Rights,responsibilities and regulation – the three Rs of education: a consideration of the state's control over parental choice in education

Education is both a right and a responsibility. International instruments such as the International covenant on civil and political rights and the International convention on the rights of the child affirm the right of all children to education. This right is spelt out in the education legislation of all states and territories in Australia. Education is not only free but is compulsory for all children between certain ages. The obligation is imposed on parents (in accordance with definitions contained therein) to ensure that their children are both enrolled at and attend school. However, parental choice of education provider is allowed within each jurisdiction by way of state, private or church schools, all of which are registered and regulated to varying degrees by the state. The legislation of each jurisdiction also makes some degree of provision for parents who choose to opt out their children from any formal education setting and to educate them at home. Home education is also subject to state regulation. The assumption by the state of the responsibility for education guides this policy and legislation. The argument for state control of all education, no matter how and by whom it is provided, is that the state has an overriding interest in ensuring the economic well-being of its citizens and the growth of its intellectual capital. The state acknowledges that the responsibility for education is shared with parents, primarily by providing penalties for parents who fail to ensure enrolment and attendance of their children at a school. There is evidence that more and more parents in developed countries worldwide are choosing to educate their children at home, and anecdotal evidence suggests that Australia is part of this trend. To this end, this article critically examines the balance and relationship between the exercise of parental choice and responsibility in education, and state regulation and control. It does so by examining the means by which the legislation of different jurisdictions allows for choice in the exercise of the right to education, with particular reference to home education, places limitations on that choice and imposes control on the delivery of education outside state schools.     

论中小学生违法犯罪的学校原因及其预防

一直以来,学校教育在引导未成年学生时,尚存在空白或不完善的方面。贯彻执行教育方针不力;对差生简单粗暴,处理不当;对"好学生"的管理和教育存在偏差;管理中还存在不少漏洞等成为当前学校环境中引起中小学生违法犯罪的重要原因。在预防中小学生违法犯罪中,学校教育承担着不可缺少的重要作用。学校应该从素质教育的角度来加强未成年人违法犯罪预防工作。把德育放在学校素质教育的首位;加强对学生的法制教育;性教育课进课堂;将心理教育和辅导摆上重要位置;加强工读学校改革和建设是学校在预防中小学生违法犯罪中应该采取的重要举措。     

Educational policy of the German Bundesverfassungsgericht

This article analyses the jurisdiction of the German Federal Constitution Court over the basic rights of parents, pupils and private schools and the traditional interpretation of the term “supervision of schools by the state” in Art. 7 para 1 Grundgesetz. The term “school supervision by the state” is traditionally interpretated as the state's absolute rights with regard to organisation, planning, control and supervision of schools. The author argues for a new interpretation to limit such supervision to the question of the legality of school activities. Parents should have a free choice between private and state schools. For this it is necessary to give subsidies to private schools in a way that every pupil can enter a school without differentiation according to the social standards or the income of their parents. With these principles in mind, the German Federal Constitution Court tried in 1987 in exemplary fashion to harmonise the constitutional claim and the constitutional reality. However, its recent decisions cast doubt upon this positive assessment. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

法学院教育的地方化与国家化

正规的法学院教育在培养德才兼备的法律家,实现法律家之治的进程中意义重大,因此颇受各国重视。但是,我国由于多层次办学等诸多原因,造成法学院教育的地方化:学生招收、培养、就业地方化及法学教授的地方化,从而不利于法学综合素质和学术精神的培养,甚至会影响司法公正和依法治国的实现。应当统一法律教育,实行法学院教育的国家化,将法学院教育的管理权收归国家,并采取所有的法学院在全国招生、全国就业和某些特殊限制的相关制度。     

School Shootings and Security Lock-downs: Myths,Positive School Climates,and Safer Campuses

