Education Bill Research Articles

SOUTH AFRICA: Education Bill Signed

SOUTH AFRICA: Education Bill Signed

Child Right of Education under International Law: A Special Reference to Indian Education System

Globally, the application of RTE under international human rights legislation is a deeply entrenched issue, particularly in developing and growing nations. The issue has multiple sides, ranging from discrimination to the topic of free and compulsory quality education for all, because of the nature of soft law, unclear wording, and fragmentation within provisions of international and regional legal instruments. Article 21(A) was implemented in 2002 as a component of the 86th Amendment Act, pertaining to India. It stated that children from six to fourteen would get free and compulsory education from the state, incorporating basic education into the right to freedom. Six years after the Indian Constitution was ratified, in 2008, the Union Cabinet adopted the Right to Education Bill changed. The Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act, also known as the Right to Education Act (RTE), was passed by the Indian parliament on August 4, 2009, and it describes the procedures for offering free and compulsory education to children between the ages of six and fourteen. It is a statute that falls under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. One of the 135 nations to join the club was India. The current study examines India's legal framework and educational system in the context of international law using a qualitative approach and the doctrinal technique of research.

Erasure, expert/ise, and educational “choice”: A poststructuralist perspective of Kansas educational bills in 2023

This paper utilizes a conceptual framework uniting neoliberalism, neoconservatism, and poststructuralism to examine four education bills from the Kansas state legislature proposed in 2023. Utilizing critical discourse analysis to frame policy documents as forms of text and discourse, this paper unpacks language-in-use, structures of power, and hegemony to investigate the overarching educational policy d/Discourses and how these position teachers, teaching, and public education. The proposed Kansas bills highlight hegemonic d/Discourses of teacher erasure, skepticism of expertise, and value-free language masking value-laden policy outcomes to illustrate policymakers’ attempts to politically redefine Kansas educational conditions to reflect neoliberal and neoconservative orientations. This paper highlights the critical task for teacher educators and educational researchers to engage with practitioner-inclusive methodologies and policy analysis opportunities to position critical discourse analysis as a fruitful methodological vehicle through which to reclaim educational narratives.

The Walt Disney Company and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill

Research methodology This secondary source case is based mainly on legislative documents (that tracked the initiation and progress of the Parental Rights in Education bill that later became an Act), corporate documents (published by The Walt Disney Company) and news articles from publications such as The New York Times and Bloomberg. All sources are cited in the case narrative and as end notes. Case overview/synopsis In April 2022, The Walt Disney Company and its CEO, Robert Chapek, were at the center of a controversy over the company’s opposition to the State of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill. The bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics, prohibited instruction on sexual identity and gender orientation in the state’s elementary schools. The controversy stemmed from Disney’s initial non-reaction to the bill and its later strident opposition and call for its repeal. Chapek was pressured by negative media publicity and employee disgruntlement on the one hand and adverse economic consequences for opposing the bill by the state’s Governor, Ron DeSantis. Chapek and the Board had to respond to the political threats to Disney’s economic well-being while appeasing its employees and other stakeholders who wanted the company to be a corporate champion in diversity, equity and inclusion. Complexity academic level The case is best suited for advanced undergraduate or graduate leadership, strategic management and marketing courses. From a leadership and strategic management perspective, the case is well-suited for demonstrating the evolving expectations of leaders and corporate social responsibility, as well as the concepts of issue framing and nonmarket management. Instructors may also leverage the case in marketing courses (e.g. brand management), as CEO activism (i.e. messaging and practice) is one characteristic of brand activism (Animation Guild, 2022).

