Distances et savoirs, project for 2008 www.cned.fr/ds http://ds.revuesonline.com September, 29 th, 2006 Distance education and the right to education. Presentation of the theme of a common call for papers proposed by Distances et savoirs, and the scientific journals Asian JDE, EURODL, JALN, IRRODL, Open Praxis The articles devoted to the right to education in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then in the Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), and article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, are not the only ones to state the universal value of the right to education, and to show that access for all to education is part of the fundamental human rights, whichever country or set of countries ratifies those declarations and covenants. The very fact that such articles should be written shows that that right has to be guaranteed. To enter the right to education in a text of law proclaims it, at the same time as it points out its frailty. If that right is well established in some regions of the world, it remains quite insecure in others, or is merely taken for granted and not fully implemented. For reference, here is the Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1948), but quite a number of other texts should be mentioned as well ( 1 ) : 1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. 1 References to instruments, such as (far from exhaustive ) - Déclaration des Droits de l'homme et du Citoyen (1789) - American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) - Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960) - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), article 10 - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966); - Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960) - Protocol Instituting a Conciliation and Good Offices Commission to be Responsible for Seeking the Settlement of any Disputes which may arise between States Parties to the Convention against Discrimination in Education (1962) - Recommendation Concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1974)- Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981), article 1 - Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: "Protocol of San Salvador" (1988) - Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), articles 18, 28, 29 - Convention on Technical and Vocational Education (1989) - Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, (1989) articles 7, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31. - African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, (1990) - Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities (1992) articles 2, 4, 5.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. 3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Those texts are surrounded by a number of interpretations and questions when it comes to assessing the progress of the implementation, and the regard for the right to education, according to times and political and social contexts. Some of them are summed up in Unesco s World education report 2000, The right to education, Towards education for all throughout life ( 2 ) : Everyone has the right to education, the Declaration proclaims. But what does this mean? The right to any kind of education? At any time? Who shall provide it? ( ) The problem is not just one of assessing trends in opportunities for access to education. The right to education was conceived from the beginning as having a qualitative as well as a quantitative aspect. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, proclaims the second paragraph of Article 26. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. How well have these purposes been fulfilled? Are people s literacy skills, for example, whether in industrial or developing countries, adequate to enable them to participate fully in the political, economic, social and cultural life of their society? And what of tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups? ( ) There remains too the question of choice: by whom, and how, are the purposes and contents of education to be decided? Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children, proclaims the third paragraph of Article 26. While this of course was never intended to imply the right to choose an education that would be inconsistent with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights itself, since Article 2 of the Declaration proclaims that Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, it nonetheless recognizes that within the broad limits of Article 2, and of Article 26 itself, there can be different approaches to the purposes and contents of education. How widely today, though, have appropriate mechanisms and conditions for the exercise of such choice been established? ( ) Beyond the satisfaction of basic learning needs, what is it that everyone has the right to? Any and all action designed to meet learning needs? Equal opportunity to learn? Equal educational opportunity? Education throughout life? Learning throughout life? All such possibilities? There are many more questions related to the conditions for an unfailing implementation of the right to education, such as those concerning the connection between the right to education and the choice of education. Most of them have been the subjects of works, actions and developments of all kinds, and research works as well, aiming to ensure and have that right respected, however it is expressed and formulated according to the political, social, economic and cultural contexts. 2 World education report 2000, The right to education, Towards education for all throughout life, UNESCO PUBLISHING, pages 16-19.
