The Universal Right to Education: Justification, Definition, and Guidelines

by Spring, Joel

• ISBN13: 9780805835472
• ISBN10: 0805835474
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-01
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

In this book, Joel Spring offers a powerful and closely reasoned justification and definition for the universal right to education--applicable to all cultures--as provided for in Article 26 of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One sixth of the world's population, nearly 855 million people, are functionally illiterate, and 130 million children in developing countries are without access to basic education. Spring argues that in our crowded global economy, educational deprivation has dire consequences for human welfare. Such deprivation diminishes political power. Education is essential for providing citizens with the tools for resisting totalitarian and repressive governments and economic exploitation. What is to be done? The historically grounded, highly original analysis and proposals Spring sets forth in this book go a long way toward answering this urgent question. Spring first looks at the debates leading up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, to see how the various writers dealt with the issue of cultural differences. These discussions provide a framework for examining the problem of reconciling cultural differences with universal concepts. He next expands on the issue of education and cultural differences by proposing a justification for education that is applicable to indigenous peoples and minority cultures and languages. This justification is then applied to all people within the current global economy. Acknowledging that the right to an education is inseparable from children's rights, he uses the concept of a universal right to education to justify children's rights, and, in turn, applies his definition of children's liberty rights to the concept of education. His synthesis of cultural, language, and children's rights provides the basis for a universal justification and definition for the right to education -- which, in the concluding chapters, Spring uses to propose universal guidelines for human rights education, and instruction in literacy, numeracy, cultural centeredness, and moral economy.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Justifying Human and Educational Rights	1	(18)
Universal Justification, Definition, and Guidelines for the Right to Education	2	(1)
The Right to Education	3	(3)
Finding a Justification and Definition for ``Everyone Has the Right to Education''	6	(3)
``Is There Anything Surprising in Systems Antagonistic in Theory Converging in the Practical Conclusions?''	9	(2)
The Socialist State and the Universal Right to Education	11	(2)
Cultural Differences and Universal Rights	13	(3)
Conclusion: Searching for the Meaning of Education as a Human Right	16	(3)
Justifying a Universal Right to Education For Indigenous and Minority Cultures	19	(20)
Colonialism and the Development of a World System	20	(3)
Minority and Indigenous Cultures in Multicultural Societies	23	(2)
Elkin's Manifesto on Cultural and Educational Rights	25	(2)
Human Rights and the End of the Colonial System	27	(2)
The 1960 Convention Against Discrimination in Education	29	(1)
A Universal Covenant of Linguistic Human Rights	30	(2)
Are Cultural and Linguistic Rights in Conflict with Universal Human Rights?	32	(3)
The Educational Rights of Indigenous Peoples	35	(2)
Conclusion: Justifying the Right to Education in the Context of the Genocide of Indigenous Peoples and Colonialism	37	(2)
The Right to Education in a Global Culture and Economy	39	(16)
The Evolution of a World System	39	(3)
McCulture and the Hybridization of World Cultures	42	(3)
Economic Development and the Instrumental Use of Culture	45	(2)
Development, Cultural Freedom, and Justification of the Right to Education	47	(1)
Global Ethics and the Right to Education	47	(3)
Biodiversity, Education, and Human Rights	50	(3)
Conclusion: The Right to Education for the Privileged	53	(2)
Universal Justification for Education and Children's Rights	55	(21)
The Condition of the World's Children	55	(5)
Children's Rights Assistance and Protection Rights	60	(4)
Convention on the Rights of the Child: Liberty Rights	64	(1)
Cultural Differences and the Best Interests of the Child	65	(1)
Sub-Saharan Africa: Children's Rights	66	(4)
Indian and Sir Lanka: Children's Rights and Education	70	(2)
Children's Rights and Educational Exploitation	72	(2)
Conclusion: Justification for the Universal Right to an Education and Children's Rights	74	(2)
A Universal Concept of Education: Human Rights Education and Moral Duties	76	(38)
The United Nations' Decade For Human Rights Education	78	(8)
Protection of Human Rights as a Claim Right	86	(3)
The Moral Imperative of Human Rights: Guilt and Shame	89	(1)
All Human Beings ... Manual for Human Rights Education	89	(1)
Democracy and Education	90	(3)
``Nationalistic'' and Uncritical Human Rights Education	93	(4)
Culture and Human Rights Education	97	(4)
Critical Thought and Human Relations Education	101	(3)
Let Our Children Dream About a Perfect World of Rights	104	(2)
Critical Dialogue About Human Rights Education	106	(5)
Conclusion: Universal Guidelines for Human Rights Education	111	(3)
A Universal Concept of Education: Guidelines for Literacy and Numeracy Instruction	114	(17)
Universal Guidelines for Literacy Instruction	115	(5)
Universal Guide to Numeracy Instruction	120	(7)
A Universal Concept of Education	127	(2)
Conclusion: Literacy and Numeracy as Methods for Reflecting on the Good Life	129	(2)
Mediating the Effects of World Culture and Economy	131	(26)
The Meaning of Cultural Centeredness	132	(7)
Centering a Culture: Language	139	(4)
Cultural Centeredness and Cultural Values	143	(3)
Cultural Centeredness in a Managed Culture	146	(1)
Economic Unity and Understanding the Global Economy	147	(2)
Economic Morality: The Search for the Good Life	149	(6)
Conclusion: Culture and Economics	155	(2)
Summary: The Universal Right to Education	157	(8)
Justification	157	(1)
Education and Children's Rights	158	(1)
Liberty and Education Rights	158	(1)
Nondiscrimination and the Right to Education	159	(1)
Culture, Language, and Education Rights	159	(1)
Environmental Destruction and the Right to Education	159	(1)
Human Rights and a Universal Concepts of Education	160	(1)
Universal Minimum Guidelines for Literacy Instruction	161	(1)
Universal Minimum Gudelines for Numeracy Instruction	162	(1)
Cultrual Centeredness, Moral Economy, and Social Imagination	162	(3)
Notes	165	(14)
Index	179