Revisiting Equity, Equality, and Reform in Contemporary Public Education

Equity, equality, and reform were intended to level the playing field, so to speak, for children who have been marginalized since the idea of public education was introduced. The beginning stages of a structured, formal education system was not inclusive; in fact, the one-size-fits-all mindset of public education set a standard by which children of color, children with disabilities, and poor children received nothing more than a substandard education, if they received an education at all. This new idea of a free public education was reserved for the majority, unattainable for children who were perceived to fall outside the notion of a traditional student model. This chapter revisits equity, equality, and reform in public education.

Spending privately for education despite having a free public education policy: evidence from Sri Lankan household surveys

PurposeCompared to other neighbouring South Asian countries, Sri Lanka performs well in terms of education outcomes. Education is provided by the government for free from primary school level to the first-degree University level, yet households’ private education expenses are steadily increasing over time. Thus, this paper analyses trends and determinants of household private education expenditures using the country-wide micro-data from 1990 to 2013.Design/methodology/approachUsing Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 1990/91, 2002 and 2012/13 data along with annual school census data, this paper examines the relationship between private education expenditure patterns and the observed changes of reported both demand-side and supply-side factors. In particular, the present paper analyses determinants of household private education expenditures within the two-part model econometric framework by taking into account location and time fixed-effects.FindingsThe results show that trend of spending privately for education is increasing over time with rising household income. Rural, Tamil and Islamic households and those headed by less-educated members are less likely to spend privately for education. The results also confirm that improved-supply-side factors can significantly lower the household burden arising from out-of-pocket education expenditure.Research limitations/implicationsUnavailability of panel data and missing data on several districts due to security concerns are limitations of the study.Social implicationsThe trend of increasing private education expenses has implications on equity concerns of education in Sri Lanka, and it can undermine the purpose of free public education policy.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is the first study for Sri Lanka that examines patterns and determinants of private education expenditures using nationwide data for last two decades. This paper applies novel econometric techniques to account for various issues in household survey data analysis.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2019-0445

Immigrant and Refugee Children in the United States

Since 2014 America has seen increasingly large numbers of poor, immigrant refugee children, often unaccompanied, arrive in the United States. By 2016, 26% of the 70 million children in the U.S. under 18 were immigrant children. States with high numbers of immigrants with children, many illegal and undocumented and often living in the care of non-family members, attend schools in the United States. In 1982, the Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe recognized the right of all students, regardless of immigration status, to have a free public education affirming a state may not deny access to a basic public education to any child residing in the state whether present in the United States legally or otherwise. Educators face issues with under-resourced schools gaining increasing numbers of immigrant children of undocumented immigrants while there is a need to enhance opportunities for all students to learn.

The austerity fuelled wave of contention in Croatia – myth or reality?

Analyses of protest dynamics in Croatia are rare, partially because until know it was not possible to view them systematically. Relying on the newly collected protest event data 2000-2017, this paper describes the main trends and dynamics of protest activities in Croatia in the observed period. It re-examines Beissinger and Sasse's claim about the absence of austerity related protests in Croatia after 2008. The analysis shows that though protests directly addressing austerity were relatively scarce, when the protest set is expanded to protests which demanded free public education, advocated labour rights, and fought for the right to the city, the prevailing thesis about "quietism" in Croatia can be challenged. The paper aims to relate some of the observed protest dynamics to Kerbo's distinction between movements of crisis and movements of affluence. Focusing on the period between the student movement in 2008 until Facebook protests in 2011, it shows that the student movement and "the right to the city" movement preceded Facebook pro- tests in formulating and expressing socio-economic grievances and articulated anti-systemic sentiment. Due to their strong organizational structure, resources and activists' "know-how", these movements resemble Kerbo's movements of affluence. On the other hand, the 2011 Facebook protests lacked organizational structure and continuous engagement and can be seen as movements of crisis.

E- Learning Experiences from the Arab World

Although most Arab countries offer free public education, the majority of their educational systems do not prepare students for the labour market or equip them with the skills needed to compete in today’s global society. Teaching methods and techniques do not encourage critical and analytical thinking, and are still teacher-centred instead of being designed with intentional focus on students and learners. E-learning technologies have the potential to address most of these challenges. For example, digital technologies can make education more efficient, scalable and accessible. And with the wide spread of the internet in the region, an increased adoption of e-learning has been witnessed among Arab students and life-long learners. To assess the current state of the e-learning sphere in the Arab world, we conducted a survey to learn more about the digital learning experiences of Arab students. In this paper, we report our findings. Most of the 200 participants who responded to our survey hold a bachelor degree and higher, and claimed to spend more than 4 hours online. However, only 19.5% of all participants have enrolled in an Arabic e-learning program or MOOC, and 70% still prefer to take their courses in English. We also assess the different factors Arab learners take into consideration when joining an online course, and also explore the reasons that lead 80% of participants not to join any online courses. Our observations show that adoption of digital learning in the Arab world is very low but has significant potential for growth. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to spread digital learning in the region.

