(2012). At Risk: The Relationship between Experiences of Child Sexual Abuse and Women's HIV Status in Papua New Guinea. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, v21 n3 p273-294. Child sexual abuse in Papua New Guinea is a human rights issue as well as an indicator of HIV risk in women. This study aimed to develop knowledge about the link between violence experienced by women and their HIV status. The study used a mixed method approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data through structured interviews with a sample of 415 women across four provinces of Papua New Guinea: National Capital District, Western Highlands, Western, and Morobe. Participants were asked about violence they had experienced as children and in their adult relationships and the impact of the violence. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS, and qualitative data was coded using a thematic approach. Child sexual abuse was reported by 27.5% of the sample (n = 114). Women reporting child sexual abuse were more likely to live in violent relationships, be HIV positive, and have a higher number of sexual partners. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)… [Direct]
(2018). Community-Based Participatory Research with the Roma of Pata R√¢t, Romania: Exploring Toxic Environmental Health Conditions. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, v13 n2 p92-106 Win. The Roma people are the largest stateless population in Central and Eastern (CEE) Europe and face a disproportionate amount of environmental health disparities likely due to a long history of discrimination and stigmatization. Using qualitative research methodology and community-based participatory research methods, we aimed to gain a more nuanced understanding of the Roma of Pata R√¢t's environmental health conditions by engaging with local Roma through community mapping, observation, community walk-throughs, semi-structured/open-ended interviews, and photography. An added benefit of this approach was its potential for privileging the voices of a people who have often been silenced. Roma participants identified all major routes of environmental exposures and shared their desire for better work and living conditions and need for more attention to their human and community rights. Poor sanitation and contaminated soil, water, and air with potentially high levels of toxic chemicals were… [Direct]
(2009). Even Lesbian Youths or Those Presumed to Be Lesbians Are Protected by the Constitution of Uganda–But to a Limited Extent: Rules the High Court. Journal of LGBT Youth, v6 n4 p441-445. The Ugandan Penal Code criminalizes same-sex relationships. The author analyzes the Ugandan High Court decision where the judge relied on the Constitution and international human rights instruments to hold that law enforcement officers must respect the rights to privacy and human dignity even of those people presumed to be in same-sex relationships. (Contains 14 notes.)… [Direct]
(2013). Professional Education in Postcolonial Democracies: Indigenous Rights, Universities, and Graduate Attributes. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v12 n1 p9-29. This paper examines the nexus between Indigenous rights, the modern university, and graduate attributes and theorises the potential of the university in postcolonial democracies to address Indigenous rights in its professional education programs. It posits the postcolonial professional as one who has been educated about internationally recognised human rights and economic justice mechanisms, provisions and frameworks within a supportive university policy environment that has focussed both academic work and the formulation of graduate attributes in order that new professionals, emerging from the modern university, will have the skills and knowledge to proactively contribute to the engagement of the professions within postcolonial states. In an era where government funding for universities is becoming increasingly tied to them being able to help businesses and governments to achieve desirable socioeconomic outcomes, and with myriad government policy drivers focussed on improvement of… [PDF]
(2012). The Politics of Language in Education: The "Mikro" Case in South Africa. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v11 n1 p1-15. School language policies stand at the nexus of identity politics and human rights in contemporary South Africa. Since 1996, litigation on school language policies has been resolved on the basis of language rights. Courts have emphasized that the mere mention of single-medium schools in the constitution in no way privileges these institutions over dual-medium schools, parallel-medium schools, or schools that otherwise accommodate multilingualism. In turn, legal proceedings have consistently upheld the letter of the law in terms of language rights, and English-speaking students have almost always been accommodated at former Afrikaans-medium public schools. But the constitutional goal of cooperative government remains unfulfilled. As a result, disputes over language policy continue to be costly, emotional, and directed at what "ought to be done" about one specific language, Afrikaans. This article focuses on the shortcomings of one case, the "Mikro" case, to argue… [Direct]
