Implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

by Andrews, Arlene Bowers; Kaufman, Natalie Hevener

• ISBN13: 9780275962654
• ISBN10: 0275962652
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-30
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

The human right to survive and develop, a fundamental premise of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, can be attained only if adequate living conditions are secured for the child. This book reviews the significance of the physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social aspects of holistic child development called for by Article 27 of the Convention. The editors share a vision of childhood wherein the child is accorded dignity, and opportunities exist to promote advancement of human potential. Contributors from several nations and a variety of disciplines, including psychology, law, social work, medicine, economics, and international studies, address the challenge of identifying adequate living conditions across cultures and discuss issues affecting communities and governments as they attempt to fulfill their responsibilities to children and their families. Key themes throughout the book are the significance of the child's perspective, the primacy of the family environment, the need to balance the interests of diverse cultures while reducing historical inequities, and the ecological interdependence of children, families, communities, and nations. The editors and contributors call for organized social and political action to realize the child's right to develop, including ways to measure and monitor children's well-being beyond survival.

Author Biography

ARLENE BOWERS ANDREWS is Director of the Division of Family Policy at the University of South Carolina Institute for Families in Society and Associate Professor of Social Work.NATALIE HEVENER KAUFMAN is Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina and Director of the Office of Families and Democracy at the USC Institute for Families in Society.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi	(6)
Gary B. Melton
Preface	xvii	(6)
Acknowledgments	xxiii	(2)
Abbreviations	xv
Part I: Foundation	3	(56)
1. Securing Adequate Living Conditions for Each Child's Development	3	(14)
Arlene Bowers Andrews
2. Drafting and Interpreting Article 27	17	(16)
Natalie Hevener Kaufman
Maria Luisa Blanco
3. The International Effort to Measure and Monitor the State of Children	33	(14)
Asher Ben-Arieh
4. The Meaning of Child's Standard of Living	47	(12)
Jens Qvortrup
Part II: The Relationship Between Standard of Living and Specific Developmental Domains	59	(74)
5. The Relationship Between Standard of Living and Physical Development	59	(10)
Francis E. Rushton
Robert E. Greenberg
6. An Adequate Standard of Living Necessary for Children's Cognitive (Mental) Development	69	(18)
Patricia Y. Hashima
Susan P. Limber
7. A Standard of Living Adequate for Children's Spiritual Development	87	(18)
Ross A. Thompson
Brandy Randall
8. The Meaning of a Standard of Living Adequate for Moral and Civic Development	105	(12)
Judith Torney-Purta
9. The Social Development of the Child	117	(16)
Malfrid Grude Flekkoy
Natalie Hevener Kaufman
Part III: Community Context	133	(26)
10. Significance of Community Wealth for Child Development: Assumptions and Issues	133	(10)
Frank D. Barry
11. Community Obligations and the Categorization of Children	143	(6)
Leroy H. Pelton
12. The Application of Human Capital Theory to Article 27	149	(10)
Allen M. Parkman
Part IV: Implementing Article 27 in Various Contexts	159	(60)
13. A Cross-cultural Examination of Article 27 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child	159	(8)
Virginia Murphy-Berman
14. Entitlement to "Adequacy": Application of Article 27 to U.S. Law	167	(18)
Robin Kimbrough
15. The Application of Article 27 in the Czech Republic: Implications for Countries in Transition	185	(12)
Jiri Kovarik
16. Twenty-Six Steps to Article 27: The Example of African American Children in South Carolina	197	(16)
Barbara Morrison-Rodriguez
17. Confronting the Implementation Challenge	213	(6)
Arlene Bowers Andrews
Natalie Hevener Kaufman
Appendix: Convention on the Rights of the Child	219	(18)
Index	237	(12)
About the Contributors	249