A universalização da Educação Básica no Brasil: um longo caminho

Resumo: O presente artigo resulta de uma extensa pesquisa bibliográfica e documental desenvolvida entre agosto de 2014 e novembro de 2016 cujo propósito foi compreender a construção dos direitos à educação no Brasil e a universalização da educação básica. De natureza histórico-sociológica, o estudo demonstra que as raízes oligárquicas do Estado, assim como a cultura escravocrata e autoritária da sociedade fizeram tardar ao máximo a positivação dos direitos à educação pública e gratuita. A instrução primária, com duração de 2 a 5 anos, foi estruturada a partir de 1920 mediante as reformas estaduais. A escolaridade mínima obrigatória de 8 anos foi estabelecida somente em 1971 (Lei n. 5.692); a de 9 anos, em 2006 (Lei n. 11.274) e a de 14 anos (dos 4 aos 17 anos de idade, envolvendo a educação básica, inclusive para os jovens e adultos que não tiveram acesso na idade própria) em 2009 (Emenda Constitucional n. 59). A despeito de o Estado brasileiro ter reconhecido a educação como um direito social na década de 1930, foi somente em 1988 que o ensino obrigatório foi assumido pela Constituição como um direito público subjetivo. Ao aprovar esse princípio, a Constituição introduziu um importante instrumento jurídico de controle da atuação do poder estatal. Trata-se de uma importante inovação na medida em que ficam estabelecidas algumas situações nas quais o Poder Público tem o dever de assegurar e fazer em benefício do interesse individual do cidadão.Palavras-chave: Política educacional. Universalização da educação básica. Direitos sociais. Cidadania.Universalization of Basic Education in Brazil: a long pathAbstract: This article results from an extensive bibliographical and documentary research developed between August 2014 and November 2016, whose purpose was to understand the construction of the rights to education in Brazil and the universalization of basic education. Of historical and sociological nature, the study demonstrates that the oligarchic roots of the State, as well as the slave-owning and authoritarian culture of society, delayed to the maximum the positivation of the rights to free public education. The primary education, lasting from 2 to 5 years, was structured from 1920 through the state reforms. Minimum compulsory schooling of 8 years was established only in 1971 (Law 5.692); of 9 years, in 2006 (Law 11,274) and 14 years (from 4 to 17 years old, involving basic education, including for young people and adults who did not have access to their own age) in 2009 (Constitutional Amendment 59 ). Although the Brazilian State recognized education as a social right in the 1930s, it was only in 1988 that compulsory education was assumed by the Constitution as a subjective public right. In approving this principle, the Constitution introduced an important legal instrument to control the performance of state power. This is an important innovation in the means that some situations are established in which the public power has the duty to ensure and do, to the benefit of the individual's interest of the citizen.Keywords: Educacional policies. Universalization of basic education. Social rights. Citizenship.Universalización de la Educación Básica en Brasil: un largo caminoResumen: El presente artículo resulta de una extensa investigación bibliográfica y documental desarrollada entre agosto de 2014 y noviembre de 2016 cuyo propósito fue comprender la construcción de los derechos a la educación en Brasil y la universalización de la educación básica. De carácter histórico-sociológico, el estudio demuestra que las raíces oligárquicas del Estado, así como la cultura esclavócrata y autoritaria de la sociedad, tardaron al máximo la positivación de los derechos a la educación pública y gratuita. La instrucción primaria, de duración de 2 a 5 años, fue estructurada a partir de 1920 mediante las reformas estatales. La escolaridad mínima obligatoria de 8 años fue establecida solamente en 1971 (Ley 5.692); la de 9 años, en 2006 (Ley 11.274) y la de 14 años (de los 4 a los 17 años de edad, involucrando la educación básica, incluso para los jóvenes y adultos que no tuvieron acceso a la edad propia) en 2009 (Enmienda Constitucional 59). A pesar de que el Estado brasileño reconoció la educación como un derecho social en la década de 1930, fue sólo en 1988 que la enseñanza obligatoria fue asumida por la Constitución como un derecho público subjetivo. Al aprobar ese principio, la Constitución introdujo un importante instrumento jurídico de control de la actuación del poder estatal. Se trata de una importante innovación en la medida en que quedan establecidas algunas situaciones en que el Poder Público tiene el deber de asegurar y hacer, en beneficio del interés individual del ciudadano.Palabras clave: Políticas educacionales. Universalización de la educación básica. Derechos sociales. Ciudadanía.

