Policy Press
Three Learning duties and learning rights
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Abstract
Traditionally, the most important way of promoting equal opportunities in education has been (the extension of) compulsory education: public authorities try to impose minimum participation on every individual as a way of ensuring the socialisation of young people and avoiding dependency in adulthood. While this tendency still persists today (there are obvious signs of ongoing pressure on jobless school leavers) the emphasis appears to be shifting in recent debates from learning duties (compulsory education) to ‘learning rights’. In this chapter, we describe and discuss the issues on this subject.
The duration of compulsory education in the European Union varies from 8 years (Italy), 9 years (Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and Norway), 10 years (Spain, France), 11 years (Luxembourg, England, Wales and Scotland) to more than 11 years if years of part-time schooling is taken into account (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland). Compulsory education most frequently begins at the age of six but it has recently been lowered to the age of four in Luxembourg, where attendance in the last year of pre-school education is compulsory, and in Northern Ireland. In Denmark, on the other hand, it begins at age seven.
Over the decade 1984-94, almost half of the countries extended compulsory schooling by one, two or three years. They did this either by raising the school leaving age – which for full-time education is now usually 15 or 16 years – or by lowering the starting age, generally set at 5 or 6 years. In general, such extensions took place within a comprehensive curriculum.
Abstract
Traditionally, the most important way of promoting equal opportunities in education has been (the extension of) compulsory education: public authorities try to impose minimum participation on every individual as a way of ensuring the socialisation of young people and avoiding dependency in adulthood. While this tendency still persists today (there are obvious signs of ongoing pressure on jobless school leavers) the emphasis appears to be shifting in recent debates from learning duties (compulsory education) to ‘learning rights’. In this chapter, we describe and discuss the issues on this subject.
The duration of compulsory education in the European Union varies from 8 years (Italy), 9 years (Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and Norway), 10 years (Spain, France), 11 years (Luxembourg, England, Wales and Scotland) to more than 11 years if years of part-time schooling is taken into account (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland). Compulsory education most frequently begins at the age of six but it has recently been lowered to the age of four in Luxembourg, where attendance in the last year of pre-school education is compulsory, and in Northern Ireland. In Denmark, on the other hand, it begins at age seven.
Over the decade 1984-94, almost half of the countries extended compulsory schooling by one, two or three years. They did this either by raising the school leaving age – which for full-time education is now usually 15 or 16 years – or by lowering the starting age, generally set at 5 or 6 years. In general, such extensions took place within a comprehensive curriculum.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures iv
- List of abbreviations vi
- Introduction 1
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A status quaestionis
- The educational situation of disadvantaged children 15
- Strategies to reduce educational inequality: a general framework 37
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Equal opportunity strategies
- Learning duties and learning rights 53
- Financial and material assistance for low-income pupils 75
- Integrated services for disadvantaged young people 97
- Early childhood education 123
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Equal treatment strategies
- Curricular reforms 147
- Social expectations, poverty and pedagogical innovations 163
- Teacher training 183
- Parent-school-community relationships 199
- Provision, integration and inclusion for children with special educational needs 221
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Equal outcomes strategies
- Educational priority policies 249
- Learning support 273
- Alternative curricula, transition systems and second-chance provisions 289
- Conclusions and recommendations 313
- Bibliography 327
- Appendix: Background information about poverty and education in the six countries covered by this study 371
- Index 407
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures iv
- List of abbreviations vi
- Introduction 1
-
A status quaestionis
- The educational situation of disadvantaged children 15
- Strategies to reduce educational inequality: a general framework 37
-
Equal opportunity strategies
- Learning duties and learning rights 53
- Financial and material assistance for low-income pupils 75
- Integrated services for disadvantaged young people 97
- Early childhood education 123
-
Equal treatment strategies
- Curricular reforms 147
- Social expectations, poverty and pedagogical innovations 163
- Teacher training 183
- Parent-school-community relationships 199
- Provision, integration and inclusion for children with special educational needs 221
-
Equal outcomes strategies
- Educational priority policies 249
- Learning support 273
- Alternative curricula, transition systems and second-chance provisions 289
- Conclusions and recommendations 313
- Bibliography 327
- Appendix: Background information about poverty and education in the six countries covered by this study 371
- Index 407
