In the context of Canadas Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and given the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is a growing body of jurisprudence which reflects ongoing debates about who should ultimately maintain control of the formal and informal curriculum in our schools. In these cases, debates about curricular battles play out through rights conflicts, which our courts are required to resolve. These conflicts typically involve claims relating, directly or indirectly, to fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as claims associated with the right to equality.<p>In this thesis, I aim to offer a critical assessment of the relevant body of jurisprudence. My critique draws on the theoretical work of Rob Reich and Jeremy Waldron. Reich suggests that our best hope of understanding and resolving the curricular struggles related to the control of childrens education requires a balanced approach whereby we attempt to reconcile the educational interests of three primary actors: parents, the state and children. Building on Reichs conceptualization of the different interest holders, I identify a fourth stakeholder, namely, teachers, who have interests which are germane to our analysis because these interests raise issues connected to curricular control and childrens education. In my analysis, I apply Reichs matrix of interests to the extant body of jurisprudence to ascertain whether or not our courts are alive to the different interest holders in its treatment of cases involving conflicts of constitutional rights. I also want to know whether the interests of the four stakeholders overlap or conflict with another. Finally, I want to know how these interests are conceptualized by the court and whether this conceptualization is consistent with, or differs from, the one offered by Reich. <p>Waldrons work offers analytical clarity for how we might better understand and resolve conflicts of rights, including conflicts involving constitutional rights claims. He maintains that rights conflicts are fundamentally about conflicts of duties and that we are likely to have more success reconciling conflicts of rights when we conceive of these conflicts in this manner. Applying Waldrons strategy for reconciling rights conflicts to the cases in my study, I posit that we can make sense of the reconciliation process by examining the duties associated with the rights in question. Although our courts do not explicitly draw on Waldrons theoretical framework in their legal analysis, I maintain that, generally speaking, what our courts do is consistent with a Waldronian analysis of conflicts of rights. <p>In my conclusion, I note that the jurisprudence considered initially seems to focus exclusively on two key guiding values: liberty and equality. Yet, a closer examination of the case law reveals a concern for two other important meta values, namely, efficiency and community. Furthermore, the notion of children as rights bearers poses special challenges. We might treat older children as rights claimants, on their own terms, because of their capacity to advance certain projects and to engage in certain commitments. Yet, the exact moral and legal status, for example, of a six- or seven-year old is still uncertain. Finally, I recognize that a rights only version of what happens in our schools provides only a partial account of educational reality. Other values such as duty, love, friendship and compassion are needed to furnish a richer and more nuanced account of morality for our school communities.

In the context of Canadas Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and given the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is a growing body of jurisprudence which reflects ongoing debates about who should ultimately maintain control of the formal and informal curriculum in our schools. In these cases, debates about curricular battles play out through rights conflicts, which our courts are required to resolve. These conflicts typically involve claims relating, directly or indirectly, to fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as claims associated with the right to equality.<p>In this thesis, I aim to offer a critical assessment of the relevant body of jurisprudence. My critique draws on the theoretical work of Rob Reich and Jeremy Waldron. Reich suggests that our best hope of understanding and resolving the curricular struggles related to the control of childrens education requires a balanced approach whereby we attempt to reconcile the educational interests of three primary actors: parents, the state and children. Building on Reichs conceptualization of the different interest holders, I identify a fourth stakeholder, namely, teachers, who have interests which are germane to our analysis because these interests raise issues connected to curricular control and childrens education. In my analysis, I apply Reichs matrix of interests to the extant body of jurisprudence to ascertain whether or not our courts are alive to the different interest holders in its treatment of cases involving conflicts of constitutional rights. I also want to know whether the interests of the four stakeholders overlap or conflict with another. Finally, I want to know how these interests are conceptualized by the court and whether this conceptualization is consistent with, or differs from, the one offered by Reich. <p>Waldrons work offers analytical clarity for how we might better understand and resolve conflicts of rights, including conflicts involving constitutional rights claims. He maintains that rights conflicts are fundamentally about conflicts of duties and that we are likely to have more success reconciling conflicts of rights when we conceive of these conflicts in this manner. Applying Waldrons strategy for reconciling rights conflicts to the cases in my study, I posit that we can make sense of the reconciliation process by examining the duties associated with the rights in question. Although our courts do not explicitly draw on Waldrons theoretical framework in their legal analysis, I maintain that, generally speaking, what our courts do is consistent with a Waldronian analysis of conflicts of rights. <p>In my conclusion, I note that the jurisprudence considered initially seems to focus exclusively on two key guiding values: liberty and equality. Yet, a closer examination of the case law reveals a concern for two other important meta values, namely, efficiency and community. Furthermore, the notion of children as rights bearers poses special challenges. We might treat older children as rights claimants, on their own terms, because of their capacity to advance certain projects and to engage in certain commitments. Yet, the exact moral and legal status, for example, of a six- or seven-year old is still uncertain. Finally, I recognize that a rights only version of what happens in our schools provides only a partial account of educational reality. Other values such as duty, love, friendship and compassion are needed to furnish a richer and more nuanced account of morality for our school communities.