ONU- CLADE/4 de julio de 2017/Autor: CLADE/Fuente: https://www.aler.org
La resolución reafirma la importancia de la educación pública así como la urgencia de abordar los impactos negativos de la comercialización de la educación.
Adoptada por consenso por el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas el pasado jueves 22 de junio, la resolución reconoce la importancia de la inversión en educación pública con el máximo de los recursos disponibles, y aumentar y mejorar el financiamiento interno y externo para la educación, como se estableció en Declaración de Incheon, así como de garantizar que las políticas y medidas en materia de educación sean compatibles con las normas y principios de derechos humanos, y de fortalecer el compromiso de todas las partes pertinentes para contribuir a la educación como bien público (párrafo 3).
Además, insta a todos los Estados a establecer un marco regulador para los proveedores de educación (ya sea que operen de manera independiente o en asociación con los Estados), con arreglo a las obligaciones internacionales en materia de derechos humanos, aludiendo a normas y estándares mínimos para la creación y el funcionamiento de servicios educativos, al abordaje de cualquier impacto negativo de la comercialización de la educación, al fortalecimiento del acceso a recursos apropiados y a la reparación de las víctimas de violaciones del derecho a la educación (párrafo 2.e).
Asimismo, exhorta a todos los Estados a que regulen y supervisen a los proveedores de educación, responsabilizando a aquellos cuyas prácticas tienen un impacto negativo en el disfrute del derecho a la educación, así como apoyar actividades de investigación y sensibilización para comprender mejor el amplio impacto de la comercialización de la educación sobre el disfrute de este derecho (Párrafo 4).
Para conocer más sobre esta resolución, pueden encontrar en adjunto el comunicado de prensa firmado o acceder al texto del mismo en línea aquí.
El texto completo de la Resolución A/HRC/35/L.2 del Consejo de Derechos Humanos sobre el derecho a la educación pueden encontrarla aquí.
Oceanía/Australia/02 Julio 2017/Fuente: ecocosas/Autor: Raul Mannise
Continuando la tendencia de otros países, Australia abre su primer supermercado con productos rechazados por los supermercados, restaurantes y por los propios clientes. El supermercado esta a cargo de OzHarvest, ONG creada para luchar contra el despilfarro de alimentos.
En este nuevo mercado las viejas zanahorias y alimentos enlatados con fecha de caducidad próxima son tratados con respeto y dignidad. tomates maduros, que se tiran a la basura en otros establecimientos, aquí se apilan con orgullo.
El supermercado, ubicado en Sidney, va más allá de carteles de publicidad para hacer frente a los residuos de alimentos y su impacto en el medio ambiente y para combatir el hambre. En este super todo es gratis para aquellos que no pueden pagar por ello.
Las existencias del almacén abarcan una gran gama de productos, incluyendo frutas y verduras frescas, panes, conservas, comidas congeladas, bebidas, elementos de cuidado personal y productos de limpieza. Los estantes son modificados casi a diario, dependiendo de los alimentos que se recuperan. También lo clientes pueden donar alimentos e incluso intercambiar los alimentos que no quieren por otros que tenga el mercado.
El desperdicio de alimentos en Australia cuesta alrededor de $ 20 mil millones de dolares al año. Los consumidores australianos gastan un veinte por ciento de sus ingresos en alimentos y tiran a la basura una de cada cinco cestas de la compra cada año. Cuatro millones de toneladas de alimentos acaban en los vertederos, donde se descomponen y terminan emitiendo metano, un potente gas de invernadero
La empresaria australiana detrás del OzHarvest, Ronni Kahn cree que este supermercado es un paso en la dirección correcta. “Cada vez que se ahorra en comida, ayudamos al planeta. Cada vez que utilizamos esta comida para alimentar a personas con hambre, nos ocupamos de los problemas sociales “, dice Kahn en una entrevista.
La ONG OzHarvest trabaja con más de 2.500 donantes de alimentos. “Rescatamos alimentos que no pueden ser vendidos por los supermercados y los minoristas de alimentos por su fecha de caducidad, pero todavía están en perfecto estado para el consumo”, dice Kahn. “Si algo ha expirado, es decir no hay razón para tirarlo a la basura.”