(2011). Addressing Social Injustices, Displacement, and Minority Rights through Cases of Culturally Responsive Evaluation. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, v5 n3 p167-177. Evaluation of programs that address the lingering effects of human rights abuses during times of conflict is necessary to improve program sustainability and create a knowledge bank about the effectiveness of strategies. Outcomes, however, are hard to measure. Evaluators have to gain understanding of the roots of a conflict, surrounding events, histories, and cultures. Discussed is the concept of culturally responsive evaluation (CRE). A pipeline program, which supports graduate students from traditionally underrepresented population groups in acquiring CRE skills through apprenticeship learning, seminars, and mentorship, is described. The work of 2 program participants, who evaluated programs–1 serving survivors of torture and the other children of refugees–are given as examples. (Contains 3 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2024). Educational Public Policies for the Rural Area: An Analysis of the Closure of Basic Education Schools in Brazil. Journal of Education and Learning, v13 n5 p225-234. Access to education for peasants in the history of Brazilian society has always been denied, with the absence of public policies for peasants, as the result of a political and social process of denial of minority groups. The text address the issue of closure of schools in the countryside as a growing social phenomenon that has been expanding in the countryside of Brazil. Thus, the general objective of this text is to analyze the issue of the right to education for peasants, focusing on the high number of school closures in the countryside, seeking to understand the consequences for the peasantry. The closure of this institutions has become a problem that effects the importance of the countryside in Brazil, given that access to education is a right for everyone, including those who live and are from the countryside. However, public management has closed activities in schools in the countryside, making it difficult the access to education for peasants. The research has a qualitative… [PDF]
(2013). Bullying and Agency: Definition, Intervention and Ethics. Journal of Youth Studies, v16 n4 p491-502. Respect"me" is a human rights organisation working to reduce the impact of bullying in Scotland. In this work, some useful conceptual and practice frameworks have emerged, distinguishing between aggression, as legitimate, if sometimes unpleasant, dominance behaviour and violence, which is unethical action involving the intent to harm. Bullying pushes beyond dominance/subordination to render the person not just subject but abject: incapable of finding any peaceful place in the social structure or any capacity for agency or effective action. This distinguishes bullying from other relationships of violence, and calls for intervention which promotes the restoration of agency in the person being bullied. "Hitting back" and "letting them sort it out" are discussed in this context. This also has implications for the definition of bullying. While emerging definitions of bullying have been useful, they have also been broad. At a practice level, we have ourselves… [Direct]
(2014). Formal Education: A Catalyst to Nation Building. A Case Study of Nigeria. African Theological Studies. Volume 6. Peter Lang Publishing Group The smallest and most remote villages in the developing countries are affected by the rapid and seemingly irresistible trend towards globalization. The limitless availability of information however necessitates education to stand out as the key factor for human and national development. But which conditions must be met by societies for education systems to perform this function effectively? Which benefits in turn must education systems provide to ensure social cohesion? These general considerations are exemplified by an analysis of the social situation of Nigeria, where one third of the whole population did not receive an education and thus cannot participate in the opportunities of modern social structures. As an advocate of the social values of freedom, dignity and charity the church stated clearly that education belongs to the inalienable human rights. The study argues that only a holistic development of each and every citizen of Nigeria will lead to the development of Nigeria as… [Direct]
(2021). Environmental Justice Must Include the Rights of All Species to Life and Respect: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Education. International Studies in Sociology of Education, v30 n1-2 p93-112. This article focuses on the relationships between social justice, environmental justice, and sustainability from the local to global levels. We envision social and environmental justice as involving not only human beings, but also the rights of all species to life and respect. We advocate an ecological justice approach based on the equality and intrinsic value of all existence. This standpoint also forefronts core values and world views of marginalized people and epistemologies, such as Indigenous knowledge systems. With the understanding that there is much heterogeneity among Indigenous communities and individuals, we delve into core commonalities which embrace the perspective that humanity's relation to the cosmos is ever-salient, that the Earth is a living being, and all species, as interconnected co-habitants of Earth, are intelligent, equal, and divine…. [Direct]
