Academic freedom in Kenya
Freedom is a basic to education in modern democracies. Freedom in education can be categorized in the various aspects such as; Freedom of the child, academic freedom and freedom to read. Mc’Garry and Ward, (1966) puts it: A free society and a free world imply a free educational system and a freedom within the framework of maximum control. In such a closed society they maintained, freedom in education may consist of ability to say or do in consequential things. The legal idea of academic freedom originated in Germany in 1850. The Prussian Constitution declared that “science and its teaching shall be free.” In Germany, academic freedom is known as the right of faculty to teach on any subject, that was freedom of
…show more content…
It also guides students in applying or various courses that will lead them to different career choices.
This was adopted by the United Nations (U.N) assembly is resolution 44/25 on the 20th November 1989. Talks of Freedom of Expression of opinion and views in Art 12 states that; every child who is capable of forming views and opinion has a right to express them freely; in all matters that affects them. In article number 13 on Freedom of Expression says that the child shall have a right to freedom of expression in terms of: Freedom to seek, Freedom to receive and Freedom to impart information and ideas of all kinds either orally or in writing in art and music. But the exercise of these rights must respect the rights and limitations of others and must respect the country’s laws and morals.
Academic freedom consists in protecting the intellectual independence of professors, researchers and students in the pursuit of knowledge and the expression of ideas from interference by legislators or authorities within the institution itself. This implies that no political, ideological or religious orthodoxy will be imposed on professors and researchers through the hiring or tenure or termination process, or though any other administrative means by the academic institution. Nor shall legislatures impose any such orthodoxy through their control or the university budget. This protection includes students.
Gwin, Swanson, and Goetz, (1986) also defined academic freedom as
Regardless of how the phrase and the autonomy of the First Amendment is challenged, religion and the need to maintain separation of church and state has been a great contest of the United States legal systems. The court system typically will remove itself from decisions within the higher education institution and leave such decisions to the administrators themselves to make the best decision for the organization, unless those topics in question legitimately violate a federal statute or clause related to the Constitution directly (McFarlane, 2012). Therefore, we will examine the application of the First Amendment within higher education.
Giving students freedom in their academic lives encouraged students to form their own opinions. Teachers had biased feelings towards those who denied students the right to the whole truth because of specific religions, because it raises an uneducated generation. Fundamentalists needed to realize that as times changed9 modernization of education is necessary, regardless of religious beliefs so students receive the full truth and become liberated people. If students are restricted from certain topics and are only taught one view on a few subjects then there will be no new or different ways of thinking, rendering education pointless. “Without freedom in the intellectual life, and without the inspiration of uncensored discovery and discussion, there could ultimately be no scholarship, no schools at all and no education.” The American Federation of Teachers expressed their fear for the future of education and how it would be constrained due to traditionalism, in contradiction of Sparks and other creationists.
College is a time when most individuals are experiencing major changes and begin to explore new perspectives. The transition in becoming more independent, creating new insights and peer influence are key factors in changing the perspective of an individual. Students are faced with new ideas from their professors, family and fellow peers. Through that acquired knowledge many students decide that they either agree or disagree with the perspectives that they are taught. Allowing the right of ‘Free Speech’ on public college campuses has become an important issue that many public colleges are starting to address. In college students are capable of
Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but “the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own” (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994).
Authors of both articles disagree the suppressing and censoring of free speech observed in some universities. While Rampell is disheartened by violent reactions of students upon reading a conservative essay written by a ‘moderate conservative’ in a student newspaper, Stone and Creeley are worried, in general, about the broader measures of censoring free speech across universities. Rampell, in particular, had direct access to the writer of the conservative essay, which gave her a deeper understanding of the actual reactions and subsequent happenings. Stone and Creeley had off hand access to the past happenings of three individual cases of censoring free speech expressions by teaching faculties. In one case, a university dissented to a faculty member’s published essay on
In his book, Unlearning Liberty (2014) Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) asserts that violations of free speech— whether by students, faculty, or administration—will have devastating effects in greater society. Lukianoff supports his assertion by describing cases he has seen throughout his career at FIRE. From administration punishing students to professors getting fired for clearly protected speech. Lukianoff’s purpose is to point out the misguided lessons about freedom that are being taught on campus and to encourage his audience to stand up for freedom on campus. Lukianoff writes in an earnest tone to an audience who recognizes the importance of freedom in America society.
'Article 13'; The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.'
Career and technical schools are educational facilities that allow students to explore a specific career or field that they are interested in. They offer approximately sixteen different career and technical choices and over 70 different sub-careers ranging from Education and Training, Government and Public Administration, Manufacturing, Information Technology, Finance, Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to Transportation, Distribution and Logistics plus other career fields of interest that appeal to the students. The Career and Technical Education Schools are able to fulfill the needs of employers who are looking for specific criteria when hiring a new employee to fill an available position within their company. () Since the students
Academic Freedom was a piece written in the early 1950’s describing the social problems that existed in certain universities across the country. Throughout the country there are mostly two types of colleges that are used to mold students into adults and those are conservative or liberal. Buckley goes on to express his experience as a student attending Yale University while there he notices many things he considers wrong with the institutions. What he found was that instead of promoting students to think on their own and formulate their own preferences; he found the professors and universities were trying to manipulate him to into how he should think about certain topics. Buckley felt like his individuality was being taken from him because instead of giving information and lets him decide what he wanted they were forcefully feeding them their ideology. Their liberal agenda he felt was being forced upon him and he did simply fold but rebutted these
According to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), one of the components of academic freedom is “the freedom to discuss subject matter in the classroom” (Ruch, 2001, p. 128). Nelson (2010) interprets this as a “faculty member’s right to remain true to his or her pedagogical philosophy and intellectual commitments and allows faculty members institutional latitude in deciding how to teach the courses for which they are responsible.” While the clergy and entrepreneur faculty of the early for-profit schools possessed academic freedom through self-management, academic freedom is somewhat constrained for faculty employed by the University of
The subject of student rights has caused a lot of confusion and anger for decades now. There are two different sides that everyone seems to fall into. Some people want the constitutional rights of students to be fully protected within the school. The other side believes that, as a public institution, schools should regulate what is said or done by students to protect everyone involved. This is where it gets confusing, because it is hard to draw the line between what is allowed or not. The three most interesting topics that I chose to cover are a student’s right to free speech, religion within the school and student privacy.
in conclusion student rights over time have been expanded but after the first big expansion, they have been restricted, but with good reason. in order to keep a disciplined and a good learning environment, it is important to restrict those rights. Student rights have been changed by the supreme court, for the purpose of having a more democratic and free nation, but those rights have also been restricted for keeping a safe and good learning environment for students of all
They use FOCUS2 which helps students determine what majors or career paths in which they are interested.
Career Counseling, or Career Services depending on the institution, is frequently offered on a one-on-one basis, but at times this service is provided through group workshops, classes, or computerized guidance systems. Traditionally a standard function of the career services role is to help students develop job search skills however the scope of the
Education is a elemental human right and essential for all other human rights. It is a powerful tool by which socially and economically marginalized children and adults can lift themselves out of poverty. It also consists of the right to freedom of education. Freedom of education is the right given to human beings to have access to the education of their preference without any constrictions. Right to education is a human right recognized by the United Nations. It includes the entire compulsion to eliminate inequity at all levels of the educational system.