April 2006
| In the United States, it can be observed that the number of rules imposed on adolescents is increasing. This is the observation of “The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development”. Protecting adolescents against danger – including terrorism – and improving their educational performance are a number of the motives invoked to justify this tightening of adult authority within schools.
In certain educational establishments in Iowa, for example, students have assigned places to eat at noon; in others, they are forbidden to have bottles of water in their possession for fear that these will serve to camouflage alcohol. Backpacks are also forbidden for reasons of security. And in certain cases the desire for control of the educational authorities overflows into private life after class hours in order to make up for the presumed deficiencies in parental supervision. In several cases, restrictive measures might be attributable to the fact that educational authorities fear judicial action on the part of parents if their children are the victims of accidents or “bad influences” on school grounds. In countries where actions can be brought against more or less everyone for practically anything, there is no reason to be surprised. However the fact that young people pay the cost of this excess is disturbing, all the more so in that as obedience to rules becomes the leitmotif of the educational institution. One can question what remains of the beautiful principles of learning founded on respect for the other and the building of a critical spirit. In the face of arbitrariness, it shouldn’t be surprising to see students engage in passive resistance or at times openly contest what they view to be abuse of authority. In her doctoral thesis, Véronique Truchot has clearly shown that for the adolescents whom she interviewed the legitimacy of authority is the cardinal principle conferring on rules their qualities of justice and respect for the rights of the child. Mme Truchot underlines that in the eyes of students, this legitimacy decreases in relationship to equality of treatment, participation by the students in the elaboration of a behaviour code, mutual respect, and teacher coherence between words and actions. The researcher adds that if only one of these factors is absent, the legitimacy of the authority is put into question. She concludes by recalling that one of the important requirements of school is to combine rigour with the application of democratic principles and human rights. References: ASCD SmartBrief. « New rules promote conformity for teenagers ». Newsletter, 13.02.06. Internet Website : http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd DesMoines Register. « Iowa's youth deluged by elders' new rules ». 12.02.06 http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= Truchot, Véronique (2006). «Les règles à l’école secondaire telles que les élèves se les représentent». Doctoral Thesis. Université du Québec à Montréal. Truchot, Véronique (2001). « L'apprentissage à l'école des règles et le droit à l'éducation ». Thématique : Genève. http://www.cifedhop.org/publications/thematique/thematique9/truchot.html |
The International Agency for Development (AIDE - Fédération) is organising a citizenship conference next May 9th in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, Room 12. The theme of this meeting is “How to overcome obstacles to attain the Millennium Objectives for Development?”. The organisers of this conference aim to “launch the basis for the creation of a vast international network which will serve to continually promote the sharing and exchange of experience”. Information: Abdelkbir El Hakkaoui geneve@aide-federation.org
“Peace and justice cannot be realised without respect for human rights”, stated Louise Arbour during a conference in Bern on the role of peace in negotiations, where she underlined that any enduring peace is incompatible with impunity given to the authors of the worst violations. “It is difficult to conceive of human behaviour more destructive of the complete range of human rights, from civil and political rights to economic, social and cultural rights, than armed conflict” the High Commissioner for Human Rights asserted during the conference organised in the Swiss capital at the initiative of Switzerland and Norway.
The Convention for the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in October 2003 by the United Nations general Conference for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) went into effect last April 24th. Source : http://portal.unesco.org/fr/ev.phpURL_ID=32686&URL_ |
The Observatory is one means of reference on the question of the study of violence in educational settings. It is in fact the result of long-term research conducted by different teams. This research has an important cumulative character in France and abroad. http://www.obsviolence.com/french/presentation/index.htm
A useful site for teachers in that it offers the relevant legal texts, numerous links, as well as an area reserved for children from 12 to 15 years. http://www.droitsenfant.com/ (in French only)
The Interafrican Union for Human Rights is a panafrican non-governmental organisation working in the areas of defence, the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and development. It was created in July 1992 in Ougadougou, in Burkina Faso. |
Publication of the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur’s report on the right to education. Within the context of a first report on the realisation of the Millennium development objectives, the Special Rapporteur wished to accentuate primary education for all and equality between the sexes. He examines the socioculturel context of sexist discrimination after having defined the notion of patriarchy, which underpins discriminatory behaviour. He denounces the negative effects on education, in particular the education of girls, of the fact that education is always considered as a service and not as a fundamental right, and he underlines what must be done in order that girls have access to school, but also that they finish their education. The report lists the obstacles to girls’ education, particularly early marriage and pregnancy, child labour (particularly domestic labour), and armed conflict. The Report:
According to a study of the Statistical Institute of UNESCO and UNICEF, one child in five of primary school age does not go to school. This study, “children out of school: measuring exclusion from primary education” shows the effects of household income, place of residence and gender on the lack of education of children, as well as questioning why a very large number of children leave school. Source : http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev_en.php?ID=6427_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC |
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has put a database on line on education and training in human rights. http://www.unhchr.ch/hredu.nsf/HomeFSen?OpenFrameSet
EarthRights Internation is organising a training session of six months on the issues of water and hydraulique development. This training is aimed at activists from the sub-region of Mekong, in the province of Yunnan, in China, from Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam. The session begins in June and will end in December 2006. |