“Sólo rescatamos alimentos que son absolutamente comestibles.” “Todos nuestros conductores están capacitados en el manejo de alimentos, y no aceptarán cualquier producto, que ellos mismos no puedan comer.”
La mayoría de los productos son productos que se consideran “defectuosos”, tales como latas abolladas, o frutas con magulladuras y verduras algo pochas que terminan en la basura. “Todo lo que hacemos no se trata de ganancias, es con un propósito”, dice Kahn.
“La gente va a venir y a decir, ‘Wow, esto es exactamente lo que me gustaría comprar en cualquier lugar, y ahora sólo puedo tomarlo, usarlo, o dárselo a alguien.”
Khan dice que OzHarvest tiene previsto abrir otros puntos de venta, tanto en Sydney como en todo el país. “Creemos plenamente que este será un catalizador para otros proyectos y locales. Tenemos la capacidad para llevarlo a cabo en todo el país. Este es un modelo replicable “.
Fuente de la noticia: https://ecocosas.com/eco-ideas/australia-abre-supermercado-gratuito-productos-descartados-otros-supermercados/
Fuente de la imagen: https://ecocosas.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GIVE_IF_YOU_CAN.jp
Oceanía/Australia/Junio del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com/
When we think of a “good society” – one that is fair and just – a defining characteristic is likely to be that all people have the opportunity to realise their potential, irrespective of the circumstances into which they are born.
There is growing evidence that investment in universal early childhood education is a prerequisite to providing opportunity and achievement throughout the formative years.
New research from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report, Educate Australia Fair? Education Inequality in Australia, shows we are falling short on providing equal opportunity to our young people on several important dimensions. But it is also important to acknowledge substantial policy reforms over the last ten years, many involving Commonwealth-state co-operation, that are now delivering positive returns.
The National Partnership Agreement has led to a marked increase in the proportion of children accessing pre-school education for at least 15 hours per week.
Primary and secondary school participation rates continue to climb. The retention rate to Year 12 is 84.3% nationally. Far more young people continue through high school as a result of the National Youth Participation Requirement.
University enrolments are at an all-time high. And there has been an increase in social mobility in Australia: children born to low-educated parents are now much more likely to gain a university qualification than was the case in the 1950s.
Further benefits can be expected to flow from these reforms, particularly the greater investment in early childhood education in coming years.
But we have a long way to go. Many of today’s children will not receive a “fair go” in educational opportunities for no other reason than family background, demographic characteristics, and geography.
BCEC’s new report identifies some stark contrasts between the most and least disadvantaged in society.
A child from a low socioeconomic background is up to three times more likely to be developmentally vulnerable by the time they start primary school.
An Indigenous child is 40% less likely to finish high school, and 60% less likely to go to university, than a non-Indigenous child.
A child born in remote Australia is only one-third as likely to go to university as a child born in a major city.
The report dissects these gaps in opportunity by looking at where inequalities emerge from early childhood to higher education across key characteristics of the population.
Key junctions in education are important for disadvantaged groups such as Indigenous Australians, and those from regional and remote areas and low socioeconomic backgrounds. One of the most concerning findings is the degree to which school attendance rates and participation in NAPLAN testing drop off among these groups as they transition from primary to secondary school.
Gaps in school attendance exist in primary school but are smaller and remain constant, averaging around 8% from years 1 to 6. However, this changes significantly once young people enter secondary schooling.
The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous student attendance rates reaches 15% by Year 10, with lower retention to Year 12 and lower enrolments in tertiary education.
Student attendance rates, Years 1 to 10, by Indigenous status, 2016
Our report launches the BCEC Educational Disadvantage Index, which maps areas of relative advantage and disadvantage based on key indicators such as access, engagement and outcomes. The index is used to profile areas of high and low disadvantage, and to assess the key drivers of educational disadvantage.
BCEC Educational Disadvantage Index.Supplied by authors
The divide between the most and least disadvantaged areas across Australia is a sobering reminder of the level of inequality that exists in our community. Worse than this, it shows the inequality that exists for a “service” that is intended to play a role in bridging this gap – education.
