Empowering Children: Children's Rights Education as a Pathway to Citizenship - Softcover

Howe, R. Brian; Covell, Katherine

9780802095237: Empowering Children: Children's Rights Education as a Pathway to Citizenship

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802095232 ISBN 13: 9780802095237

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2007

Approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that children in all countries have fundamental rights, including rights to education. To date, 192 states are signatories to or have in some form ratified the accord. Children are still imperilled in many countries, however, and are often not made aware of their guaranteed rights. In Empowering Children, R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell assert that educating children about their basic rights is a necessary means not only of fulfilling a country's legal obligations, but also of advancing education about democratic principles and the practice of citizenship. The authors contend that children's rights education empowers children as persons and as rights-respecting citizens in democratic societies. Such education has a 'contagion effect' that brings about a general social knowledge on human rights and social responsibility. Although there remain obstacles to the implementation of children's rights in many countries, Howe and Covell argue that reforming schools and enhancing teacher education are absolutely essential to the creation of a new culture of respect toward children as citizens. Their thorough and passionate work marks a significant advance in the field.

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Review:

'The central tenet of Empowering Children is that for children's rights to be taken seriously children need to be acknowledged as citizens ... Advancing our understanding of children's rights and citizenship education in an ever-changing world,

From the Back Cover:

'"Empowering Children" makes a passionate and well-presented case for children's rights education. It is very well written and argued, and engages nicely with the relevant literature (both historical and current), making insightful connections between children's rights education theory, research, and practice. R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell's work represents a major advance in the field.'-Daniel Schugurensky, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

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