School shooting tragedies and the juvenile justice system’s movement toward a retributive and punitive framework gravely impacted how primary and secondary school students, disproportionately urban districts, used security measures to lock down campuses and build “fortress-like” schools. This iteration of control on school campuses emerged in tandem with the most recent generation’s zero tolerance approach to student violence and problems; a policy widely regarded as ineffective in urban, suburban, and rural districts. As school shootings continue to impact state legislative action and public reactions to school management, this paper takes a critical approach to school security policies and reviews the evidence on the risk for school violence and how to move away from student control approaches that do not improve school safety. Instead, the incorporation of prosocial education and school engagement efforts finds that school and student safety is improved. These, and related approaches to student body management, decreases campus violence and may also minimize the risk of some school shootings - as rare as these tragic incidents are across the nation’s schools. The interplay of schools, students, and the juvenile and family courts is ongoing. Knowing how school districts can best approach their campus environments, safety, and learning is important for school social workers and court personnel because of how often these systems work, or do not work, together.     

Empowerment and State Education: Rights of Choice and Participation

Two separate discourses surround the involvement of parents in their children's education in schools. One is concerned with what is often referred to as 'parent power,' based on the conferment on parents of rights to a degree of choice and participation in respect of their children's education, a feature of legislative changes to the governance of state education that started with the Education Act 1980 and which, in part, rests on consumerist and liberal rights based notions. The other focuses on the home-school partnership ideal in which parents and schools have obligations to support each other in realising children's potential. Labour and Conservative 2005 general election campaigns included proposals to 'empower' parents. But social rights such as those in education, which are important to notions of citizenship, tend to be weak. This article concludes that over the past 25 years little power has been ceded to parents, individually or collectively, and that, in the case of rights of choice at least, any further empowerment seems unrealistic. Moreover, the principal mechanism of parental involvement, particularly since 1997, has been the enforcement of parental responsibility, a form of 'technology of citizenship'. The extent to which children hold participation and choice rights is also considered.     

中小学当代主流价值观教育研究

我国中小学生在社会主义主流价值观的思想意识和实践行为方面需要全新检视,认真解读。八个方面的调研结果呈现性别差异、年龄差异、家庭背景差异和城乡差异。在微观层面,教师应加强主流价值观教育的针对性、趣味性,以提高教育的实效性。在中观层面,教育部门应大力改善家庭价值观教育的落后状况,努力营造良好的主流价值观教育环境。在宏观层面上,国家应该均衡发展区域教育,缩小城乡教育差距,加强城乡中小学教育的沟通与衔接。     

清除国家主义教育观的影响确立社会教育权的法律地位--写在《中华人民共和国民办教育促进法》实施之际

克服国家主义教育观的影响,通过宪法和法律确认社会教育权的法律地位;民办教育法首先应是民办教育振兴法,是民办学校及其教师、学生的权益保障法;法律应规范政府对民办学校的管理行为。     

Implications of the Human Rights Act (1998) for schools

The Human Rights Act 1998 finally came into operation on 2 October 2000 for all jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. The Act, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into the UKs domestic laws, means that it will be unlawful for public authorities, which includes the DfEE and LEAs, to act in a way which is incompatible with the fundamental human rights set out in the Convention (found in Schedule 1 to the HRA). Bodies such as schools and their governing bodies, whose functions are of a public nature, are also covered by the legislation. The articles of the Act which have a particular relevance for schools and education are identified. It is probable that pupils and their legal advisers will invoke the Act in disputes over a wide range of educational issues, for example, bullying, exclusions and suspensions. Some of these issues are examined and where possible existing European human rights case law is cited. It is likely that the HRA will create interesting legal challenges involving schools and education, some of which cannot be anticipated at the moment, and that the Act will cause changes to education laws and schools regulatory procedures .     