Chile’s Inclusion Law: the arduous drive to regulate an unequal education system, 2006–19

ABSTRACT Chile’s Inclusion Law, passed in 2015, significantly increased government regulation of one of the most privatised education systems in the world and provided major redistributive benefits. How did Chile’s government succeed in passing and implementing this legislation in the face of a powerful and cohesive opposition? Our study finds that student protesters served as the initial impetus, shaping the education debate and increasing the political salience and urgency of education reform. In line with power resource theory, other left movement organisations and voters used their power to support redistributive education reform, and Bachelet’s centre-left coalition followed through on its mandate by proposing the Inclusion Law. Also, a well-connected policy network helped articulate problems with the status quo and shaped the specifics of the education bill. To develop this argument, the paper draws on historical information on the student movement in Chile, quantitative data on education stakeholder appearances in the press, public opinion surveys, and detailed analysis of the 13-month legislative proceedings – to explain the law’s passage in congress. To underscore the significance of the Inclusion Law and to contextualise the Chilean case, the paper also compares Chile to other countries with nation-wide school choice systems.

Social mobility and education policy: a district-level analysis of legislative behavior

Abstract A vast literature has examined how perceptions of mobility shape demand for redistribution. These studies generally refer to contemporaneous tax policies demanded by those directly impacted. But social mobility is often measured as changes across generations. To account for these intergenerational effects, our analysis focuses on educational policies. We examine how social mobility at the district level explains legislative support for inclusive education policies. We first develop an electoral competition model where voters are altruistic parents, politicians are office seeking and the future economic status of the children is affected both by the degree of income mobility and by public education policies. We then analyze a newly compiled dataset of roll-call votes on California education legislation matched with electoral district levels of income mobility. In line with the model, our analysis suggests that upward mobility in a district negatively predicts legislative support for redistributive education bills.

LGBTQ parent concerns and parent–child communication about the Parental Rights in Education Bill (“Don't Say Gay”) in Florida

AbstractObjectiveThe current study sought to understand LGBTQ parents' concerns about how Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act (commonly referred to as the “Don't Say Gay” bill) would impact their children and family unit and whether and how they communicated with children about it.BackgroundFlorida's Parental Rights in Education bill, which was signed into law in 2022, has implications for educators, youth, and families, including LGBTQ parent families. Indeed, children in LGBTQ parent families already face marginalization and erasure in school settings, where curricula and policies often primarily center and reflect heterosexual parent families.MethodWe surveyed LGBTQ parents (N = 90) in Florida in 2022. The sample was primarily cisgender women (62%) and cisgender men (26%), with most participants identifying as lesbian (52%) or gay (23%). Almost two thirds of participants (63%) were White, and almost one third (32%) were Latinx.FindingsMore than three quarters of participants were worried about the bill. Primary concerns centered on how it would restrict their children's ability to speak freely about their families in the classroom and impact their sense of self by cultivating a climate where their families were marginalized. Parents also highlighted broader concerns about how the legislation would fuel further anti‐LGBTQ sentiment. Parents with few concerns typically had very young or high‐school–age children or had children in private school. Parents who talked about the bill with their children tended to be parents of older children, with parents of younger children often emphasizing family diversity to foster a sense of pride.ConclusionThe Parental Rights in Education Act and other anti‐LGBTQ legislation have the potential to impact a range of vulnerable children and families, including LGBTQ parent families.ImplicationsYouth and family advocates and practitioners should work to educate others about the effects of this legislation and support LGBTQ parent families in collective action and resiliency efforts.

Mapping of the educational status of Haryana based on location quotient

India has the world's second-largest educational system. The Indian educational system has seen sig-nificant changes. A lot of work has gone into shaping the current educational system. The announcements included the elimination of mandatory CBSE board examinations for class10th beginning in the 2010-11 school year, and the implementation of a grading system, after the passage of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. Haryana is the state that contributes 3.7 percent of India's overall GDP. The purpose of this research is to shed light on Haryana's educational system, as well as to examine several other sectors. This docu-ment is both qualitative and quantitative in character, and it is based on information gathered from several government websites as well as reports from the Planning Commission, the Gov-ernment of Haryana, and the Government of India. All the districts of the region are divided into three categories on the basis of the composite index of each of the districts. Districts having the highest composite index are Karnal and Yamuna Nagar while Panchkula has the lowest com-posite index. The rest of the districts depicts a moderate picture. Ambala and Kaithal Regions have higher composite indexes as these districts are more urbanized and people of these dis-tricts are more education conscious.

