Education in the 21St Century
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Education in the 21 st Century: Human Rights and Individual Actions by Sharon Elizabeth Lee A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2007 © Sharon E. Lee 2007 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This dissertation has three goals. The first goal is to outline how twentieth century advocates qualify education as a human right. The second goal is to offer an integrative account which argues that, to defend a right to education both the provision of educational resources and the freedom to do something with those resources must be taken into account. This requires more than the rhetoric of a UN document like the Convention on the Rights of the Child . It also requires more than the good intentions of duty-bound adults acting in the best interests of the child. To do this, it is necessary to consider how the institutional structure dedicated to education – in particular the structure dedicated to basic primary education to which the UN claims all children are entitled – integrates with the freedom each child has to do something with that basic primary education once he or she has obtained it. Finally, by identifying education as a human right within this integrative structure, this dissertation will demonstrate that, if policy documents related to education shift from a focus on the traditional relationship between an experienced adult and a dependent child to one based on the relationship between an individual and a capability set, the claim that education is a human right becomes a meaningful claim which can provide a justification for the social commitments required to recognize this claim. iii Acknowledgements Acknowledgements never communicate the true depth of one’s appreciation; nonetheless, it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to recognize some of the many people who have contributed to this project. To begin, I would like to thank Debbie Dietrich and Linda Daniel for always having their doors open. I would also like to thank my fellow graduate students, especially my officemates Ethan, Andy and Xavier, for their banter and friendship. I have incurred a great deal of intellectual debt to Bill Abbott, Rolf George, Jan Narveson, Jim Van Evra and, most especially, to Brian Hendley. All of whom sparked my interest in philosophy, and provided me with generous encouragement and mentoring (not to mention a fantastic library). I would also like to thank Lorraine Besser-Jones, Shannon Dea, Dave DeVidi, Colin Farrelly, and Tim Kenyon for their humour, advice and for the occasional sympathetic ear. Your support has been appreciated. I am greatly indebted to my committee Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, Patricia Marino, Paul Thagard, and Peter Woolstencroft for their careful reading of, and insightful feedback on, my work. To my supervisor, Brian Orend, I would like to express my deepest gratitude. His passion for philosophy and his generous intellectual support are nothing short of inspiring. His integrity, high standards and encouragement guided me to write a dissertation on which I now look with pride. Finally, I would like to thank Tom, Eric and Madeleine for every distraction, for every conversation and for every moment which enabled me to believe in myself and to complete this dissertation. iv Table of Contents Author’s Declaration.........................................................................................................................ii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents..............................................................................................................................v List of Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 The UN Claim to Education as a Human Right................................................................ 27 1.1. The Universal Promotion and Protection of Children’s Rights............................................. 29 1.2. Education as a Second-Generation Right............................................................................. 42 1.3. Beyond Simply Valuing Education ..................................................................................... 51 1.4. Implications for Policy, Both in the US and Internationally................................................. 61 Chapter 2 Some Alternative Arguments Regarding the Education of Children ................................. 72 2.1. Free the Children ................................................................................................................ 73 2.2. The Scope of Negative Rights Alone................................................................................... 81 2.3. In Their Best Interests......................................................................................................... 93 2.4. Beyond Paternalism – Children as Meaning-Makers ......................................................... 109 Chapter 3 Rawlsian Social Institutions .......................................................................................... 122 3.1. The Basic Structure of Society.......................................................................................... 128 3.2. Public Justification ........................................................................................................... 134 3.3. Is The Claim To A Right To Education Reasonable?......................................................... 139 Chapter 4 Pogge’s Challenge to Social Institutions........................................................................ 149 4.1. Moral Human Rights ........................................................................................................ 151 4.2. Just Social Institutions ...................................................................................................... 164 4.3. What Role Can Education Play? ....................................................................................... 171 Chapter 5 Sen’s Challenge to Human Rights ................................................................................. 186 5.1. Human Capabilities .......................................................................................................... 189 5.2. Effective Participation ...................................................................................................... 201 5.3. Sustainable Development.................................................................................................. 210 Chapter 6 A Capability-Sensitive Educational Framework............................................................. 218 6.1. The Human Development Index ....................................................................................... 219 v 6.2. Human Development, Security and Education...................................................................224 6.3. Capabilities and Education................................................................................................236 Chapter 7 Education as a Human Right and Public Policy..............................................................251 7.1. Education for All ..............................................................................................................253 7.2. Tomasevski’s 4-A Scheme................................................................................................266 7.3. A 21 st Century Learning Society........................................................................................277 Appendix A...................................................................................................................................285 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................295 vi List of Abbreviations In this work, I use a number of abbreviations to avoid repeating cumbersome phrases. CAME = Conference of Allied Ministers of Education CADE = Convention Against Discrimination in Education CRC = Convention on the Rights of the Child DRC = Declaration of the Rights of the Child ECCD = Early Childhood Care and Development EFA = Education For All ESC = European Social Charter ESCR = European Social Charter Revised GDCR = Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child GRD = Global Resources Dividend IBE = International Bureau of Education IBR = International Bill of Rights ICCPR = International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICE = International Conferences on Education ICESCR = International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ILO = International Labour Organization MDG = Millennium Development Goal MLA = Monitoring Learning Achievement NEA = National Education Association OHCHR = Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights SOWC = State