Key resource

Education is a fundamental human right of every woman, man and child. In states’ efforts to meet their commitments to making the right to education a reality for all, most have made impressive progress in recent decades. With new laws and policies that remove fees in basic education, significant progress has been made in advancing free education. This has led to tens of millions of children enrolling for the first time and the number of out of school children and adolescents falling by almost half since 2000. Important steps have also been taken with regard to gender parity and states have made efforts to raise the quality of education through improved teacher policies and a growing emphasis on learning outcomes. 

Despite these efforts, breaches of the right to education persist worldwide, illustrated perhaps most starkly by the fact that 262 million primary and secondary-aged children and youth are still out of school. Girls, persons with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds or rural areas, indigenous persons, migrants and national minorities are among those who face the worst discrimination, affecting both their right to go to school and their rights within schools.

To respond to the challenges, the Right to Education Initiative (RTE) with UNESCO have developed this handbook to guide action on ensuring full compliance with the right to education. Its objective is not to present the right to education as an abstract, conceptual, or purely legal concept, but rather to be action-oriented. The handbook will also be an important reference for those working towards the achievement of SDG4, by offering guidance on how to leverage legal commitment to the right to education as a strategic way to achieve this goal. 

FRANCAIS

In 2018, 17.2 million people were internally displaced as a result of natural disasters (IDMC 2019). Just one year later, in 2019, 24.9 million people were displaced due to natural disasters and extreme weather events (IDMC 2020). The catastrophic effects of climate change are no longer isolated emergencies, but have become the new global norm- a reality that is only intensifying each year. Yet the literature regarding climate change has little to no information on the specific nexus between climate displaced and their right to education.

Persons displaced by the effects of climate change face significant vulnerabilities with regard to accessing education: saturated school capacity, destroyed infrastructure, linguistic barriers, difficulties to have past qualifications recognized, discrimination, and more. This is why UNESCO commenced a new initiative: the Impact of Climate Displacement on the Right to Education. This is explored throughout this working paper. 

The Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE, by its Spanish acronym) is a pluralistic network of civil society organizations with a presence in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which promotes social mobilization and political advocacy to defend the human right to education. This collection of articles, essays and statements reflect on the vital role of public education in the region and the fault lines exposed by the pandemic, considering both the challenges public education in Latin America faces and possible solutions, alternatives and ways forward.

 

 

Dans le présent rapport soumis en application des résolutions 8/4 et 44/3 du Conseil des droits de l’homme, la Rapporteuse spéciale sur le droit à l’éducation examine les dimensions culturelles du droit à l’éducation, éléments cruciaux de la réalisation du droit universel à une éducation inclusive et de qualité, telle que la préconise l’objectif de développement durable no 4. Dans son analyse, la Rapporteuse spéciale identifie, en prenant appui sur les nombreuses expériences nationales, des éléments propices au respect de la diversité et des droits culturels de chacun dans l’éducation: a) Valorisation des ressources culturelles présentes ; b) Participation à la vie éducationnelle de tous les acteurs pertinents, y compris les apprenants dans toute leur diversité ; c) Décentralisation en faveur des acteurs locaux et mise en place d’une certaine autonomie des écoles pour assurer la pertinence culturelle des apprentissages ; d) Méthodes d’observation participatives et systémiques ; e) Respect des libertés dans le champ éducationnel, notamment. La Rapporteuse spéciale invite à considérer le droit à l’éducation comme un droit culturel en tant que tel, c’est-à-dire comme le droit de chacun d’accéder aux ressources culturelles nécessaires pour développer librement son processus d’identification, vivre des relations dignes de reconnaissance mutuelle tout au long de son existence et affronter les défis cruciaux auxquels notre monde doit faire face, de s’adonner aux pratiques qui permettent de s’approprier ces ressources et d’y contribuer.