Manajemen Pendapatan untuk Kestabilan Finansial Sekolah

The purpose of this research is to describe the problem of revenue management at SMAIT Nur Hidayah and its alternative solutions. This study used a qualitative field approach. The primary data is in the form of observations and in-depth interviews with school principals and finance staff. Secondary data is in the form of education bill documents. Data analysis uses the Miles and Huberman technique, namely through the stages of presenting data, reducing data, and creating meaning. The results of this study indicate: income management problems at SMAIT Nur Hidayah are caused by the absence of a variety of payment systems that make it easy for users and the absence of strict sanctions for users who do not fulfill their obligations in paying bills. Alternative solutions to this problem are 1) holding a system of paying off arrears in stages, 2) holding a payment package system (bundling) with certain profit offers, 3) developing and maximizing digital services (fintech), 4) building a system to anticipate negligence, 5) imposition of strict sanctions for violators of rules/agreement.

The Thinkery and the Academy: Examining the Legal Parameters and Interactions of Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression Under English Law

Abstract This paper examines how the right to free expression and academic freedom interact under English and international law, discusses how those two rights have traditionally been thought to interact, and considers how they can be brought together with the concept of academic free expression. In doing so, the article examines the legal parameters and key characteristics of academic free expression, namely: what is the protection afforded to it; what are its ‘qualifying criteria’; what are its limits and how might the protection afforded to it be lost; and, where might such protection not be lost as compared to the general right to free expression. To end, the article discusses why this all matters with reference to recent high-profile disputes over academic freedom, and examines how these issues interact with other UK laws, in particular, the upcoming Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill.

Miseducation

“Climate science literacy bills in Washington fail.”“Climate change education bills die in Rhode Island.”“Italian students will soon be required to learn about global warming. American kids? Not so much.”These are just a few of the recent headlines taken from science education organizations, such as the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), who have been “working with teachers, parents, scientists, and concerned citizens at the local, state, and national levels to ensure that topics including evolution and climate change are taught accurately, honestly, and confidently.” Defending the teaching of topics such as evolution and climate change in K–12 schools is not new to the NCSE. Alongside these heroic organizations stands Katie Worth, a former investigative journalist for PBS’s FRONTLINE and a stalwart defender of teaching the science of climate change. In her book Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America, Worth describes various groups at the local, state, and national levels who have fought hard to prevent the teaching of climate change to K–12 students in every state in the country. Although most of these initiatives have failed, unfortunately quite a few have survived the legislative process. Through meticulous research, Worth reviewed hundreds of textbooks, designed and built a 50-state database, and traveled to more than a dozen communities where she interviewed students and teachers about what is being taught about climate change in America’s K–12 public schools. Her findings are both interesting and alarming.The book reads like a suspenseful detective novel as Worth connects the pieces of the climate-change-education-thwarting puzzle by following the money and influence of oil corporations, local and state legislatures, school board officials, libertarian think tanks, conservative lobby groups, and textbook publishers—all of whom have taken their lead and marching orders from previous fights over the teaching of evolution and the advertising of tobacco products. In the first chapter, “The Science and the Doubt,” Worth highlights the disconnect between the nature of science (NOS) and some science teachers’ misconception that science’s openness to change is its weakness, rather than one of its strengths. Her interview with one such science teacher is eye-opening to say the least. Chapter 2, “The Teachers,” recounts a few other teacher interviews and focuses on how little time is spent on the topic of climate change in the science classroom and how pedagogical strategies such as classroom debate, if done poorly when climate change is considered, can lead to student misconceptions about human-induced climate change. Worth states, “No teacher would encourage a class to debate cell theory, when there is no evidence for a competing theory, and neither should students be asked to debate whether significantly raising the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does or does not heat the planet.”Chapters 3–6 (“The Evolution,” “The Standards,” “The Textbooks,” and “Selling Kids on Fossil Fuels”) highlight the history of science content, focusing on the effect of cancel culture on the teaching of evolution; the nature and development of K–12 science standards in the United States; and the influence of the multimillion-dollar “energy education” campaign by big oil companies, such as the American Petroleum Institute’s decades-long, shrewd, and at times unethical messaging blatantly rejecting the science of climate change. In the closing chapter, “The Victory,” Worth highlights a few of the minor climate change education victories that have been achieved by local, state, and national education boards, while at the same time stating that “the American public’s perspective on global climate change remains wildly out of step with that of scientists.” She goes on to say that “as of 2019, 30 percent of Americans falsely thought global warming was mostly natural.” Worth ends the chapter by warning the reader that “every year, state lawmakers propose legislation that would allow teachers to miseducate their students about human-induced climate change” and that there are still “troves of misleading educational materials [that] are available online.”Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America is an informative book with richly investigated text and an impressively detailed reference section. It takes the reader on an engaging, data-laden, historical, science education journey, exposing us to the widespread ignorance about the scientific consensus, to ideological pressures, and to the disinformation campaigns promoted by the fossil fuel industry, textbook publishers, school board officials, and other ill-intentioned groups. As a practicing biologist and science educator, I remain hopeful that due to the heroic efforts of investigative reporters such as Katie Worth, books like this will continue to serve as platforms for further conversations about the importance of climate change education, and I think they should be essential reading for teachers of science and other subjects alike, who are concerned for the future of humanity.