All those works, past and present, will throw light and provide backgrounds for a question of apparently limited bearing, but of great importance in reality, in relation to the role of distance education.. for the present call for papers. The precise theme proposed for researchers and practitioners to work on, is not directly focused on the right to education in itself, but on its implementation; and can be thus stated : What is the role of distance education in the implementation of the right to education? How is distance education involved when education is seen as a right? What is its position in educational policy, as a factor of quality and an instrument for liberty. Distance education, whose primary purpose is to bring education as close as possible to whom requires it, right where and when it is needed, whatever the conditions that lead to choosing it : physical, personal, social, material, geographical, political Distance education must here be considered in the widest meaning of the expression. It implies any educational situation where the relationship between learner and knowledge, learner and teacher, tutor, training officer is mediated, synchronously or asynchronously, whether this educational process is taking place within a traditional context (such as correspondence courses) or whether the whole system is entirely digitized. However, this last aspect is essential if one considers the deep changes and renewal brought to distance education by the development of digital information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of this call for papers is to provide researchers and practitioners in fields related to distance education with the opportunity to formalise and highlight research work and good practices concerning the position and the role played by distance education today, and its possible role in the future in the use of the right to education, and as an answer to the difficulties encountered for its implementation. The right to education is not itself the direct focus of the call, it rather is the involvement of the actors of distance education, at all levels of responsibility, to guarantee that right, and the use of the methods and technical tools of distance education to ensure the quality of education implied in the right to education. The new developments of distance education due to ICT also lead one to consider the right to education in a new way, perhaps new meanings, with new stakeholders and protagonists, new approaches and methodology in the quest for solutions to its implementation and preservation. New strategies, at national, regional and international levels are thus to be examined, the fundamental nature of distance education being its ability to cross barriers, borders and frontiers, whatever the nature of those (geographic, social, national, ). A number of subjects can be considered from the outset, such as those mentioned below, but the call for papers is also open to original propositions from the authors. Education will not be reduced to school age education, not to face to face education, so that the whole educational field is here considered, in the same fashion as most of the references in the present call do : from primary education to secondary and higher education, vocational training, continuing education - lifelong learning in the full meaning of life.
Some suggested themes for exploration by researchers and practitioners in the field of distance education - any other relevant suggestion is welcome - : Political and legal aspects : distance education and the right to education, and - Education, what for? what objectives, which beneficiaries? - Freedom of the right to education : o guarantee required from any State educational services : neutrality, continuity, equality. o freedom of teaching, and right to education : role of the State, parents choice, equal rights guaranteed by State schools, for example : freedom to choose between State or private education, freedom to have a moral and religious education for one s children according to one s own beliefs ( 3 ) ; o choice of education : distance or face to face, or home education o women education o - Role of the State - Distance Education Institutional policies towards right to education - Right to education et cultural rights - Democracy, citizenship, individual and collective responsibilities - Social and economic dimension of the right to education : o for example : matching vocational training to the market economy, immediate needs of employers vs long-term planning - Economy (financing of education, ICT, ) : investments or mere expenditure, etc. - Merchandization of education in particular in a globalisation approach - Vocational and technical education, in partnership with private industry, - Quality of education; educational norms - Planning of education - International help : o for example : adequacy of imported models and paradigms? - One, and only one model, or diversity? - Economy of the unique model and globalism - Globalisation, multicultural dimension, linguistic diversity, cultural diversity - International exchanges and coordination - ICT, their double impact on distance education and the right to education - Pedagogical aspects : distance education and the right to education, and - Scientific and subject contents - Educational activities (in particular those aimed at disadvantaged persons, special needs ) - Differently abled and the right to education - Role of library services at distance education institutions towards right to education fundamental education, basic learning needs - Illiteracy - Lifelong learning - Equal rights - Higher education 3 article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966, that mentions «respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions
- Excellence, equality, social mixing - Distance assessment for before advice for studies and careers, and selection Organisational and management aspects : distance education and the right to education, and - Coordination of educational services, and complementarities of the different types and levels of education - Assessment and validation of knowledge, experience, etc. acquired outside the education system - Digital communities and cultures: issues concerning Right to Education - How and whether religions promote right to education - Attitudes, beliefs etc of distance education functionaries towards right to education - Paradox of screening best learners and talking of right to education - Teacher training - Choice of information and communication technology : Internet, television, radio, printed material, - Ethical, moral, humanistic aspects : distance education and the right to education, and - Digital divide - Acquiring education and skills as factors for social fairness and justice - Accessibility and inaccessibility o an example and paradox : could one ever considers that distance education might sometimes be an obstacle to the right to education? in particular if the technical tools it relies upon keep it out of the reach of target populations? who is to ensure accessibility? - Assessment of experiences with distance education as promoter of quality and disseminator of education - Right to Information vs Right to Education - Is education intended to provide society with people properly equipped for its development or to promote individual development? - Sustainable development vis-a-vis Right to Education - Millennium Development Goals: What can be done and achieved for right to education and any other relevant themes that will allow to promote research work and practices (and not : opinion or position papers) concerning the role of distance education in the implementation of the right to education.