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF PARENT ADVOCACY FOR RIGHTS IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN CHINA

While children with disabilities experience exclusion and segregation in education, parents’ involvement has been very limited due to the lack of parent support in China. Negative attitudes toward disability in an environment deeply influenced by the individual model of disability thinking makes it crucial for parents to advocate for their children’s rights in inclusive education through collaborative and organized efforts. This article examines barriers obstructing disabled children’s rights in pursuing inclusive education, barriers parents face to advocate for their children, and the development of parent support. The author argues that equal and inclusive education for all has a broader social impact beyond disability rights to eliminate barriers and pursue dignity for all. In doing so, the author reveals existing structural inequalities facing inclusive education, encourages the momentum for future changes, and utilizes a good example of parent advocacy for a deeper and meaningful policy advancement to overcome discrimination on the basis of disability that causes segregation and exclusion in education. Recommendations include strategies for the construction of a support network for parents to play their important roles in advancing the rights of their disabled children in inclusive education.     

世界一流大学法学院比较与启示

大学的兴衰与大国的兴衰密切相关.从公元11世纪欧洲大陆出现的第一批现代意义的大学至今,哪里有一流大学的兴起,哪里就有一个国家的崛起,一个民族的兴旺.今天,中华民族已经进入了一个全面复兴的历史时期,建世界一流大学,这是当今中国一些高校提出的响亮口号.然而,任何一所世界一流大学无不都是在众多世界一流学院的基础上烘托起来的.因此,创建世界一流大学,更具体的目标应该是先建成几所颇具世界影响的一流学院,在此基础之上,积少成多,集腋成裘,逐渐形成世界一流大学的规模.法学作为最古老的学科之一,在经历了近千年的历史变迁以后,已经成为现代高等教育的重要组成部分.法学院的办学特征也从一个侧面折射了现代高等教育的办学理念.     

中小学教学内容的城市偏向分析——以语文教科书为例

中小学语文教学内容有一定程度的城市偏向,主要表现在一种城市生活的价值取向上,并可能培养农村孩子羡慕城市的情感;而农村家庭对孩子早期教育的不足和为孩子所输送的文化资本与学校教育的不连续性,又影响了他们通过学业成功进入城市的机会.可通过加强农村早期教育、成人教育、乡土教育、职业教育等方法以谋求现状的改变,但同时须注意现实问题的复杂性.     

Using soft skills courses to inspire law teachers: a new methodology for a more humanistic legal education

ABSTRACT

Law schools have in recent years been engaged in a process of revising their curricula, in large part adapting to rapid changes in technology, but also in a more generalised effort to improve “teaching the law”. Yet thus far, legal pedagogy seems to focus disproportionately on the traditional model of the “thinking lawyer”, when it should equally promote the model of the “feeling lawyer”, helping students to sharpen soft skills such as empathy, integrity and problem-solving. The main claim of this paper is that law professors could begin to pay more attention to the growing importance of soft skills in legal education and preparedness for legal practice. In this direction, we propose a set of pedagogical principles revolving around four axes: compassionate, attentive, reason-based and empathetic teaching (CARE). This methodology could help law professors become more effective pedagogues. Soft skills courses constitute a well-suited vehicle for introducing these principles to law school curricula in different legal systems. By systematically incorporating them, law schools can encourage law teachers to provide a more inclusive learning environment for their students. At the same time, law teachers who implement the particular methodology can hopefully rediscover fulfilment in their teaching. Overall, teaching soft skills can significantly improve students’ and teachers’ experience in legal education.     

Northern Irish legal education after Brexit

ABSTRACT

In this article we argue that the impact of Brexit on the law schools in Northern Ireland is tied to the “unique circumstances” of legal education in this part of the world. Legal education in Northern Ireland is likely to develop to become even more distinctive than that in other parts of the UK. Although there are two distinct jurisdictions on the island, they are deeply entangled by shared history and geographical proximity that make cross-border practice a daily reality. These circumstances seem likely to drive the trajectory of the development of legal education in Northern Ireland. Indeed, EU law is likely to remain a component of the Northern Irish qualifying law degree. The potential for the development of law specific to Northern Ireland under backstop arrangements is another significant driver for the future orientation of legal education in this jurisdiction. Legal education in Northern Ireland is, therefore, likely to become noticeably more “European” than that in other parts of the UK.     

