(2016). The Global Testing Culture: Shaping Education Policy, Perceptions, and Practice. Oxford Studies in Comparative Education. Symposium Books The past thirty years have seen a rapid expansion of testing, exposing students worldwide to tests that are now, more than ever, standardized and linked to high-stakes outcomes. The use of testing as a policy tool has been legitimized within international educational development to measure education quality in the vast majority of countries worldwide. The embedded nature and normative power of high-stakes standardized testing across national contexts can be understood as a global testing culture. The global testing culture permeates all aspects of education, from financing, to parental involvement, to teacher and student beliefs and practices. The reinforcing nature of the global testing culture leads to an environment where testing becomes synonymous with accountability, which becomes synonymous with education quality. Underlying the global testing culture is a set of values identified from the increasing literature on world culture. These include: education as a human right,… [Direct]
(2010). The State of Society: Measuring Economic Success and Human Well-Being. Urban Institute (NJ1) This report was commissioned by the Center for Partnership Studies (CPS) to explore progress toward national indicators that measure both human well-being and economic success. These two measurements are interconnected, particularly as society moves further into the postindustrial knowledge and information age where economic success heavily depends on investment in human capacity development. In this study, the authors provide an overview of a broad range of existing measures that go beyond gross domestic product (GDP) to offer a more complete and accurate picture of how a society and its economy are faring. Particular attention is given to data still generally marginalized on the economic and social status of the majority of every society–women and children–and to how this correlates with both a nation's quality of life and its economic success. Based on a review of the literature and an analysis of major arguments and rationales for moving beyond GDP as a measure of national… [PDF]
(1994). Human Rights Education in Schools in the Post-Communist Context. European Journal of Education, v29 n4 p363-76. The imperatives and complexities of introducing human rights principles at primary and secondary school levels in postcommunist societies are presented, focusing on presentation of concepts of individualism, democracy, and human rights in textbooks; teaching practices that reinforce learner-centered approaches; and consideration of a national context of political uncertainty, centralized policymaking traditions, and resource shortages. (JDD)…
(1994). Human Rights and Social Policy in the United States: An Educational Agenda for the 21st Century. Journal of Moral Education, v23 n3 p261-72. Contends that human rights education, particularly in the United States, tends to emphasize civil and political rights. Argues the need to emphasize economic and social rights and the interdependency of human rights. Contends that moral education should open discussion and scholarship so that students will choose their values. (CFR)…
(1990). Motivation, Civil Rights, Human Rights. Journal of Intergroup Relations, v17 n1 p18-25 Spr. Distinguishes between civil rights, which pertain to legal protections, and human rights, which deal with basic rights as a human being. Discusses the worldwide quest for freedom, justice, and equality; and reviews the development of the civil rights movement in the United States since 1955. (FMW)…
(1976). Human Rights in Africa: A Double Standard?. Intellect, 105, 2377, 74-7, Sep/Oct 76. Examines the record of independent Africa regarding human rights. (Editor/RK)…
(2011). Repatriation in the United States: The Current State of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, v35 n1 p87-98. Repatriation in the United States today is synonymous with the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Although repatriations of Native American ancestral remains and cultural objects certainly occurred–and continue to occur–outside of the purview of NAGPRA, this law remains the centerpiece of repatriation activities in the United States. NAGPRA is important human-rights legislation, designed first and foremost to address the historical inequities created by a legacy of past collecting practices; the continual disregard for Native religious beliefs and burial practices; and a clear contradiction between how the graves of white Americans and graves of Native Americans have been treated. NAGPRA attempts to address these inequities by giving Native American communities greater control over the remains of their ancestors and cultural objects, and the law has provided some measure of success in this regard. But in the nearly twenty years since its… [Direct]
(1981). Social Studies: Elementary School Guide for Teaching about Human Rights. Human rights are those essentials of human existence that are inherent in the species. They are moral claims that satisfy the basic needs of all human beings. Ten major goals and numerous objectives were developed to undergird the Detroit (Michigan) curriculum, and this guide is established around the 10 major goals for teaching students about human rights with activities and resources appropriate for elementary students. Each of the 38 lessons is structured around one of the major goals and provides objectives, learner outcomes, activities, and resources. The 10 goals help develop understandings that: (1) all people are interdependent; (2) all ethnic groups are unique and worthwhile; (3) the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of the Child are a goal for world peace and cooperation; (4) governments at national, state, and local levels affect one's human rights; (5) self-esteem in individuals is enhanced through the knowledge of…
(2009). The MacArthur Foundation in Nigeria: Report on Activities. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation In 2007, Nigeria passed an important milestone: one elected government passed power to another for the first time in the nation's history. Though imperfect, the poll demonstrated powerfully that Nigeria's representative democracy was not a transient phase between periods of military repression but a growing reality. For 20 years, the MacArthur Foundation has given grants in Nigeria, in the belief that Africa's most populous nation was going through a transition of significance for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. MacArthur has invested $100 million and supported almost 500 individuals and organizations committed to the vision of a Nigeria that is free and fair, and offers opportunity to all its citizens. MacArthur's efforts concentrate in three areas: (1) Strengthening Nigeria's universities; (2) Reducing maternal mortality and improving sexual and reproductive health; and (3) Advancing respect for human rights and the rule of law. This report describes the Foundation's grantmaking… [PDF]