L’originalité de cette approche consiste à considérer la vie éducationnelle comme une relation vivante entre des acteurs (élèves, éducateurs, organisations et autres acteurs associés) et des ensembles de connaissances qui forment des ressources culturelles communes, porteuses « d’identité, de valeurs et de sens », sans lesquelles les acteurs ne peuvent rien. 

 

In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 8/4 and 44/3, the Special Rapporteur on the right to education considers the cultural dimensions of the right to education, which are crucial to ensuring that the universal right to inclusive and quality education is realized, as called for in Sustainable Development Goal 4. The Special Rapporteur calls for the right to education to be viewed as a cultural right – that is, as the right of each person to the cultural resources necessary to freely follow a process of identification, to experience mutually rewarding relations his or her life long, to deal with the crucial challenges facing our world and to engage in the practices that make it possible to take ownership of and contribute to these resources.

What is unique about this approach is its conception of educational life as a living relationship between actors (students, educators, organizations and other associated actors) and collections of knowledge that form shared cultural resources, vectors of identity, values and meaning, without which action is impossible.

En este informe, presentado en cumplimiento de las resoluciones 8/4 y 44/3 del Consejo de Derechos Humanos, la Relatora Especial sobre el derecho a la educación examina las dimensiones culturales del derecho a la educación, que son cruciales para lograr la plena efectividad del derecho universal a una educación inclusiva y de calidad, como preconiza el Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 4. En su análisis, la Relatora Especial señala, a partir de numerosas experiencias nacionales, elementos que favorecen el respeto de la diversidad y los derechos culturales de todos en la educación, a saber: a) La valoración de los recursos culturales presentes; c) La descentralización en favor de los actores locales y la dotación de cierta autonomía a las escuelas para garantizar la pertinencia cultural del aprendizaje; d) Los métodos de observación participativa y sistémica; e) El respeto de las libertades en el ámbito de la educación, en particular. La Relatora Especial hace un llamamiento para que el derecho a la educación se considere un derecho cultural en sí mismo, es decir, como el derecho de toda persona a tener acceso a los recursos culturales necesarios para desarrollar libremente su propio proceso de definición de la identidad, tener relaciones dignas de reconocimiento mutuo a lo largo de su vida y afrontar los desafíos cruciales a los que se enfrenta nuestro mundo, así como para participar en las prácticas que le permitan apropiarse de estos recursos y contribuir a ellos.

La originalidad de este enfoque radica en considerar la vida educativa como una relación viva entre los actores (alumnos, educadores, organizaciones y otros actores asociados) y el conjunto de conocimientos que forman los recursos culturales comunes, portadores “de identidad, de valores y sentido”, sin los cuales los actores no pueden hacer nada.

In working towards creating inclusive education systems, many countries have failed to address discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and
variations of sex characteristics. This is despite the fact that, as new data from Europe show, 54% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex youth surveyed had experienced bullying in school and 83% had witnessed some type of negative remarks addressed to someone else based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or variations of sex characteristics. In many other parts of the world, conditions do not even allow such data to be collected. While several countries have begun implementing changes in laws and policies, school-level interventions, curricula, and parental or community engagement, others not only avoid addressing the issues but are even taking measures that further exclude. Governments aspiring to respect their commitment to the goal of equitable and inclusive education by 2030 must protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex learners, improve monitoring of school-based bullying and violence, and create a positive, supportive learning environment.

Inclusion should be a principal commitment from early childhood. According to the latest estimates from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the number of children not enrolled in pre-school in the year before primary school has decreased over the past decade, from 52.1 million in 2009 to 47.2 million in 2018. Despite this progress, the large number of children still excluded from pre-school is a major concern, given the strong evidence linking access to inclusive early childhood care and education (ECCE) with school success, overall development, and well-being. Early childhood services aim to provide for all children equally, but when the most vulnerable children are excluded or ignored, universal participation is unattainable. Many children are denied access because of gender, disability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, language, refugee or displaced status, or due to a humanitarian crisis or natural disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this exclusion. Today, more than ever, it is vital to intensify advocacy and concrete efforts to guarantee the right of every child to ECCE by mobilizing the multiple actors working to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and its targets related to inclusive early childhood education.