A universalização da Educação Básica no Brasil: um longo caminho

Resumo: O presente artigo resulta de uma extensa pesquisa bibliográfica e documental desenvolvida entre agosto de 2014 e novembro de 2016 cujo propósito foi compreender a construção dos direitos à educação no Brasil e a universalização da educação básica. De natureza histórico-sociológica, o estudo demonstra que as raízes oligárquicas do Estado, assim como a cultura escravocrata e autoritária da sociedade fizeram tardar ao máximo a positivação dos direitos à educação pública e gratuita. A instrução primária, com duração de 2 a 5 anos, foi estruturada a partir de 1920 mediante as reformas estaduais. A escolaridade mínima obrigatória de 8 anos foi estabelecida somente em 1971 (Lei n. 5.692); a de 9 anos, em 2006 (Lei n. 11.274) e a de 14 anos (dos 4 aos 17 anos de idade, envolvendo a educação básica, inclusive para os jovens e adultos que não tiveram acesso na idade própria) em 2009 (Emenda Constitucional n. 59). A despeito de o Estado brasileiro ter reconhecido a educação como um direito social na década de 1930, foi somente em 1988 que o ensino obrigatório foi assumido pela Constituição como um direito público subjetivo. Ao aprovar esse princípio, a Constituição introduziu um importante instrumento jurídico de controle da atuação do poder estatal. Trata-se de uma importante inovação na medida em que ficam estabelecidas algumas situações nas quais o Poder Público tem o dever de assegurar e fazer em benefício do interesse individual do cidadão.Palavras-chave: Política educacional. Universalização da educação básica. Direitos sociais. Cidadania. Universalization of Basic Education in Brazil: a long pathAbstract: This article results from an extensive bibliographical and documentary research developed between August 2014 and November 2016, whose purpose was to understand the construction of the rights to education in Brazil and the universalization of basic education. Of historical and sociological nature, the study demonstrates that the oligarchic roots of the State, as well as the slave-owning and authoritarian culture of society, delayed to the maximum the positivation of the rights to free public education. The primary education, lasting from 2 to 5 years, was structured from 1920 through the state reforms. Minimum compulsory schooling of 8 years was established only in 1971 (Law 5.692); of 9 years, in 2006 (Law 11,274) and 14 years (from 4 to 17 years old, involving basic education, including for young people and adults who did not have access to their own age) in 2009 (Constitutional Amendment 59 ). Although the Brazilian State recognized education as a social right in the 1930s, it was only in 1988 that compulsory education was assumed by the Constitution as a subjective public right. In approving this principle, the Constitution introduced an important legal instrument to control the performance of state power. This is an important innovation in the means that some situations are established in which the public power has the duty to ensure and do, to the benefit of the individual's interest of the citizen.Keywords: Educacional policies. Universalization of basic education. Social rights. Citizenship. Universalización de la Educación Básica en Brasil: un largo caminoResumen: El presente artículo resulta de una extensa investigación bibliográfica y documental desarrollada entre agosto de 2014 y noviembre de 2016 cuyo propósito fue comprender la construcción de los derechos a la educación en Brasil y la universalización de la educación básica. De carácter histórico-sociológico, el estudio demuestra que las raíces oligárquicas del Estado, así como la cultura esclavócrata y autoritaria de la sociedad, tardaron al máximo la positivación de los derechos a la educación pública y gratuita. La instrucción primaria, de duración de 2 a 5 años, fue estructurada a partir de 1920 mediante las reformas estatales. La escolaridad mínima obligatoria de 8 años fue establecida solamente en 1971 (Ley 5.692); la de 9 años, en 2006 (Ley 11.274) y la de 14 años (de los 4 a los 17 años de edad, involucrando la educación básica, incluso para los jóvenes y adultos que no tuvieron acceso a la edad propia) en 2009 (Enmienda Constitucional 59). A pesar de que el Estado brasileño reconoció la educación como un derecho social en la década de 1930, fue sólo en 1988 que la enseñanza obligatoria fue asumida por la Constitución como un derecho público subjetivo. Al aprobar ese principio, la Constitución introdujo un importante instrumento jurídico de control de la actuación del poder estatal. Se trata de una importante innovación en la medida en que quedan establecidas algunas situaciones en que el Poder Público tiene el deber de asegurar y hacer, en beneficio del interés individual del ciudadano.Palabras clave: Políticas educacionales. Universalización de la educación básica. Derechos sociales. Ciudadanía.