(2009). Transforming Conflict Resolution Education: Applying Anthropology alongside Your Students. Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, v2 n2 p8-22 Sum. This article describes the role graduate students can play in transforming their education in the emergent field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, as occurs at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR), at George Mason University, Washington, DC. It also unpacks how anthropology plays a role in the education of these students at the Master's and Doctoral levels. The primary contribution of anthropology to the conflict resolution curriculum has been conceptual, around the notion of culture. Most of our MS graduates, and many PhDs, work in government or NGOs specialising in development, human rights or conflict resolution, coming from diverse backgrounds with mature life experiences and without prior training in anthropology. Only four of our 21 faculty are anthropologists. This article discusses why these diverse graduate students and their anthropological faculty viewed the traditional foundations of the field of conflict analysis and resolution as inadequate, and… [Direct]
(2009). World Class: USBBY's Outstanding International Books for Young People. School Library Journal, v55 n2 p36-39 Feb. Some of the world's best children's book artists got together to help Amnesty International celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th anniversary in "We Are All Born Free," one of the 42 titles recommended by the fourth annual United States Board on Books for Young People's (USBBY) Outstanding International Books committee. This article presents other titles which offer young people the best of children's literature from faraway places–books that introduce them to outstanding authors and illustrators from other countries, help them see the world from other points of view, and provide another perspective or address a topic that may be missing from children's books in the United States. Although English-language books from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom still represent the majority of titles on the 2009 USBBY Outstanding International Books list, this year's selections include volumes from South Korea, India, Japan, Germany, Norway,… [Direct]
(1994). The Spirit That Moves Us. A Literature-Based Resource Guide on Teaching about the Holocaust & Human Rights, Grades Kindergarten through Four. The Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine is dedicated to providing assistance and support to Maine's teachers on the study and participation of human rights and on teaching the Holocaust. This guide was created to reinforce the purpose and objectives of "Maine's Common Core of Learning," relating to citizenship, human rights, and cultural pluralism. The volume includes the following chapters: (1) "Introduction" which gives the objectives and an overview of the guide; (2) "Celebrating Diversity" including the power of naming, race versus ethnicity, and ethnic diversity in Maine; (3) "Learning from Many Cultures" covers guidelines for choosing multicultural books and teaching about Native Americans; (4) "Creating Community" explains the meaning of community, how to make communities competent, shows how human rights are expressions of community values and makes connections between community, human rights, and citizenship; (5)…
(2006). The Right to Education in a Globalized World. Journal of Studies in International Education, v10 n1 p5-26. This article explores the fundamental issues related to education as a human right, particularly in the context of rapid globalization. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations' 1959 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights all declare education to be a fundamental human right. Further discussion has continued at the Education for All conferences held in Thailand in 1990 and Senegal in 2000 as well as in the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century's report to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. However, there is no consistent definition of what amounts, qualities, forms, and content of education meet the minimum requirements to fulfill that right. In a globalized world, this issue becomes even more complex. Questions arise as to who should provide education, for whom, how, with what content, and under what conditions…. [Direct]
(2008). Norming and "ReForming": Challenging Heteronormativity in Educational Policy Discourses. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, n82 p1-38 Sep. Since the early 1990s, the advocacy of teachers and other queer allies have sought to alter the curriculum and educational policies of British Columbia's schools so that queer youth are no longer harassed, bullied, ridiculed or discriminated against by the system, teachers, and other students. Court decisions and Human Rights Tribunals have recently imposed more inclusive policy responses by government and school districts respectively. This article considers to what extent such legal discourses are remediated by competing discourses and practices. The article concludes by considering the limitations of policy priming as an advocacy strategy, and considers what approaches might be taken to achieve civically informed outcomes. (Contains 6 footnotes.)… [PDF]
(2008). Training EFL/ESL Teachers for a Peaceful Asia-Pacific Region. Asia Pacific Education Review, v9 n3 p344-354. In this experimental study which is based on qualitative and quantitative data collection from an experimental and a control group, it has been found that when some educational terms in English Language Teacher Training programs are strengthened in meaning through some adaptations to better convey the message, their effectiveness is increased. Therefore, it is suggested that foreign or second language teachers in the Asia-Pacific region should not teach the target language only for linguistic and communicative purposes but also to introduce characteristics of different cultures and to contribute to educating people who enjoy similarities, respect differences and value human rights. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)… [PDF] [Direct]