This publication presents and discusses both qualitative and quantitative data for a renewed, action-oriented global commitment to universal and inclusive early childhood services. The recommendations have emerged from a literature review and consultations with experts, practitioners, and academics from multiple countries. It is intended for policy-makers, managers of ECCE programmes and services, practitioners, development partners, families, and research institutions. It recommends measures to be taken by policy-makers in consultation with relevant actors in order to make ECCE more inclusive. The measures are supported by research and illustrated by inspiring examples from across the globe. This publication supports all stakeholders who are committed to make inclusion from early childhood a reality.

 

FRANÇAIS

L’inclusion doit faire partie des engagements prioritaires dès la petite enfance. Selon les dernières estimations de l’Institut de statistique de l’UNESCO, le nombre d’enfants de moins de 6 ans non inscrits au pré-primaire a diminué au cours de la dernière décennie, passant de 52,1 millions, en 2009, à 47,2 millions, en 2018. Malgré cette avancée, cette situation reste très préoccupante, compte tenu de la relation entre l’accès aux services d’éducation inclusive et de protection de la petite enfance et le développement, le bien-être de l’enfant et la réussite scolaire. Les services à la petite enfance visent à accueillir tous les enfants, dans un souci d’égalité, mais si les plus vulnérables d’entre eux sont exclus et ne sont pas prioritaires, cet objectif risque d’être compromis. De nombreux enfants n’ont pas accès à l’éducation, en raison de leur handicap, de leur origine ethnique, de leur condition socio-économique, de leur situation géographique, de leur langue maternelle, de leur statut de réfugié ou de déplacé, ou d’un contexte de crise humanitaire. La pandémie de COVID-19 a exacerbé cette situation et, aujourd’hui plus que jamais, il devient indispensable de poursuivre et d’intensifier le plaidoyer et les efforts visant à assurer un droit universel à une inclusion dans l’éducation dès la petite enfance.Il importe de mobiliser les divers acteurs de l’inclusion, en vue de réaliser l’Objectif de développement durable 4 (ODD 4) et ses cibles relatives à la petite enfance.

Cette publication présente des données qualitatives et quantitatives et des réflexions orientées vers l’action, appelant à l’engagement mondial renouvelé en faveur de l’inclusion dès la petite enfance. Ses arguments se fondent sur la consultation d’experts, de praticiens et d’universitaires de divers pays et sur des activités de recherche documentaire récentes. Elle s’adresse aux décideurs politiques, aux gestionnaires des programmes et structures d’éducation et de protection de la petite enfance, aux intervenants, aux partenaires de développement, aux familles et aux institutions de recherche.Elle recommande aux décideurs politiques des mesures à prendre en concertation avec les acteurs concernés ainsi que des pistes d’intervention, dans la perspective de rendre l’éducation et la protection de la petite enfance (EPPE) plus inclusive. Ses propos s’appuient sur des exemples inspirants provenant de différents pays et sur des résultats de recherche.

Cette publication vise à soutenir l’action des divers intervenants impliqués et engagés en faveur d’une inclusion dans l’éducation dès la petite enfance.

 

ENGLISH

In recent decades, governments have made considerable efforts to provide education for all. However, a large gap remains between international commitments, such as the Sustainable Development Goal 4, and the actual achievement of equitable quality education for all. As a result, certain actors often critique public education as ineffective and inefficient, and thus incapable of addressing this issue. They argue for privatisation as a solution, deeming private providers as more innovative and effective than public ones. However, shortcomings in public education often arise not from lack of capacity, but lack of political will.

This review of examples of public education in low- and middle-income countries shows that, in direct contrast to widely disseminated (and empirically unvalidated) ideas, public education can be highly effective, efficient, and transformative and, crucially, it is possible to develop quality public education everywhere. 

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