Neuroimaging Studies of Reading Development and Reading Disability

Converging evidence from a number of neuroimaging studies, including our own, suggest that fluent word identification in reading is related to the functional integrity of two left hemisphere posterior systems: a temporo-parietal system and a ventral occipito-temporal system. These posterior systems are functionally disrupted in developmental dyslexia. Reading disabled, relative to nonimpaired, readers demonstrate heightened reliance on both inferior frontal and right hemisphere posterior regions, presumably in compensation for the LH posterior difficulties. We propose a neurobiological account suggesting that for normally developing readers the temporo-parietal system predominates at first, and is associated with aspects of processing critical in learning to integrate orthography with phonological and lexical-semantic features of printed words. The occipito-temporal system, by contrast, constitutes a fast, late-developing, word-identification system that underlies fluent word recognition in skilled readers.     

Foucault and Human Rights: Seeking the Renewal of Human Rights Education

This article takes up Foucault's politics of human rights and suggests that it may constitute a point of departure for the renewal of HRE, not only because it rejects the moral superiority of humanism—the grounding for the dominant liberal framework of international human rights—but also because it makes visible the complexities of human rights as illimitable and as strategic tools for new political struggles. Enriching human rights critiques has important implications for HRE, precisely because these critiques prevent the dominance of unreflexive and unproductive forms of HRE that lead toward a declarationalist, conservative and uncritical approach. It is argued that Foucault's critical affirmation of human rights—that is, an approach which is neither a full embrace nor a total rejection—provides a critique that can be disruptive to the conventional HRE approach and creates openings that might renew HRE, both politically and pedagogically.     

Databases on Human Rights Education

International Review of Education -     

Marvelous Human Rights Rhetoric and Grim Realities: Language Rights in Education

This article examines patterns of national, cultural, and linguistic identification among Chilean-Swedish transmigrant adolescents in and around Stockholm, Sweden. Drawing from ethnographic interviews and observations, analysis focuses on adolescents' (a) views on ethnic and national identity; (b) general perceptions of Chileans and Swedes; and (c) attitudes toward Spanish, Swedish, and Spanish-Swedish code-switching. Interview discourse of these adolescents, and their metalanguage in particular, provides insights concerning how transmigrant adolescents position themselves within their complex social niche. Our findings suggest that Chilean adolescents are in the process of constructing an identity that is both Swedish and Chilean; they also point to the importance of individual factors, such as the adolescents' gender and age of arrival, and contextual factors, such as legal status, in shaping the discourse on identity. Key words: transmigration, Chile, Sweden, Spanish, Swedish, metalanguage, language attitudes, linguistic minority education, assimilation, acculturation, code-switching     

A Disability Rights in Education Model for evaluating inclusive education

Current models for evaluating inclusive education programs tend to examine surface‐level stricture of day‐to‐day practices in the organization and operation of schools and also lack significant input from disabled people. In response, the authors have developed a DRE Model to understand and evaluate effective Inclusive Education that is derived from reports of international consumer organizations such as Disabled People’s International, Inclusion International, and the World Institute on Disability. The DRE Model draws from the interdisciplinary field of disability studies and is based on the philosophy that disability must be approached in its full social dimension as one of the central elements in every culture’s response to the full range of human difference. Conceptually, the DRE Model allows people to look at developments in Inclusive Education across widely disparate local and international contexts. An inclusive education project in Lesotho is described and analysed to explain the DRE Model’s dynamic processes more concretely, and to demonstrate its potential utility for evaluation and future planning.     

International Approaches in Human Rights Education

This paper was presented at a working group on Human Rights Education (HRE), organised by Volker Lenhart and Christel Adick, as part of the biennial conference of the German Society for Educational Research (DGfE), held in 2000 in Göttingen. In the spirit of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995–2004) it contributes to the global discourse about HRE by summarising its foundations in international declarations and conventions, by discussing some examples for diverse approaches and conceptions of HRE and, finally by introducing some major obstacles or problems. The paper is part of the author's PhD project in the field of HRE and presents only an interim résumé of her recent work.     