Thirteenth Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research: Public Education and the Social Contract: Restoring the Promise in an Age of Diversity and Division

Building on the premise that closing achievement gaps is an economic imperative both to regain international educational supremacy and to maintain global economic competitiveness, I ask whether it is possible to rewrite the social contract so that education is a fundamental right—a statutory guarantee—that is both uniform across states and federally enforceable. I argue that the federal government was complicit in aggravating educational inequality by not guaranteeing free, public education as a basic right during propitious political moments; by enabling the creation of a segregated public higher education system; by relegating the Department of Education and its predecessors to a secondary status in the federal administration, thereby compromising its enforcement capability; and by proliferating incremental reforms while ignoring the unequal institutional arrangements that undermine equal opportunity to learn. History shows that a strong federal role can potentially strengthen the educational social contract.

Social Movements and Institutions

This study approaches the relationship between social movements and institutions in Brazil concerning three different stages of the process of re-democratization: the political transition; the National Constituent Assembly; and the new Constitutional Order. The general question is: what is the interface, reciprocity or conflict, between social movements and institutions in this context of social change? The paper examines the different roles of social movements and institutions in each specific period: in the pre-democratization moment, the movement for direct elections for president, Diretas-Já, is analyzed; in the National Constituent Assembly, the movement in defense for free public education is examined; in the new constitutional order, the pro-reform political movement is studied. The work focuses on the scope of the studies on social movements and democracy. It belongs to the field of the studies about the representativeness and legitimacy of the demands of social movements in the context of democracy and its challenges. Key words: social movement, institution, reciprocity, conflict, democracy. Social Movements and Institutions ResumenEl estudio aborda la relación entre los movimientos sociales e instituciones en Brasil en tres etapas diferentes del proceso de redemocratización en las últimas décadas: la transición política; la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente; y el nuevo orden constitucional. La pregunta general es: ¿cuál es la relación, la reciprocidad o el conflito, entre los movimientos sociales y las instituciones en este contexto de cambio social? El artículo examina los diferentes roles de los movimientos sociales e instituciones en cada período específico: en el momento de la transición política analiza el movimiento de las elecciones directas para presidente, las Diretas-Já; en la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente aborda el movimiento en defensa de la educación pública y gratuita; en el nuevo orden constitucional se estudia el movimiento pro-reforma política. El trabajo se centra en el ámbito de los estudios sobre los movimientos sociales y la democracia. Pertenece al campo de la investigación sobre la representatividad y la legitimidad de las demandas de los movimientos sociales en el contexto de la democracia y sus desafíos.Palabras clave: movimientos sociales, instituciones, reciprocidad, conflicto, democracia. Social Movements and Institutions ResumoO estudo aborda a relação entre movimentos sociais e instituições no Brasil em três diferentes fases do processo de democratização nas últimas décadas: a transição política; a Assembleia Nacional Constituinte; e a nova ordem Constitucional. A questão geral é a seguinte: qual a interface, reciprocidade ou conflito entre os movimentos sociais e instituições neste contexto de mudança social? O artigo examina os diferentes papéis dos movimentos sociais e instituições em cada período específico: no momento da transição política analisa o movimento de eleições diretas para presidente, o Diretas-Já; na Assembleia Nacional Constituinte aborda o movimento em defesa da educação pública e gratuita; na nova ordem constitucional focaliza o movimento pela reforma política. O trabalho centra-se no campo dos estudos sobre movimentos sociais e democracia. Pertence ao campo de pesquisa sobre a representatividade e legitimidade das demandas dos movimentos sociais no contexto da democracia e seus desafios.Palavras-chave: movimentos sociais, instituições, reciprocidade, conflito, democracia.

The Myth of “Free” Public Education: Impact of School Quality on House Prices in the Fremont Unified School District, California

Using the Fremont Unified School District in Fremont, California, as the study area, this study estimates the impact of school quality on house prices and finds that a one-standard-deviation increase in the quality of elementary, middle, and high schools significantly increases house prices—by 20 percent for an average-priced house. I urge urban planners and policy makers to explicitly recognize the impact of schools on residential segregation, to consider access to high-quality K–12 education when developing plans and policies, to collaborate with school districts to improve educational quality, and to provide incentives for the construction of affordable housing in neighborhoods with high-quality schools.