Education must be adaptable to the needs of students ‘within their diverse social and cultural settings,’654
such as students from different class, racial and cultural backgrounds, students who do not speak the primary language of the school system, homeless students, students in foster care, and students with disabilities. Adaptability also imports the quality of flexibility - to accommodate the changing needs of technology and society.655 It is argued that together the 4-As inform the standard of adequacy implied in the right to education.
To meet the requirement of adaptability education needs to demonstrate that it is evolving with changing needs and that it is flexible to meet the specific circumstances of students and local community features.656 For example, changes in technology must be observed, and the role of the teacher must adapt to accommodate social change. Education must also be flexible to enhance the schooling of pregnant girls, for example, and facilitate school
651
Leonard Cheshire Disability and UNECA (2009) 11-12.
652
Pushkar Maitra and Ranjan Ray, ‘The Joint Estimation of Child Participation in Schooling and Employment: Comparative Evidence from Three Continents’ (2002) 30 (1) Oxford Development Studies 41, 41.
653
Leonard Cheshire Disability and UNECA (2009) 11-12.
654
Ibid.
655
General Comment 13 (1999) §6(d).
656
David San Millan and Right to Education Project, Defining the right to education (2008) <http://www.right-to-education.org/node/233> at 13 January 2013.
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retention rates of these and of children with low socio-economic means who must work to assist their family.
4.12.1 Information and Communications Technology (‘ICT’) resources and curriculum
It has been observed that technologies such as informatics, biotechnology, nano-technology, neuro-technology and cognitive science are changing how society operates and that people must be educated to cope with these changes.657 ICT is a constantly improving field which can provide opportunities to enhance education delivery. In particular it can enable remote learning via the internet and it also enables access to education about human rights.658 In itself ICT is highly adaptable to varying learning styles and it promotes international
understanding by enabling users to communicate directly with diverse cultures. However, its updating and maintenance costs present potential difficulties.659 In addition, although the attitudes of school teachers are generally positive in regard to ICTs as teaching tools, there is the risk of a ‘technological reductionism’ that argues that by itself, access to technology results in an improvement in the quality of education.660
4.12.2 Teachers’ adaptability
Teachers must be able to adapt to the changing demands of society. Several decades have passed since the Recommendations Concerning Teachers noted that teachers and their organisations should participate in the development of new courses, textbooks and teaching aids.661 Technological and social changes have challenged the traditional context of school teachers characterized by rote learning, a ‘uni-directional transmission of information,’662
the passive delivery of externally imposed curriculum, and an individual rather than cooperative
657
Terry Turney, Director CSIRO Nanotechnology Centre, in Teaching Australia, Teaching for Uncertain Futures: a project exploring possible futures for teaching (2008) 4
<http://www.futureshouse.com/downloads/teaching.pdf> at 13 January 2013.
658
Kimberly Murphy, Human Rights in a Wired World: How Information and Communications Technology Impacts Human Rights (2009) Business for Social Responsibility
<http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Human_Rights_Wired_World.pdf> at 13 January 2013.
659
Andrew Higgins, Rural Difference: A Challenge for Beginning teachers (2nd ed, 1993) 74.
660
UNESCO, ‘Teacher Involvement in Educational Change’ July (2005) 1 PRELAC (Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean) Journal, 180; Nevertheless, it is expected that in countries such as Australia ICT be used by all teachers and available for all students: see section 4.8.1 above.
661
Joint Commentaries (1984) 27.
662
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working ethos. These aspects no longer address the needs of contemporary society.663 Children and young people need to be prepared for unstable future employment with movement within and across occupations. The skills required to prepare for multiple careers are different from the traditional skills suited to the sole trade or profession. A greater understanding of the factors influencing student learning has also impacted on the role of the teacher. It is believed that family social and economic level, the cultural and education background of parents, school and classroom culture all influence student learning achievement, in addition to teacher performance.664
Changes are also required in the position description of teachers for the future. Once viewed as professionals engaged in purely pedagogical-educational tasks and separate from
education management and policy,665 teachers must now adapt the curriculum to the learners and feedback to the wider school structures. Because the ‘best interests of the child’ takes precedence over other interests, teachers must contribute to changing a system that does not work for the child. They must also realise that for various reasons they can impede
development of the profession if flexibility is not continually observed.