The most disadvantaged areas are all located in remote regions of Australia, spanning the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. Pockets of disadvantage are also evident on the fringes of our state capital cities.
Children living in the most disadvantaged areas will average half the NAPLAN scores in reading, writing and numeracy tests than those living in the least disadvantaged areas. Children in these areas are also only half as likely to be enrolled in pre-school at age four, half as likely to attend pre-school for 15 hours or more, and seven times as likely to be vulnerable on two or more developmental domains in their first year of schooling.
Remarkably, the most disadvantaged 10% of children in the ACT are on par with the most advantaged 10% living in the NT.
Resources do vary according to educational disadvantage. Gross school income per student is 50% higher on average in areas of greatest need. But this weighs against multiple challenges.
This report’s findings demonstrate the need for education policies to go beyond funding reform and tackle the complex barriers that exist in delivering education to our most vulnerable children.
But it also presents an opportunity for policy interventions to make a real difference to the educational outcomes for these young people.
Oceanía/Australia/Junio del 2017/Noticias/https://theconversation.com/
Indigenous students remain vastly underrepresented in higher education in Australia. According to Universities Australia, Indigenous people comprise 2.7% of Australia’s working age population but only 1.6% of university domestic student enrolments.
In the past decade, there have been renewed efforts to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in higher education, including Indigenous people. However, most policies have focused on raising the aspirations of students from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds. The particular aspirations of Indigenous students have been largely overlooked.
To address this, we put the spotlight on the aspirations of Indigenous students in a recent large-scale longitudinal study. Our research has made two quite significant discoveries.
Indigenous children have the same career aspirations as non-Indigenous children
The study revealed that from an early age, Indigenous children share the same aspirations as non-Indigenous children. This includes the desire to become doctors, teachers, vets and artists.
This finding busts the myth that we need to “raise” aspirations. As we see it, the focus of equity programs for Indigenous children should shift to nurturing the strong aspirations children already have in primary school.
No doubt many Indigenous children will change their minds as they grow up. However, our research suggests that waiting until senior secondary school to talk to them about their career aspirations is far too late. (The same is true for non-Indigenous children.)
High-achieving Indigenous children are less likely to want to go to university
Perhaps more startling, our research found that high-achieving Indigenous students were significantly less likely to want to go to university than their high-achieving non-Indigenous peers.
While 72% of non-Indigenous students in the top NAPLAN quartile aspired to go to university, only 43% of Indigenous students in the same quartile said they wanted to go.
From understanding university pathways to managing the costs, there are myriad issues that influence the decision to go to university.
However, for Indigenous students, aspiring to university is likely to require negotiation of race, class, economic, and cultural divides in ways that are not shared by non-Indigenous students.
1) Cultural and geographic reasons
The majority of Indigenous children live in major cities and regional areas. But compared with non-Indigenous children, a larger proportion of Indigenous children live in remote and very remote parts of Australia. Across these geographic areas, bonds and commitment to country, community, and family are deeply felt.
It is also likely high-achieving Indigenous children will carry significant financial obligations in these familial relationships. They can be reluctant to relocate for university because of these ties.
2) Social and racial isolation
While universities connect with Indigenous school students through campus visits and mentoring programs, the lack of a sizeable cohort of Indigenous university students is likely to make the prospect of choosing university even more daunting.
More broadly, the lack of a sizeable Indigenous middle class means that socially mobile Indigenous people “may become stranded in a racially bound social capital wasteland” with gains in economic capital not necessarily leading to the kinds of social and cultural capital that traditionally benefit non-Indigenous people.
Further, Indigenous students may not want to expose themselves to racism and the racial divide apparent in the university, town or city where available universities are situated.
3. First -in-family
Many high-achieving Indigenous students would be the first in their families to attend university. First-in-family students face unique challenges because, by definition, they tend not to have the family or community experience to guide them. Moreover, many Indigenous students are the first in their families to complete secondary school, so university education might be a more alien concept.
