national disability rights groups. The author notes that Schiavo was not \terminally ill\ and that feeding tubes should not be considered \medical equipment.\ The belief that people with severe disabilities want to die is questioned, since many people who acquire severe disabilities change their minds about suicide, and implications for advance directives are explored. Finally, the author notes that although Terri Schiavo was a disabled woman, women's groups did not take up her cause…. [Direct]
(2006). Challenges to Children's Independent Citizenship: Immigration, Family and the State. Childhood: A Global Journal of Child Research, v13 n1 p11-27. This article explores how recent federal legislation has increased the extent to which US children's citizenship is dependent upon their parents' citizenship, by contrasting children who are adopted internationally by US citizens and second-generation US children. Two interconnected phenomena are examined: (1) the broader material and theoretical relationships between children's membership in families and the state; and (2) the social, political and economic inequalities that exist between these two groups of child citizens. The article also discusses some practical and theoretical implications of these analyses, regarding the dependence of child citizenship and the multidimensionality of citizenship. (Contains 2 notes.)… [Direct]
(2006). The Scope of Justice for Muslim Americans: Moral Exclusion in the Aftermath of 9/11. Qualitative Report, v11 n3 p586-604 Sep. This paper details a social psychological study of prejudice and moral exclusion. We investigated whether participants, 47 non-Muslim U.S. citizens enrolled at a Midwestern university, considered Muslim Americans to be within their scope of justice, and whether principles of fairness, restitution, and corrective intervention would be applied to a stimulus Muslim family. Only about one-third of the sample indicated that the Muslim family fell within their scope of justice. Open-ended responses yielded three patterns: (1) threat and revenge toward the out-group; (2) concern with the rights of out-group members; and (3) disconnection from the out-group, along with ambivalence about justice issues. Although explicitly racist statements were detected, so too was a recognition of common humanity with out-group members. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)… [Direct]
(2006). The Right to Minority Language Public School Education as a Function of the Equality Guarantee: A Reanalysis of the "Gosselin" Supreme Court of Canada Charter Case. Education and the Law, v18 n4 p283-294 Dec. This paper concerns a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision dealing ostensibly with the protection of language minority rights. The case, in fact, however, concerns the Court imposing statutory limits on constitutionally guaranteed equality and liberty rights. The Court in the instant case held as constitutional Quebec legislation permitting access to English language schools "only" to children who have received, or are receiving the majority of their instruction in English in Canada, or whose parents received the majority of their instruction in English in Canada at the primary school level. The appellants, members of the French majority in Quebec, could not meet those eligibility criteria. Therefore, they were held to have no right to access English language public schools for their children. The ruling, as discussed, is inconsistent with the equality and liberty guarantees as well as the minority language protection clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and… [Direct]
(2006). Your Voice, Your Vote: A Lesson with Website Resources. Social Studies and the Young Learner, v19 n1 p32, 27 Sep-Oct. This article describes several websites that can be used to encourage students to vote. These include \The Democracy Project: Inside the Voting Booth\ sponsored by PBS. This site addresses three elementary topics: how one vote has made a difference in U.S. history, how the right to vote has gradually been expanded to include minorities (African Americans, women, Native Americans, and young Americans 18 years of age), and how one might vote on issues (a simulated ballot allows students to select their positions on some current issues). (Contains 7 notes.)… [Direct]
(2006). Universalizing Nine-Year Compulsory Education for Poverty Reduction in Rural China. International Review of Education, v52 n3-4 p261-286 May. Lack of access to basic education leads to diminished individual and national capabilities, therewith furthering cycles of poverty. An equitable education system meeting basic learning needs represents not only a human right, but also a means for reducing poverty, promoting productivity, and sustaining development. The Government of China–the most populous developing nation, the majority of whose citizens live in rural areas–has been committed to universalizing nine-year compulsory education among school-aged children and eliminating illiteracy among youths and adults aged 15-45. This study examines lessons learned from China's efforts in these areas. It also reports on current challenges and trends in a new national initiative for achieving high-quality universal basic education by the year 2007…. [Direct]
(2007). Hector Garcia Middle School: A School's Design Aspires to Live Up to Its Name. DesignShare (NJ1) Brown discusses the history of Hector Garcia, a Mexican immigrant who, as U.S. Army captain, worked diligently to assist minority servicemen in navigating the Veterans Administration, and found the GI Forum. Dr. Garcia's activism, through the Forum, was instrumental in desegregating hospitals, swimming pools, schools and cemeteries. Brown's case study on the school that will bear Garcia's name asks how a design team could relate civic virtues to future generations of young people. A number of features are highlighted, including: (1) Colorful classroom facades suggesting lively and diverse activities behind the walls; (2) Media center extending over the plaza, welcoming inquisitive minds into the school; (3) Compact, dynamic lobby serving as the social heart of the school; (4) Prominently-placed portrait of Hector Garcia; and (5) Expansive windows opening onto the city of Dallas. As organized, the school's planning responds both to the social organization of the educational program… [PDF]
(2007). Changes and Exchanges in Marginal Youth Transitions. Journal of Youth Studies, v10 n3 p353-371 Jul. While some groups of young people may negotiate successful transitions to work, others are unable or unlikely to do so. The concept of "fair exchange" is pertinent to understanding youth transitions in their formative stages through educational experiences. Patterns of disrupted education challenge the education-work nexus not only because failure in education may limit labour market competitiveness but because the perceived false promises of educational exchange, together with the immediate and available rewards of local cultural options, may, from young people's perspectives, necessitate alternative transitions. The ascendancies of risk management constitute the emergence of binary systems of youth governance in which youth are dichotomised as potential citizen-workers or people in need of control and discipline. The hardening of youth justice and the contraction of welfare constrict the legitimate places of youth participation. Yet marginalised youth do not necessarily… [Direct]