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of school administrators about the use of distance education in Texas public schools. A mixed-method research design was used to determine if these administrators' perceptions were barriers to the implementation of distance education. The study included a series of 17 interviews with school principals and superintendents. Based on these interviews, a survey instrument was developed and sent to a larger sample of administrators. The sample population for the survey comprised administrators from three Education Service Centers in Texas. Results of the qualitative interviews and of the quantitative survey indicated that distance education has the potential to provide greater flexibility in offering high quality coursework and activities. However, administrators perceived that they lack control of these programs, and that the number of students who excelled in distance education was limited. Additionally, administrators perceived that distance education courses were not as good as traditional courses while admitting to a lack of knowledge about distance education. Overall, administrators who believed they had the support of their local school boards were most likely to implement distance education in their districts.

In this thesis, I argue that a nationalized private school – publicly financed voucher system (PRS / PFV system) of education provides a solution to the current problems plaguing the American public education system. Although previous arguments focus on a privatized system being more efficient than the current public system, I will not focus on this issue in my discussion. Despite criticism of privatized education systems by multiple empirical analyses, I do not fully engage the empirical literature here. As there has never been a nationalized private school – publicly funded voucher system like the one supported here, there is no direct empirical evidence that provides reason not to support such a system. Rather, my discussion is purely theoretical and will only briefly address some of the prospective theoretical concerns that are raised by the empirical research.

Esta pesquisa discute como adolescentes do III Ciclo do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública de periferia estão vivenciando a leitura e a escrita na tela do computador. Os estudantes sujeitos da pesquisa são moradores da Vila Dique, em Porto Alegre (RS), onde grande parte das famílias sobrevive com a renda obtida na coleta e reciclagem de lixo seco. Submetidos a uma situação em que o texto no papel perde, num certo sentido, seu valor simbólico, já que o suporte adquire valor de mercadoria, a leitura e escrita na tela do computador recuperariam esse sentido, constituindo-se como uma nova prática de letramento, oportunizando a inclusão dos/das adolescentes na cultura escrita. A investigação, de caráter qualitativo, valeu-se de procedimentos como o diário de campo, a observação participante, a análise de textos produzidos digitalmente no laboratório de informática da escola, além de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. / This research discusses the way adolescents from the 7th and 8th grades of a public school in the periphery areas are experiencing reading and writing on the computer screen. The subject students of the research live in Vila Dique, Porto Alegre (RS), where most families’ incomes are earned from garbage recycling. It can be stated that the paper-text, in a way, has become meaningless, given the fact that this resource carries a commercial value. Reading and writing on the computer screen has rescued a meaningful source to promote literacy, thus providing these adolescents with the opportunity to take part of the written culture. The qualitative investigation was based on a field diary, an participative observation, an analysis of the digital texts produced in the computer lab of the school, and semi-structured interviews.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O presente trabalho apresenta o cotidiano do uso dos espaços de duas escolas estaduais, uma situada no município de Duque de Caxias (Escola Estadual Professor José de Souza Herdy) e a outra em São Pedro DAldeia (Ciep 262 Curvelino Dias Curvello); espaços escolares esses que revelam cotidianos bastante complexos em suas tramas, por abarcar diversos espaçostempos além dos escolares, como as trajetórias, movimentos realizados pelos praticantes desses espaços. Além disso, o trabalho apresenta considerações acerca das múltiplas possibilidades de usos realizados nesses espaços que, por muitas vezes, não seguem as pensadas originalmente pela Secretaria de Educação, ou pela Direção da escola ou até mesmo pelos professores, mas que revelam as relações existentes entre os praticantes desses espaços. / This paper introduces the quotidian uses of the school spaces in two public schools, one placed at Duque de Caxias (a town in Rio de Janeiro - Brasil) named Professor José de Souza Herdy and the other at São Pedro DAldeia (Rio de Janeiro - Brasil) named Ciep 262. The school spaces of them reveal quotidians very complex because there are several space/times beyond the spaces of the school, like the paths, movements of the practicians of theses spaces. Besides, this paper introduces thoughts about the possibilities of the uses of these school spaces that sometimes are not the original thought of the Education Office or of the Principals of the schools or even so of the teachers, but theses uses reveal the relationships that exist between the practicians of these school spaces.

O presente trabalho apresentou a evolução do conceito de administração escolar até chegar a gestão, os principais modelos de gestão escolar encontrados na literatura educacional, que podemos assim dizer: gestão participativa, compartilhada e democrática. Buscou compreender o perfil dos diretores e da gestão de escolas públicas e urbanas do Brasil e de que maneira o perfil do diretor e os modelos de gestão apresentados na literatura educacional se relacionam com as características socioeconômicas médias dos alunos das escolas. O estudo fez uso dos dados do Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Básica SAEB 2003, referentes às séries iniciais do ensino fundamental. A análise baseou-se em estatísticas descritivas uni e bivariadas e os resultados foram analisados à luz da literatura específica. Os dados adquiridos a partir da análise das variáveis do SAEB 2003 foram confrontados com as informações teóricas pesquisadas sobre o tema. Esta pesquisa teve por principal base teórica as idéias de Anísio Teixeira, José Quirino Ribeiro e Vitor Henrique Paro, Lauro C. Wittman, Heloísa Lück, Jaap Scheerens, a respeito da administração escolar até sua evolução a gestão escolar; Pam Sammons juntamente com Fátima C. Alves, Creso Franco, Alícia Bonamino, Francisco C.Gomes e os documentos oficiais que tratam do SAEB contribuíram no estudo para a construção do perfil do diretor brasileiro e de sua gestão juntamente com as variáveis selecionadas do SAEB 2003 e no entendimento do conceito de escolas eficazes. A pesquisa revelou que o desempenho de uma gestão de qualidade pressupõe a conquista de características no sistema educacional que envolve a participação, a autonomia e a descentralização. / This paper aimed to show the evolution of the school administration concept up to the point it became management, the main models of school management found in the educational literature: participative, shared and democratic management. The paper had the objective to understand not only the profile of the directors and of the management of the public and urban schools in Brazil but also the way those features relate themselves to the average socioeconomic characteristics of the students from those schools. The study used the data from the National System of Evaluation in Basic Education SAEB 2003, considering the first grades of elementary school. The analysis was based on uni or bivariate descriptive statistics. The results were analyzed according to the specific literature. The resulting data from the aanalysis of the variables from SAEB 2003 were confronted with theoretical information researched on that theme. This research had its main theoretical basis on the ideas of Anísio Teixeira, José Quirino Ribeiro and Vitor Henrique Paro, Lauro C. Wittman, Heloisa Luck, Jaap Scheerens as to school administration and its evolution to school management; Pam Sammons together with Fatima C. Alves, Creso Franco, Alícia Bonamino, Francisco C. Gomes and the official documents from SAEB contributed to the studies for the construction of the profile of the Brazilian director and its management with the selected variables from SAEB 2003 and the understanding of the concept of effective schools. The research revealed that for a good performance in quality management, the conquering of characteristics in the educational system is needed, it involves the participation, autonomy and decentralization.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O presente trabalho de pesquisa trata da democracia na escola pública estadual do Rio de Janeiro. Dentro de tema tão vasto, prioriza experiências de participação política e controle do Estado pelo cidadão dentro do ambiente escolar e, especialmente, de democracia cognitiva em sala de aula. Esta dissertação é resultado da observação participante em distintas escolas públicas onde o autor lecionou. Nesses espaços, onde a atuação de professor e pesquisador coexistiram, recolheu casos e experiências significativas relacionadas à democracia ou a sua negação pelo autoritarismo, nos dois recortes acima mencionados. Aqui estão cinco destes casos. Dentre eles, em maior destaque, está uma experiência com o uso das linguagens artísticas e seus resultados na democratização da construção do conhecimento em sala de aula. Influenciado pela força deste caso e pelo potencial percebido nas decorrentes pesquisas e reflexões teóricas a seu respeito, o autor opta por empreender uma pesquisa exploratória de linguagem, conduzindo-o a experimentar uma escrita alternativa ao padrão corrente de redação científica. Com claro ímpeto ensaístico, o trabalho é desenvolvido em um diálogo entre professoras-pesquisadoras da escola pública, pretendo ao formato teatral. Para o seu enfrentamento e embasamento teórico, a pesquisa está estruturada principalmente em torno de cinco autores: Inês Barbosa de Oliveira para os estudos da metodologia do campo do cotidiano escolar; Marilena Chauí para os estudos da cultura política brasileira; Paulo Freire, Augusto Boal e Boaventura de Sousa Santos para os estudos de democracia