International Approaches in Human Rights Education

This paper was presented at a working group on Human Rights Education (HRE), organised by Volker Lenhart and Christel Adick, as part of the biennial conference of the German Society for Educational Research (DGfE), held in 2000 in Göttingen. In the spirit of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995–2004) it contributes to the global discourse about HRE by summarising its foundations in international declarations and conventions, by discussing some examples for diverse approaches and conceptions of HRE and, finally by introducing some major obstacles or problems. The paper is part of the author's PhD project in the field of HRE and presents only an interim résumé of her recent work.     

试论全纳教育与人权

全纳教育作为当今一种最新的国际教育思潮,其核心理念之一便是:教育即人权、反对教育中和社会上的排斥与歧视。自20世纪90年代以来,我国已关注到人权问题的重要性。作为人权的一个重要组成部分——公民平等的受教育权,也成为我国社会发展中关注的焦点。全纳教育正是基于教育即人权的理念,运用人权观,从多学科的视角和方法来分析教育和社会问题,因此具有较为深刻和深远的社会意义。     

National Initiatives within the UN Decade for Human Rights Education: The Implementation of Human Rights Education Policy Reforms in Schools

As the ubiquitous force of globalization further erodes the nation-state and political activity increasingly focuses on global issues, there is renewed attention to models of global education. Within this global context, human rights education emerges as a response to the demands of global education. One of the main objectives of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (1995--2004) is the building and strengthening of programs and capacities for human rights education at the national and local levels. In this essay, an overview of human rights education and the policy guidelines for national plans of action for human rights education developed by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) are presented. Further, the essay focuses on comprehensive national initiatives within the Decade that are being undertaken in Japan, Austria, and the United States, with particular attention to the implementation of human rights education in formal secondary school settings.     

将人权教育融入中学德育课程之中

人权教育是促进人权事业发展的重要战略。中学生已具备一定的人权意识基础。在中学德育课程中融入人权教育关乎中学生作为人而存在的尊严和价值及其健康成长环境的形成。我国现行中学德育课程中的人权教育具有贴近中学生的实际生活和旨在推进中学生人权观念的形成两大显著特点。我们需要回归学生生活,培养学生自由、平等和休戚与共的人权观,形式多样、多措并举,融人权教育于中学德育课程之中,以有效地促进中学生健康成长。     

Longitudinal Study of Reading Disability and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Implications for Education

ABSTRACT— The majority of children who receive special education services meet criteria for reading disability (RD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but additional research is needed to understand the long-term academic outcome of children in these groups. Individuals with RD only ( N = 71), ADHD only ( N = 66), both RD and ADHD ( N = 51), or neither disorder ( N = 118) were identified through the ongoing Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center twin study and retested 5 years later. Results of the follow-up testing indicated that, in addition to ongoing reading difficulties, individuals with RD exhibited higher rates of academic difficulties, depression, and adolescent-onset conduct disorder. Initial ADHD status was associated with academic and social difficulties and elevated rates of nearly all comorbid disorders 5 years later. The group with comorbid RD and ADHD had more stable reading deficits than the group with RD without ADHD and exhibited greater impairment than groups with either disorder alone on outcome measures of academic functioning and social difficulties. These results suggest that individuals with both RD and ADHD are at increased risk for negative outcomes as adolescents and young adults and that when RD and ADHD co-occur, interventions should be provided for both disorders.     

Human Rights Education and Training for Professionals

Although human rights education (HRE) has a long history, it has only recently begun to realize its transformative potential. A critical catalyst in this process is the emerging global ethos of accountability. Within this context, HRE can play a crucial role in the construction of a universal culture of human rights, inspired by a shared commitment to a humane order and a belief that human beings have both the capacity and the responsibility to make a difference. In such an effort, the training of professionals is vital, especially of those professionals who can influence public debate on accountability and governance. Innovative HRE initiatives, characterized by a commitment to experiential learning and to international and regional cooperation among state and non-state actors, constitute a step in the right direction.