(2014). Changing Policy and Legislation in Special and Inclusive Education: A Perspective from Northern Ireland. British Journal of Special Education, v41 n4 p382-402 Dec. It is now 15 years since the signing of the 1998 Belfast (or "Good Friday") Peace Agreement which committed all participants to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences, and towards a shared and inclusive society defined by the principles of respect for diversity, equality and the interdependence of people. In particular, it committed participants to the protection and vindication of the human rights of all. This is, therefore, a precipitous time to undertake a probing analysis of educational reforms in Northern Ireland associated with provision in the areas of inclusion and special needs education. Consequently, by drawing upon analytical tools and perspectives derived from critical policy analysis, this article, by Ron Smith from the School of Education, Queen's University Belfast, discusses the policy cycle associated with the proposed legislation entitled "Every School a Good School: the way forward for special educational needs and… [Direct]
(2012). Sport, Physical Activity and Well-Being: An Objectivist Account. Sport, Education and Society, v17 n4 p497-514. It is widely maintained that sport and physical activities contribute to the development of young people's well-being. Others argue that sports' contribution to good living is so strong that it is even thought to be a human right. Typically, however, the value of physical activity and sport to our well-being is conceptualized and researched within a subjectivist framework. We reject this framework on three grounds: (1) its impermanence; (2) its hedonistic shallowness; and (3) its epistemological inadequacy. In contrast, we argue that the value of sports and physical activities ought to be situated in fundamental arguments about the necessary conditions for human flourishing. According to this objectivist view, there are certain constituents of a good life without which human flourishing becomes impossible. We argue that sports and physical activities offer distinctive ways to help realize these objective constituents. It follows that, to the extent to which certain sections of… [Direct]
(2022). Language Test Activism. Language Policy, v21 n4 p597-616 Dec. During the past decades, migration policies in Western societies have grown stricter by the day. As part of this retrenchment, migrants are required to pass language tests to gain access to human and democratic rights such as residency, family reunification, and citizenship, as well as to enter the labour market or higher education. The use of language tests to control migration and integration is not value neutral. The question discussed in this paper is whether those who develop language tests should strive to remain neutral, or, on the contrary, whether they have a moral and professional responsibility to take action when their tests are misused. In this paper, a case is made for the latter: arguing along the lines of critical language testing, we encourage professional language testers to take on a more active role in order to prevent harmful consequences of their tests. The paper introduces the concept "language test activism" (LTA) to underscore the importance of… [Direct]
(2017). Fixing No Child Left Behind: Testing and Accountability. Hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session on Examining No Child Left Behind, Focusing on Testing and Accountability (January 21, 2015). Senate Hearing 114-512. US Senate This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines No Child Left Behind, focusing on testing and accountability. At the center of the debate about how to fix No Child Left Behind is what to do about the Federal requirement that states, each year, administer 17 standardized tests with high stakes consequences. Following opening statements by Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and Honorable Patty Murray (U.S. Senator from the State of Washington), the following senators provide statements: (1) Honorable Michael F. Bennet, a U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado; (2) Honorable Susan Collins, a U.S. Senator from the State of Maine; (3) Honorable Elizabeth Warren, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts; (4) Honorable Pat Roberts, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas; (5) Honorable Richard Burr, a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina; (6) Honorable Al Franken, a U.S. Senator from the… [PDF]
(2023). "I Really Like the Idea of Being the Source of Change": The Perspectives of Black and Latine Youth Experiencing Low Income about How Personal Change Occurs in Out-of-School Group Programs. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Loyola University Chicago. Structured out-of-school programs (OSPs) can be contexts in which youth can be producers of their own positive change (Eccles & Gootman, 2002). However, despite a considerable body of research documenting the benefits of participating in OSPs, there is a lack of knowledge about how youth of color in low-income communities define positive personal change in OSP settings. As a result, many OSPs and interventions designed for youth of color rely on adult practitioners' or researchers' perspectives of the change process, which may weaken program impact and fail to holistically meet youths' developmental needs. This study uses a critical realist scientific paradigm to carry out an interpretive, phenomenological qualitative examination (Denzin, 1989; Cresswell & Poth, 2018) of youths' perspectives on the program mechanisms that bring about their personal change. From this realist standpoint, change does occur via youths' internalization of program experiences. The purpose of this… [Direct]