Page 15 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 3-4: Convention on the Rights of the Child: Educational Opportunities and Social Justice, eds. Zdenko Kodelja and Urška Štremfel
P. 15
z. moody ■ children’s rights to, in and through rducation ...
first identified on a global level, without entering into national or local
considerations that lie beyond the scope of this article. The issue of pro-
ducing an inclusive, rights-infused environment in schools is then exam-
ined, working towards a description of an ideal goal and putting aside, for
the sake of the exercise, the challenge and contradictions of the progres-
sive realisation of rights. Finally, the transformative dimension of educa-
tion and rights-education as educational opportunities and greater social
justice are discussed.
Right and access to education
The UNCRC recognises the child’s right to education, specifically urging
the States Parties to “make primary education compulsory and available
free to all” (1989, Art. 28, para. 1) and make other forms of education (sec-
ondary, vocational and higher education) “accessible to all” (1989, Art. 28,
paras. 2-4). It is not the first instrument of international law to guaran-
tee this right; it was previously seen with the establishment in 1948 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the newly-formed
United Nations Organisation (UNO), guaranteeing free and compul-
sory education and accessibility on the basis of merit (Art. 26, para. 1)2.
However, the near-universal acceptance of the UNCRC (ratified by all
member States, except the United States of America), its restrictive nature
(a declaration does not carry the force of law) and particular focus on chil-
dren as a target population for early instruction created an unprecedented
lever for action on implementing the right to education.
Since the 1990s, the international community has also adopt-
ed several declarations (Declaration of Jomtien (1990), Dakar (2000),
Incheon (2015)) and action programmes (Education for all, Millennium
Development Goals, Education 2030) to ensure that all children have ac-
cess to compulsory quality education and have the possibility of complet-
ing it. While these instruments have improved access to education from a
legal perspective and raised the visibility of the political and social obsta-
cles, weaknesses persist with a direct effect on implementing the right to
education, and on research conducted in this area.
These instruments have kept close to the initial definition of the
right first seen in the UHRD and later in the UNCRC, which McCowan
described as a “strange hotchpotch” (2010, p. 511). The right to education
has always been a paradox, very specific on some aspects – e.g. educa-
tion must be free – or the institution responsible for teaching children –
e.g. school – and yet very indirect on others like the preferred structure,
2 For background on the right to education, see Moody (2016).
13
first identified on a global level, without entering into national or local
considerations that lie beyond the scope of this article. The issue of pro-
ducing an inclusive, rights-infused environment in schools is then exam-
ined, working towards a description of an ideal goal and putting aside, for
the sake of the exercise, the challenge and contradictions of the progres-
sive realisation of rights. Finally, the transformative dimension of educa-
tion and rights-education as educational opportunities and greater social
justice are discussed.
Right and access to education
The UNCRC recognises the child’s right to education, specifically urging
the States Parties to “make primary education compulsory and available
free to all” (1989, Art. 28, para. 1) and make other forms of education (sec-
ondary, vocational and higher education) “accessible to all” (1989, Art. 28,
paras. 2-4). It is not the first instrument of international law to guaran-
tee this right; it was previously seen with the establishment in 1948 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the newly-formed
United Nations Organisation (UNO), guaranteeing free and compul-
sory education and accessibility on the basis of merit (Art. 26, para. 1)2.
However, the near-universal acceptance of the UNCRC (ratified by all
member States, except the United States of America), its restrictive nature
(a declaration does not carry the force of law) and particular focus on chil-
dren as a target population for early instruction created an unprecedented
lever for action on implementing the right to education.
Since the 1990s, the international community has also adopt-
ed several declarations (Declaration of Jomtien (1990), Dakar (2000),
Incheon (2015)) and action programmes (Education for all, Millennium
Development Goals, Education 2030) to ensure that all children have ac-
cess to compulsory quality education and have the possibility of complet-
ing it. While these instruments have improved access to education from a
legal perspective and raised the visibility of the political and social obsta-
cles, weaknesses persist with a direct effect on implementing the right to
education, and on research conducted in this area.
These instruments have kept close to the initial definition of the
right first seen in the UHRD and later in the UNCRC, which McCowan
described as a “strange hotchpotch” (2010, p. 511). The right to education
has always been a paradox, very specific on some aspects – e.g. educa-
tion must be free – or the institution responsible for teaching children –
e.g. school – and yet very indirect on others like the preferred structure,
2 For background on the right to education, see Moody (2016).
13