The Intermediate Education (Ireland) Bill 1878: “a very imperfect attempt to aid Irish intermediate education”?1

ABSTRACT Discussions bearing upon the provision of intermediate (post-primary) schooling in Ireland in the nineteenth century were inextricably interwoven with debates regarding Catholic autonomy there. The establishment, in 1878, of the intermediate system, cannot be understood outside the context of Irish Catholic grievances, imagined or otherwise. This article excavates that theme within the context of the parliamentary debate that resulted in the passing of the Intermediate Education (Ireland) Bill 1878. The study does not range beyond this remit, rather, it seeks to demonstrates how hostility to the Bill, as a form of discreet funding of denominationally owned schools in Ireland, was implicit within objections to the absence of inspection, the form that payment for results might take and, on occasion, explicit in terms of antagonism to state funded Catholic intermediate-type schooling there. Intermediate schools were similar to present-day secondary schools in that they were intended for pupils who had completed primary school and entered pupils for terminal examinations. However, even in the period we are dealing with, definitions were vague. However, for the purposes of convenience, “intermediate”, rather than “secondary” is employed throughout. Intermediate education should not, however, be understood in the contemporary sense of a system underpinned by public money, designed, with a compulsory attendance element, to cater for all and staffed by trained graduates. We are not concerned with individual schools, their daily operation or the development of schools by denominational communities; rather, the article excavates the parliamentary discussion with a view to better understanding the denominational and practical challenges the Intermediate Education (Ireland) Act faced before becoming legislation.

How can universities promote academic freedom? Insights from the front line of the gender wars

AbstractThe UK Government's Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is currently progressing through Parliament. The bill is designed to strengthen free speech and academic freedom in higher education, in response to what former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson describes as ‘the rise of intolerance and cancel culture upon our campuses’. But is there really a crisis of academic freedom in British universities?To see that there is, say Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan, we need only look at the contemporary reality of suppression of debate on sex and gender. The evidence they catalogue of suppression of research, of blacklisting, harassment and smear campaigns, of no‐platforming, disinvitations and shutting down of events, is incontrovertible. The recent experience of scholars and students wishing to discuss the material reality and political salience of sex makes complacency about academic freedom a luxury we cannot afford.Suissa and Sullivan set out a powerful argument for the role of academic freedom in pursuing truth within the academy and developing democracy beyond it. They effectively counter attempts to narrow the scope of academic freedom so as to render it compatible with no‐platforming. And they lay out a series of practical steps administrators can take to ensure that universities are places where an expansive and pluralistic intellectual climate prevails.This is a timely and compelling intervention in a vexed but urgent public debate. For their clear‐sighted diagnosis of where and how academic freedom has been eroded in our universities, and for their judicious account of what must be done to rebuild it, Suissa and Sullivan deserve a wide and attentive hearing.

