Compulsory education - in schools only? : divergent developments in Germany

Germany is the focus of this paper, owing to the fact that since 1938 it has had the strictest laws on compulsory schooling worldwide. As a result, homeschooling in Germany has become virtually impossible. There are interesting divergences between policy and practice in the German setting, both in the country’s educational history and present educational problems. The Länder (federal states) have the responsibility for education, and they are taking a much stricter line against homeschoolers than a decade ago, especially by depriving parents of the custody of their homeschooled children at an early stage. The laws relied upon, however, were never intended to deal with such educational matters; they were designed to punish parents who abuse or neglect their children. The present, highly questionable legal action succeeds only because of the consent of state schools, state social welfare offices, and courts. The same laws are not used against the parents of the approximately 250,000 teens who are truant. The functioning of the legal and sociological machinery in Germany is being employed aggressively to stamp out homeschooling, while at the same time it ignores the crucial issue of parents who allow their children to skip school—thus depriving them of an adequate education at home or elsewhere. At the same time, the number of specialists in law and education, as well as politicians and governmental experts who argue in favor of homeschooling is growing, and media reports on homeschooling are much more positive than they were a decade ago

General musical education in Poland - conceptual assumptions and reality

Abstract: This article is of a review charactr. It is the result of the review of the literature, scientific research, author's own observations and aftere-thoughts related to the issue of general Polish concept of musical education in the context of its theoretical-conceptual assumptions and the practical realisation. Due to the organisational, pedagogical and research experience in the area of general musical education, this article presents both some criticism and normative suggestions regarding the educational reality in Poland.Key words: general musical education in Poland, theoretical background, musical education and upbringing, musical education practice in PolandEducação musical na Polônia – realidade e questões conceituaisResumo: Este artigo tem o caráter de uma revisão crítica.  É o resultado de pesquisa científica, revisão da literatura, e das próprias observações do autor e suas reflexões sobre o conceito polonês de educação musical no contexto dos conceitos teórico-conceituais e da realização prática. Com base em experiência organizacional, pedagógica e de pesquisa na área da educação musical em geral, este artigo apresenta algumas críticas como também sugestões normativas em relação à realidade educacional na Polônia.Palavras chave: educação musical, contexto teórico, educação musical e formação, prática da educação musical Educación Musical en Polonia – realidad y cuestiones conceptualesResumen: Este artículo tiene el carácter de una revisión crítica. Es el resultado de la pesquisa científica, revisión de literatura, y de las propias observaciones del autor y sus reflexiones sobre el concepto polonés de educación musical en el contexto de los conceptos teórico-conceptuales y de la realización práctica. Con base en experiencia organizacional, pedagógica y de pesquisa en el área de la educación musical en general, este artículo presenta algunas críticas como también sugestiones normativas en relación a la realidad educacional en Polonia.Palabras clave: Educación Musical, Contexto Teórico, Educación Musical y Formación, Practica de la Educación Musical.

Broadening the Horizons of Technology Education: Using Traditional Cultural Artefacts as Learning Tools in a Swedish Sámi School

The aim of this case study was to explore the nature of technology education in a Sámi school setting and to examine how knowledge about traditional cultural artefacts can contribute to broadening the horizons of technological literacy. The participants (teacher and pupils) in the study were all from the same Sámi primary school in Northern Sweden, and the activities connected to the artefacts took place with year 2 and 3 pupils. The method employed was participatory observation, and field notes, recorded conversations, photographs and children’s drawings were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The findings show that technology education in this school was connected to specific artefacts that are important in Sámi culture. Using these traditional cultural artefacts as a starting point, the pupils were given the opportunity to see that technology is more than modern high-tech; it is an age-old tradition of problem-solving, modification and adaptation to fulfil human needs. Technology education in this school was grounded in a holistic view of knowledge and was largely integrated with other school subjects. Myths and storytelling were frequently used to contextualise the technological content, and the historical aspect of technology was clear since connections between older and newer technological solutions were frequently made. The knowledge system embedded in the technology teaching can be described as collective and related to both artefacts and activities. Technological knowledge, activities and specific artefacts were not only attributed a practical value, they were also given a symbolic value, since a common knowledge base in technology contributes to strengthening the children’s cultural identity. This study confirms that artefacts can play an important role in technology education and that an understanding of the relationship between technology and culture can be regarded as a critical part of technological literacy. A cultural context, in combination with a holistic perspective on learning, gives artefacts meaning and provides a context within which they are used. Including indigenous technological knowledge can thus not only prevent a marginalisation of indigenous knowledge, it can also provide opportunities to broaden pupils’ perspectives of what technology is, how it evolves, and the driving forces behind technological change

Canada\u27s Residential Schools and the Right to Integrity

Apart from characterizations of the residential schools system as imposing cultural genocide, it is possible to understand the system in terms of a legal wrong involving violations of family integrity. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw increasing state intervention in families generally so as to impose compulsory education. However, wrongs in this intervention were recognized, and international law developed toward a right of family integrity that led to changes in non-Indigenous contexts. Evidence from the TRC shows that Canada did not respond as quickly in the Indigenous context, thus permitting an identification of how the residential schools system violated international law at least in its latter decades. Focus on this international law right of family integrity has potential application to other contexts ofinterference with Indigenous families and is thus a helpful legal approach that should be adopted

“Shut Up When You Talkin with Me.” Civil Education in a Post-Communist Society Challenged by the Institutionalized Public Culture. The Case of Bulgaria

The paper provides a concise overview of the state of arts of civil education in Bulgaria giving proofs that the contents and values of CE basically contradict the fundamental cultural pattern which is embedded in the institutional design of the school system and the policies of the Ministry of Education. There is a tremendous tension between critical and hypocritical education in democracy. The discrepancy between public “talk” and institutional “action” in civil education is more than overt. This is why the more we concentrate our attention on texts (textbooks, expert publications, manuals for teachers, etc.) the higher level of advancement of CE we will encounter and vice versa – the more we study the school life as practice the less traits of civil culture we register. Hence, the main conclusion is that civil education cannot substitute or get ahead of the democ-ratic institution building; both processes should develop in accord with each other. Or they both would turn out to be abortive

History and general status of continuation schools

This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit