The Right to Education: Examining Its Meaning and Implications

Philosophers and others have debated for centuries about the concept of ?rights? - what they are, where they came from, how they evolved, on what authority they proceed, and in what formulations. It is precisely because of this uncertainty that the international community, in 1948, through the General Assembly of the United Nations, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard of measurement for the formulation and interpretation of human rights and freedoms. Acknowledged within the Declaration is the universal right to education. However, despite its recognition little has actually been written on the right to education to elaborate upon its direction or define its boundaries. Clearly this must change. To prevail in practice human rights require not only articulation but interpretation, validation, legislation, enforcement by rule of law and, finally, to be conceived of in a positive formulation. Thus, rights have to be made, and the purpose of this study is to invite educators into the conversation to assist in the making of the right to education by contributing to its interpretations and validating its claims.