Understanding Higher Education Bill Success in the United States Congress

Understanding Higher Education Bill Success in the United States Congress

Understanding Higher Education Bill Success in the United States Congress

Understanding Higher Education Bill Success in the United States Congress

Legislating Right, Contemplating Duty: Parliamentary Debate on RTE Second Amendment Bill

The study is an attempt to understand the prevailing discourse in India on education as a right by closely reading the parliamentary debates on The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017. Prior to the passing of the above-mentioned amendment bill The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 had debarred schools from detaining or expelling a child till the completion of her elementary education. This provision was amended by the Indian Parliament by passing the bill. When the bill was moved in the Indian parliament it generated debate on the various aspects of education and schooling. The study critically analyses the texts of two proceedings of the parliamentary debate: one from the lower house (Lok Sabha) and the other from the upper house (Rajya Sabha). The study concludes that the deliberation on the bill turned the right-based approach on elementary education almost upside down. The 86th amendment in the Indian constitution and subsequent enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 had recognized children in the age group of 6–14 years as ‘right holders’ while the Indian state had been identified as the ‘duty bearer’. The discourse emerged in the Indian Parliament during the debate on the Amendment Bill, 2017 constituted Indian children of school-going age, their parents and teachers as groups accountable to the state for achieving the goals for universal elementary education, while the Indian state was constituted as an entity with the right to demand compliances from children, parents and teachers.

Editor’s Introduction

Editor’s Introduction

TRIBAL EDUCATION IN INDIA: GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE

India is a country of multi-racial groups which is reflected by different cultures, religions, languages and racial groups. These social groups are at different levels of development. The Scheduled Tribe is one of the principle groups which have a history of discrimination. They are economically, politically and educationally backward. Right from independence Government of India has taken many progressive initiatives for the holistic developmental of the tribal. In this endeavour, the Right to Education bill 2009 was a landmark step in realizing the cherished goal of universal elementary education which will also certainly help tribal community. It is a well established fact that there is a close relationship between level of education and economic prosperity. An educated person is given more respect and than an uneducated. So receiving education is essential for every individual. Education is considered as one of the important tool for the socio-economic development of tribal. This paper attempts to highlight different constitutional safeguards and promotive schemes undertaken by the Government India for empowerment of education among tribal .

Supplementing school-based religious education in Uganda: a case study for the Mugigi catechetical course

Religious education, like all learning, can take place in informal, nonformal, and formal settings. In Uganda, the Education Bill 2007 triggered discussions about religious education and control over schools by founding religious bodies. In this context, the role played by the Mugigi course to supplement the religious education imparted in schools has become especially important. The course targets candidates for the Solemn Communion and involves catechetical instruction, formation, and literacy. This paper compares the teaching approach of Mugigi and that of schools. Also highlighted are three limitations of the Mugigi programme, related respectively to the issues of poverty, the risk of placing too much emphasis on examination results, and the ‘apparent failure’ to help learners reflect further on the local Church’s inculturated rites integrated into the Mass.

The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 and its significance for the Church of Scotland.

During the 1850’s and 60’s there was increasing discontent regarding the provision of school education as controlled and managed by the Church of Scotland. This led to a number of Parliamentary Bills being brought forward proposing a new national system. The Church opposed these mainly on the grounds that there was no guarantee that Religious Instruction would continue to have a place in the school curriculum. In February 1872 Lord Advocate George Young presented in the Commons an Education Bill ‘To extend and amend the provisions of the law of Scotland on the subject of education’ in order that ‘the means of procuring efficient education … may be furnished and made available to the whole people of Scotland.’ This was passed on 2nd August as The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 and transferred the full control of schools from church to state. The Act included a Preamble allowing for Religious Instruction to be taught according to ‘use and wont’. The removal of its management of school education may be seen as a major blow for the Church of Scotland, removing a historic contribution to national life. In actual fact, the consequence was the revitalising of the Church enabling it to concentrate its energy on strengthening its influence in the community and in outreach to its parishes with a new sense of social mission. Although the Church had lost its direct control of the school curriculum it continued to support Religious Instruction through its Teacher Training, its Sunday schools and its ministerial representation on school boards.