e epistemologia / The present research deals with Democracy in the public school in Rio de Janeiro. Within a vast subject, prioritizes experiences of political participation and state control by the citizen in the school environment and especially cognitive democracy in the classroom. This thesis is the resulted of participant observation in different public schools where the author taught. In these spaces where the actions of teacher and researcher coexisted, collected cases from significant experiences related to Democracy or authoritarianism by its denial, within the two cuts above. Here are four of these cases. Among them, the most notably, is an experience with the use of artistic languages indeed their results in the democratization of knowledge construction in the classroom. Influenced by the strength of this case and realizing the potential arose in the research and theoretical reflections about it, the author decides to make a exploratory experience with the language. He tried an alternative writing replacing the formal and current standards of scientific writing. With a impetus clearly essayistic the work is developed as a dialogue between teachers of public school who are also researchers in university. The intended was become these dialogues in a play, inside drama stile. To approach this subject and build the work`s basis, the research is mainly structured around five authors: Inês Barbosa de Oliveira for a methodology in the school routine field; Marilena Chauí for studies of Brazilian political culture and Paulo Freire, Augusto Boal and Boaventura de Sousa Santos for studies of democracy e epistemology.

Esta pesquisa discute como adolescentes do III Ciclo do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública de periferia estão vivenciando a leitura e a escrita na tela do computador. Os estudantes sujeitos da pesquisa são moradores da Vila Dique, em Porto Alegre (RS), onde grande parte das famílias sobrevive com a renda obtida na coleta e reciclagem de lixo seco. Submetidos a uma situação em que o texto no papel perde, num certo sentido, seu valor simbólico, já que o suporte adquire valor de mercadoria, a leitura e escrita na tela do computador recuperariam esse sentido, constituindo-se como uma nova prática de letramento, oportunizando a inclusão dos/das adolescentes na cultura escrita. A investigação, de caráter qualitativo, valeu-se de procedimentos como o diário de campo, a observação participante, a análise de textos produzidos digitalmente no laboratório de informática da escola, além de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. / This research discusses the way adolescents from the 7th and 8th grades of a public school in the periphery areas are experiencing reading and writing on the computer screen. The subject students of the research live in Vila Dique, Porto Alegre (RS), where most families’ incomes are earned from garbage recycling. It can be stated that the paper-text, in a way, has become meaningless, given the fact that this resource carries a commercial value. Reading and writing on the computer screen has rescued a meaningful source to promote literacy, thus providing these adolescents with the opportunity to take part of the written culture. The qualitative investigation was based on a field diary, an participative observation, an analysis of the digital texts produced in the computer lab of the school, and semi-structured interviews.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O presente trabalho apresenta o cotidiano do uso dos espaços de duas escolas estaduais, uma situada no município de Duque de Caxias (Escola Estadual Professor José de Souza Herdy) e a outra em São Pedro DAldeia (Ciep 262 Curvelino Dias Curvello); espaços escolares esses que revelam cotidianos bastante complexos em suas tramas, por abarcar diversos espaçostempos além dos escolares, como as trajetórias, movimentos realizados pelos praticantes desses espaços. Além disso, o trabalho apresenta considerações acerca das múltiplas possibilidades de usos realizados nesses espaços que, por muitas vezes, não seguem as pensadas originalmente pela Secretaria de Educação, ou pela Direção da escola ou até mesmo pelos professores, mas que revelam as relações existentes entre os praticantes desses espaços. / This paper introduces the quotidian uses of the school spaces in two public schools, one placed at Duque de Caxias (a town in Rio de Janeiro - Brasil) named Professor José de Souza Herdy and the other at São Pedro DAldeia (Rio de Janeiro - Brasil) named Ciep 262. The school spaces of them reveal quotidians very complex because there are several space/times beyond the spaces of the school, like the paths, movements of the practicians of theses spaces. Besides, this paper introduces thoughts about the possibilities of the uses of these school spaces that sometimes are not the original thought of the Education Office or of the Principals of the schools or even so of the teachers, but theses uses reveal the relationships that exist between the practicians of these school spaces.