ERIC Number: EJ953524
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Feb
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-2004
EISSN: N/A
No Child Is an Island: Character Development and the Rights of Children
Newman, Olivia
Educational Theory, v62 n1 p91-106 Feb 2012
In this essay Olivia Newman critically examines two opposing rights claims: the liberal claim that children have a right to become liberal choosers and the fundamentalist claim that children have a right to not become liberal choosers. These positions reflect differing views regarding the value of critically choosing, rather than simply accepting, a way of life. Given their assumptions regarding preference formation, both of these rights appear untenable in light of recent scholarship in psychology: we can neither select a way of life independent of our social milieu, as liberals often imply, nor can we predict how different experiences will affect our preferences, as fundamentalists assume. Nevertheless, each position points to important concerns. Children have a substantive right of exit from constraining social milieus, as liberals purport, as well as a right to respect in public institutions, as fundamentalists insist. When liberals and fundamentalists assert these more modest rights claims, educators can and should strive to satisfy both.
Descriptors: Civil Rights, Childrens Rights, Ethical Instruction, Social Environment, Political Attitudes, Psychology, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A