Local Authorities and the Accountability Gap in a Fragmenting Schools System

Reforms to the English education system under the UK's coalition government are building on the so‐called ‘schools revolution’ that previous Labour governments began through legislation increasing both schools' autonomy from local authorities and the system's diversity. Growing numbers of state‐funded schools have converted to academies outside local authority control, particularly since the Academies Act 2010, while opportunities have emerged for ‘free schools’ to be established by various interest groups. The right to establish a school has normative human rights underpinnings, yet the government's policy as a whole is particularly controversial due to the increased risk of social division, instability of local schooling arrangements and significantly reduced local democratic accountability for state funded education. This article questions whether, against a background of three decades of centralising educational reform and a concomitant decline in the role of local (education) authorities, the local public interest in education is being adequately safeguarded.     

STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SURROGATE PARENT PROGRAMS: ENSURING QUALITY ADVOCACY TO ALL FOSTER CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) protects foster children's rights to have a special education decision maker. For foster children who do not have a natural or adoptive parent or a responsible adult in their life to take on this role, IDEIA requires that a special education surrogate parent be appointed by appropriate procedures. Under IDEIA, these procedures are delegated to the states. Each state must ensure that local education agencies (LEAs) delineate methods for recruiting and maintaining a pool of available special education surrogate parents. Due to differing state laws and LEA procedures, there are many discrepancies in the quality and availability of special education surrogate parents. To combat these problems, this Note proposes principles for administrative regulations establishing statewide special education surrogate parent programs by examining existing statewide programs. Administered through a state's Department of Education in collaboration with child welfare agencies, statewide special education surrogate parent programs guarantee well‐qualified decision makers who will advocate for all children eligible for special education services.     

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: ADVANCING THE HIGHLY MOBILE STUDENT POPULATION TOWARD HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

Varied curricula among public school districts within the same state often result in localized core courses and high school graduation requirements. This inconsistency makes it difficult for highly mobile students–who make frequent non‐promotional school transfers during the school year–to obtain full or partial credit for successfully completed coursework, hindering progress toward graduation and increasing dropout rates. While student mobility permeates all communities, it is particularly devastating to some of the most vulnerable children in our society, including homeless children, foster youth, children from low‐income and single‐parent households, migrant students, youth in juvenile correctional facilities, and children of military families. Current federal legislation addresses only some of these groups, leaving many students underserved by the education system. This Note advocates for states to adopt legislation that specifically requires a standardized credit‐recognition system, allowing schools to award full and partial credit for coursework completed elsewhere within the state. Specifically, it addresses the importance of keeping highly mobile students in their schools of origin, when it is in their best interest. It further focuses on the need for state and local policies to require school districts to award and accept full and partial credit for coursework completed in another in‐state school district.     

Freedom in the German School System

This article describes `freedom' as a constitutional category in the German School Law. If the responsibility for schooling by the German Federal Constitution is given to the ``Bundesländer' a common frame is set by the Basic Rights of the German Federal Constitution; this constitutional frame limits the rights of the ``Bundesländer' in supervising, organising, planning and managing the schools. Basic rights of a single pupil in a school are limited by the same rights of other pupils; this is done by following the ``principle of practical concordance' and thus the freedom of the single pupil always becomes a relative one; how this principle works in a concrete conflict will be shown in this article by describing single cases. Parental Rights are also guaranteed by the German Federal Constitution in direction of the state-runned schools. The rights of the parents are equal to the state rights; so a solution of a conflict has to be found between these two actors. Rights of teachers in Germany are limited by their special status as civil servants. And if the pedagogical freedom of teachers is recognised by the school acts this does not describe a real kind of freedom for the single teacher.     

A fresh start I: Education rights in South Africa

In this first part of a two-part article education rights as protected by the South African Constitution are analysed. As background, the education rights protected by section 32 of the interim Constitution and the case law that arose from that provision are discussed. Section 29 of the 1996 Constitution is then discussed with reference to the right to basic and further education, the right to education in the language of one's choice, and the right to private education. Mention is also made of the way in which religious observances maybe conducted in schools. This first part of the article concludes with the observation that the education rights in the Constitution form the basis and the spearhead of the fresh start South Africa has made in education. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.