4. Pathways, costs and financial support
Negotiating the fees and support available to Indigenous students can be difficult. There is a plethora of programs, scholarships, courses and accommodation choices, which can be overwhelming for a new student (especially with the other factors outlined above). This is something to take into account in the transition to university for Indigenous students.
5. No obvious benefit
High-achieving Indigenous students can “weigh up” the benefits of a university education and decide it is not “worth it” economically or socially. The risks and challenges they will face by leaving country, community and family might be seen as too high a price to pay. If study at TAFE or paid work is available locally these might be more desirable.
6. Distrust of government institutions
Indigenous students may have a deep (and justified) distrust of universities, given the past treatment of Indigenous people by government and non-Indigenous institutions.
No matter how welcoming or how strong the Indigenous support centres on campuses, some Indigenous families will struggle to see university as a place for them or their children.
Breaking down the barriers
Higher education does not exist in a vacuum. There are things that can be done to address these issues.
One step is to pay more attention to the aspirations of Indigenous students in the early years and how those aspirations are formed in relation to existing social, cultural, economic, and racial divides.
Another step is for universities to reconceptualise their outreach strategies targeting Indigenous students. There should be more consideration paid to the factors outlined above.
Fundamentally, it is not just about making higher education possible, but rather, making university a place where Indigenous young people will want to pursue and attain their occupational aspirations.
Los alumnos de la escuela rural Deep Green Bush pasan la mayor parte del tiempo al aire libre explorando y aprendiendo a pescar y cazar
Algunos expertos valoran el contacto con la naturaleza, pero advierten de que todos los conocimientos que se necesitan en el mundo moderno no se pueden adquirir con clases de este tipo
En medio de los arroyos y de los bosques de Kauri del sur rural de Auckland, las clases en la escuela más alternativa de Nueva Zelanda ya han empezado. Hace buen tiempo así que ha empezado la sesión de pesca, a la que le seguirá una comida cocinada en fogatas. ¿Deberes y clases? Indefinidamente interrumpidas.
«Dicen que somos una escuela pero en realidad no nos parecemos en nada», cuenta Joey Moncarz, cofundador y director de Deep Green Bush School, que ya está en el segundo semestre de su curso inaugural. «No les decimos a los niños cuándo ponerse a leer o a estudiar matemáticas. Cuando quieran hacerlo, lo harán».
Moncarz es un exprofesor tradicional. Después de cinco años llenos de frustración en típicas escuelas de Nueva Zelanda lo dejó para fundar Deep Green Bush School, que tiene ocho alumnos y clases sin muros, ni sillas, ni exámenes.
Preocupado por el hecho de que las escuelas tradicionales no estaban preparando a los niños para los futuros problemas mundiales –como por ejemplo el cambio climático– Moncarz se imaginó un tipo de educación completamente diferente, basada en prácticas primarias de caza, recolección y supervivencia.
Cuando el tiempo lo permite, los alumnos pasan la mayor parte del día fuera, explorando los montes de Nueva Zelanda, aprendiendo a pescar y a cazar, capturando zarigüellas (a las que se les considera una plaga) y aprendiendo sobre la flora y la fauna de su hogar. El resto de lecciones tradicionales del cole, como por ejemplo leer, escribir o la aritmética las van aprendiendo a su propio ritmo, cuando ellos empiezan a mostrar interés. No cuando el profesor lo manda, explica Moncarz.
Una escuela contra agobios e infelicidad
«No tenemos lo que tradicionalmente considerarías niños problemáticos –continúa–. Los padres vieron que sus hijos no eran felices y estaban agobiados en sus colegios tradicionales y empezaron a hacerse preguntas: ¿Es normal o está bien que los niños vuelvan a casa tristes y estresados? Después de haber trabajado en escuelas tradicionales, diría que la mayoría de los niños están agobiados y son infelices».
Los alumnos de la escuela.
Esta escuela se ha registrado en el Ministerio de Educación como una escuela independiente y es por eso por lo que no tiene que acatar la programación común de Nueva Zelanda, aunque sí que está sujeta a supervisión por parte del ministerio.
