Universal access to education
Universal access to education[1] is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities.[2] The term is used both in college admission for the middle and lower classes, and in assistive technology[3] for the disabled. Some critics feel that this practice in higher education, as opposed to a strict meritocracy, causes lower academic standards.[4] In order to facilitate the access of education to all, countries have right to education.[5]
Not to be confused with Compulsory education.
Universal access to education encourages a variety of pedagogical approaches to accomplish the dissemination of knowledge across the diversity of social, cultural, economic, national and biological backgrounds. Initially developed with the theme of equal opportunity access and inclusion of students with learning or physical and mental disabilities, the themes governing universal access to education have now expanded across all forms of ability and diversity. However, as the definition of diversity is within itself a broad amalgamation, teachers exercising universal access will continually face challenges and incorporate adjustments in their lesson plan to foster themes of equal opportunity of education.[6]
As universal access continues to be incorporated into the U.S. education system,[7] professors and instructors at the college level are required (in some instances by law) to rethink methods of facilitating universal access in their classrooms. Universal access to college education may involve the provision of a variety of different assessment methods of learning and retention. For example, in order to determine how much of the material was learned, a professor may enlist multiple methods of assessment. Methods of assessment may include a comprehensive exam, unit exams, portfolios, research papers, literature reviews, an oral exam or homework assignments.[8] Providing a variety of ways to assess the extent of learning and retention will help identify the gaps in universal access and may also elucidate the ways to improve universal access.
Human rights are internationally recognized as universal rights, therefore meaning it applies to everyone equally and without discrimination. However, a significant number of individuals miss out on education due to discrimination preventing access to education.[9]
Discrimination occurs most prominently in terms of accessing education. For example, girls can face gender-based barriers such as child marriage, pregnancy, and gender-based violence which often prevent them from going to school or contribute to them dropping-out of school.[9] People with disabilities often face literal accessibility issues, such as a lack of ramps or insufficient school transportation, making it more difficult to get to school. Migrants often face administrative barriers that prevent them from enrolling, effectively barring them from education systems.[9]
However, discrimination also occurs within education systems when certain groups receiving an inferior quality of education compared with others, for instance, the quality of education in urban schools tends to be higher than that found in rural areas.[9]
Discrimination also happens after education where different groups of people are less likely to draw the same benefits from their schooling. For example, educated boys tend to leave school with higher wage potential than equally educated girls.[9]
Non-discrimination and equality provisions found in international human rights law (IHRL) exist to ensure that the principle that international human rights are universal is applied in practice. Non-discrimination and equality are not abstract concepts under international human rights law (IHRL).[9] They are elaborated human rights that have been developed over decades to address the discrimination that people face daily. Particularly education where the rights to non-discrimination and equality have been applied to the right to education across numerous human rights treaties, including one dedicated to the issue, known as UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education.[9]
Despite the strength of non-discrimination and equality law, eliminating discrimination and inequalities is a challenge that individual states and the international community face. This was acknowledged in 2015 when the international community vowed to ‘leave no one behind’.[9]
International and regional human rights treaties apply the rights to non-discrimination and equality to the right to education of specific marginalised groups. Marginalized groups are those who have suffered prolonged and historical discrimination, usually, but not exclusively, on the basis of identity (gender, for example), characteristics (ethnicity, race), or circumstance (refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons). Marginalized groups are very likely to be subject to multiple, compound, or intersectional forms of discrimination.[9]
Examples of marginalised groups include:[9]
Sources[edit]
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Text taken from Right to education handbook, 276, UNESCO, Right to Education Initiative (UK), UNESCO. UNESCO.