Pupil participation in school life: an approach from the educational community

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) is currently the most ratified international treaty. Several authors have highlighted its potential for both a moral education and citizenship. However, paradoxically, different studies report its limited or occasional incorporation into school practices. This article explores experiences of participation in schools,the third P of the CRC, from the plurality of voices and actors of the educational community,by means of 14 discussion groups in 11 autonomous communities in Spain. Discourse analysis evidence low levels of student participation in school life. But, at the same time, a favorable educational environment for the development of projects that contribute to child participation is found, as well as for the incorporation of the CRC as a mover and a referential integrator of the different schools projects. However, it is also an educational background conductive to projects for its development, such as the incorporation of the CRC as a referential integrator of the schools projects.

Bolsa Familia Program and school enrolment: An analysis of the 2010 Brazilian demographic census

The Bolsa Família Program goal is to promote social development and poverty reduction, through the direct transfer of conditional cash, in association with other social programs. This study aims to analyze whether Bolsa Família had an association with children’s school attendance, which is one of the educational conditions of the program. Our main hypothesis is that children living in households receiving Bolsa Família had greater chances of attending school. Data from the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Famine indicated that children living in households with Bolsa Família had greater school enrolment levels. By using data from the 2010 Demographic Census, collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), some descriptive analyzes and binary logistic regression models were performed for different thresholds of household per capita income. These estimates were made by comparing children who lived in households receiving Bolsa Família to those children not receiving the program. We took into consideration characteristics about the household, mothers, and children. The results were clustered by the municipality of residence of the child. In all income thresholds, children benefi ting from Bolsa Família were more likely to be enrolled in school, compared to children not receiving the benefi t.

The intersectorial approach in providing guidance and school support. The perspective of counsellors, tutors and principals

The provision of guidance and educational support requires joint work and the collaboration of different professionals and institutions, especially when we face complex problems that require a high level of specialization and the combination of knowledge from different areas. The research has aimed to examine the proximity of the institutional system of guidance and support to school in nine Autonomous Communities, to the intersectorial approach of counselling. We present the results of a descriptive study using the survey method, which allows knowing the opinions of counsellors, tutors and principals of Primary and Secondary Compulsory Education about the collaboration with the local public services (social, health, education, and employment) in the specialized support to students and schools. The final sample consisted of 9732 subjects who were selected from a random sampling proportional to the size of the subpopulations of each Autonomous Community. Results indicate how, in general terms, there is collaboration among the school and the local public services, although not as frequently as it would be desirable. In the same way, the professionals that were interviewed believe that the collaboration with social and educational services is quite adequate, but the assessment is not as positive when health and employment services are analysed. Finally, taking into account the different professionals considered, tutors from both educational stages are the ones that show a higher degree of satisfaction with the collaboration between the school and the local public services, except in the case of social services.

Rightful Resistance in the Colombian conflict. A theoretical reflection based on a Peace Community

This article considers the opportunities of civilians to peacefully resist violent conflicts or civil wars. The argument developed here is based on a field-based research on the peace community San José de Apartadó in Colombia. The analytical and theoretical framework, which delimits the use of the term ‘resistance’ in this article, builds on the conceptual considerations of Hollander and Einwohner (2004) and on the theoretical concept of ‘rightful resistance’ developed by O’Brien (1996). Beginning with a conflict-analytical classification of the case study, we will describe the long-term socio-historical processes and the organizational experiences of the civilian population, which favoured the emergence of this resistance initiative. The analytical approach to the dimensions and aims of the resistance of this peace community leads to the differentiation of O`Brian’s concept of ‘rightful resistance’.