4.12.3 Pregnant students
In many countries pregnant school girls are either forced to leave formal education, shamed into leaving voluntarily or at least not provided with any adjustments to accommodate their studies. In attempting to address this culture, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child explicitly recognises the right of pregnant girls to continue their education ‘on the basis of their individual ability.666 Countries such as Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Guinea and Malawi, now permit the re-entry of girls into formal education after pregnancy.667
663
See also UNESCO, Learning: The Treasure Within (the Delors Report) (1996); OECD (1996) Lifelong Learning for All (1996)
<http://www.oecd.org/education/highereducationandadultlearning/29478789.pdf> at 5 November 2012; OECD (2001) What Schools for the Future? (2001)
<http://www.oecd.org/site/schoolingfortomorrowknowledgebase/futuresthinking/scenarios/38967594. pdf >at 5 November 2012; OECD,
Innovation in the Knowledge-Based Economy: Implications for Education and Learning Systems. Report to Governing Board of OECD/ CERI, April (2003) 64-82.
664 UNESCO, PRELAC (2005) 11. 665 Ibid 10. 666 Article 11(6). 667 Wilson (2003) Box 4.
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However, this can be subject to a range of limitations such as refusing the pregnant girl to re- enter the same school.Practices vary widely, often due to pressure from parents of other students. A report from Sierra Leone in 2009 revealed that newly created village laws were imposed forcing school girls and male students who impregnate them to drop out of school.668 In that country only 17% of girls and 21% of boys attended secondary school at 2007; 12% of girls were pregnant by the age of 15 and 40% by 18.669
4. 13 Conclusion
Not every facet of the 4As outlined here will be an urgent consideration in a developed and prosperous country such as Australia. The barriers to permitting pregnant girls to be
educated in Australia, for example, may be economic and social, but they do not prevent the acceptance of pregnant girls into state education nationwide. Similarly, although economic access raises some issues in Australian education, the widespread practice of full time child labour is not one of Australia’s shortcomings.670
It has been observed that it is very difficult to assess what beneficial impacts the implementation of human rights agreements have on the everyday existence of citizens because the effects are not amenable to quantitative or qualitative measurement.671 The data
which can be recorded, such as numbers of teachers, hours of tuition provided, or schools and equipment supplied, ultimately is of little use in measuring the overall impact on a community’s actual enjoyment of the right. There are no reliable performance indicators for human rights improvements.672 Some theories also suggest that the diligent use of human rights terminology will inevitably lead to adoption of its principles and practices, but there is no way of proving these theories.673 Until the relationship of cause and effect of human rights initiatives and education can be verified by an accepted method, the best that can be done is to examine recorded data and apparent effects.
668
Integrated Regional Information Networks, ‘Sierra Leone: Pregnancy- automatic dismissal for male and female students’ (6 March 2009)
<http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c2252f,4565c25f3d1,49b4d2b1c,0,,,SLE.html> at 6 July 2012.
669
UNICEF, ‘State of the World’s Children’ (2009) in ibid.
670
See however the issue of Australian children working part-time in section 5.5.4.
671
David Kinley, ‘Human Rights Fundamentalisms’ (2007) 29(4) Sydney Law Review 545, 563.
672
Sital Kalantry et al, ‘Enhancing Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Using Indicators: A Focus of the Right to Education in the ICESCR’ (2010) 32 (2) Human Rights Quarterly 253, 280.
673
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This chapter developed the standard against which Australia’s laws and policies will be assessed. The chapter established the right to education as a human right repeatedly affirmed by Australia in ratifying and contributing to international instruments. Three states’
Education Acts refer to a right to education. Federal legislation including the Family Law Act 1975 now include the international terminology of children’s rights. To be meaningful the right to education must be at the least ‘adequate’ (if not ‘good’ or ‘of good quality’). Australian court decisions have affirmed disabled and Aboriginal students’ right to an adequate education, which therefore must extend to all other students. This chapter also demonstrated that the human right to adequate education has elements which must be present. Measures taken by the State should promote the 4-As: education need to be
available, acceptable, accessible and adaptable. As part of the acceptability component, basic learning needs operate as indicators of a nation’s success in meeting its obligations. Literacy in particular is an easily measurable component of basic learning needs. The following chapter will explore whether Australia has complied with these components of the right to education through its legislation and policies.
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