Ligeramente inspirada en la Sudbury Valley School en EEUU, la cual a su vez se inspiró en la A. S. Neill’s Summerhill School de Reino Unido, desde que comenzó su andadura en enero Moncarz ha estado recibiendo solicitudes para abrir escuelas similares en otros puntos de Nueva Zelanda o en lugares tan lejanos como China y Europa.
El doctor David Berg, un profesor titular de Educación en la Universidad de Otago, cuenta que estas escuelas «rurales» son un precedente que va tomando fuerza en todo el mundo, especialmente en Escandinavia, donde los niños que acuden a la escuela infantil van a pescar durante la jornada lectiva.
Sin embargo, comenta también que los educadores tienen que ser muy cuidadosos a la hora de ofrecer todo tipo de conocimientos no solo para sobrevivir sino también para que sean capaces de encontrar un empleo en el mundo moderno. «Mucha gente siente que hay una desconexión con la naturaleza y con el exterior, y por eso lo valora y se sienten atraídos por esto», apunta el doctor Berg. «Para tener éxito en una sociedad moderna hay una gama de capacidades que se tienen que desarrollar y quizá solo algunas de ellas se pueden desarrollar al aire libre».
Cathy Wylie, jefa de investigaciones del Consejo de Nueva Zelanda de Investigaciones sobre Educación, aclara: «La escuela Deep Green Bush es un caso atípico en lo que respecta a las escuelas de Nueva Zelanda. Efectivamente, hemos tenido algunas escuelas privadas que han puesto en marcha padres y profesores basándose en Summerhill, pero ninguna que haya diseñado su plan de estudios y su métodos pedagógicos en la caza y la recolección».
Moncarz insiste en que la escuela no es un «experimento» educativo y que más bien se basa en cómo durante millones de años padres han criado a sus hijos en la naturaleza. «No queremos ser un tipo de escuela sino reemplazar a las escuelas típicas», apunta Moncarz. «Estamos usando las mismas sabidurías que los padres han utilizado para enseñar a sus hijos durante millones de años. Encerrar a niños en aulas y obligarles a aprender solo genera un montón de problemas».
Australia/Junio de 2017/Fuente: The World University Ranking
Resumen: Cualquier afirmación de que las universidades australianas están enfrentando una «crisis» de deserción estudiantil son infundadas y «innecesariamente alarmistas», dijo un panel de expertos. El Panel de Estándares de Educación Superior, encargado de examinar el tema por el ministro de Educación Simon Birmingham, dijo que la cobertura reciente de los medios de comunicación sobre las tasas de deserción había pintado un panorama excesivamente sombrío del sector de educación superior de Australia.
Any claims that Australian universities are facing a student dropout “crisis” are unfounded and “unnecessarily alarmist,” an expert panel has said.
The Higher Education Standards Panel, commissioned to look at the issue by education minister Simon Birmingham, said that recent media coverage of attrition rates had painted an overly gloomy picture of Australia’s higher education sector.
Overall, 15 per cent of students at Australian universities did not complete their course in 2015, roughly the same proportion as in 2005, says the paper, “Improving retention, completion and success in higher education”.
The study, published on 14 June, rejects claims that this non-completion rate was caused by lower admission standards linked to the rise in student numbers in recent years.
“Common reasons cited for withdrawal are personal, including physical or mental health issues, financial pressures and other reasons often beyond institutional control,” the paper notes.
Belinda Robinson, chief executive of Universities Australia, said that the paper was further evidence that claims about university attrition rates were “overblown”.
“It concludes yet again that students with the highest attrition rates are those most likely to be juggling university with jobs or caring for their families,” said Ms Robinson, who added this was “particularly true for students who are mature, part-time or studying online.”
The Australian government is considering linking a portion of public funding to institutional performance on retention, but Ms Robinson said that it was “important to note that the factors that lead most students to consider leaving their studies are often beyond the control of a university».
“This highlights the problem with attempting to tie funding to metrics such as attrition rates – you’d potentially penalise the universities that serve students who have the greatest challenges to complete a degree,” she said.
The fact that attrition rates had not risen since 2005 was “a real accomplishment…given the uncapping of student places, [in which] we have seen a huge increase in the number of university students, and rapid growth in the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” added Ms Robinson.
The discussion paper suggests collecting better data to understand the factors driving attrition in more detail.
“It’s by understanding even more about the students most at risk of attrition that we will continue to build on a very strong track record here in Australia,» the paper says.
Resumen: Entre las corrientes y los árboles de Kauri, el sur rural de Auckland, la escuela alternativa más nueva de Nueva Zelanda está en sesión. El tiempo está distribuido entre una sesión de pesca, seguido por el almuerzo cocinado en una chimenea. ¿Tareas y clases? Indefinidamente despedidos. «Nos llaman una escuela, pero no nos parecemos a ninguna escuela ahí fuera», dice Joey Moncarz, cofundador y director de la Escuela Deep Green Bush, que se encuentra en el término dos de su año inaugural. «No hacemos cosas como decirle a los niños que es hora de escribir o aprender matemáticas. Cuando están interesados en hacerlo, lo hacen. «
Deep among the streams and Kauri trees of rural south Auckland, New Zealand’s newest and most alternative school is in session. The weather is fine so a bout of fishing is in order, followed by lunch cooked on an open fire. Homework and classes? Indefinitely dismissed.
“We are called a school but we look nothing like any school out there,” says Joey Moncarz, co-founder and head teacher at Deep Green Bush School, which is in term two of its inaugural year.
“We don’t do things like telling kids it is time to write or learn maths. When they are interested in doing it, they do it.”
Moncarz is an ex-mainstream teacher. After five, frustrating years in mainstream schools in New Zealand he quit to found Deep Green Bush school, which has a roll of eight, and no classroom walls, time-out chairs or tests.
Concerned that mainstream schools were not preparing children for the global problems of the future – such as climate change –Moncarz envisioned a radically different kind of education, rooted in the primal skills of hunting, gathering and survival.
If the weather allows, pupils spend the majority of their day outdoors, exploring the New Zealand bush, learning to fish and hunt, trapping possums (which are considered a pest) and learning about the flora and fauna of their home.
The more traditional school skills, such as reading, writing and arithmetic, are acquired at their own pace, after they begin showing an interest in them. Not, says Moncarz, when the teacher dictates it is time to learn.
“We don’t have what you’d traditionally consider problem kids,” says Moncarz .
“Our parents saw their kids were unhappy and stressed in mainstream education and they started questioning; is it normal or right for kids to come home stressed and unhappy? Having taught in a mainstream school, I’d say most kids are stressed and unhappy.”
Bush school is registered with the Ministry of Education as an independent school, and therefore does not have to abide by the standard New Zealand curriculum, although it is subject to ministerial oversight.
Loosely inspired by the Sudbury Valley School in the US, which in turn was inspired by A.S Neill’s Summerhill school in the UK, since launching in January Moncarz has been fielding requests from around New Zealand and abroad to open chapters of Bush School in places as far afield as China and Europe.
Dr David Berg, a senior lecturer in education at the University of Otago, says there is a growing precedent for alternative “bush” schools worldwide, especially in Scandinavia, where some kindergarten children go ice-fishing during the school day.
However he says educators need to be careful that children are offered the full-range of skills required to get by and find employment in the modern world.
“Lots of people feel there is a disconnect with nature and the outdoors and people value that and are drawn to it,” says Dr Berg.
“In a modern society to be successful there are a range of skills to be developed and perhaps only some of those can be developed outside.”
Cathy Wylie Chief Researcher at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research said: “Deep Green Bush school is an outlier in terms of NZ schools.
“We’ve certainly had some private schools set up by parents and teachers that have drawn inspiration from schools like Summerhill, but nothing that has designed its programme and pedagogy in such a focused way around hunting and gathering.”
Moncarz insists that the school isn’t an “experiment” in education, and is based on two millions years of evidence of how parents have raised their kids, at one with nature.
“We don’t want to be one of a kind, we want to replace mainstream schools,” Moncarz.
“We are using the same wisdom parents have used to teach their kids for millions of years. Locking kids in a classroom and forcing them to learn just causes a lot of problems.”
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