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In the history of Japanese education, the "gender characteristics theory" that men and women naturally have different characteristics rejected not only the "gender equality theory" which came from Western Europe in the early Meiji era, but also the traditional "male chauvinism" of East Asia. According to the theory of gender characteristics, men and women were seen as having "equal value," though not "equal rights." This theory became the main educational philosophy of women's education when the single-sex school system was established in the 1900s, and likewise permeated society as a scientific theory in the 1920s. After World War II, when gender equality became accepted, a coeducational system was introduced toward equal educational opportunities. However, the gender characteristics theory remained the basis for making home economics a compulsory subject for women, as the division of labor by gender expanded during the high economic growth period of the sixties and environs. Coeducation was a system intended for men and women to "respect" each other and "cooperate" (Article 5 of the Basic Act on Education), and gender differences in curricula in coeducational schools were seen as "reasonable" differences to ensure "essential equality" between men and women. Schools were also not considered places of gender inequality. Elsewhere, women's universities and women's junior colleges were established after the war with the expectation that they would play a new role in training women to support the democratic society. However, they also inherited the pre-war vocational school curriculum centered on literature and home economics. When these colleges increased during the period of high economic growth, this prewar curriculum spread further, based on the gender characteristics theory. As a result, women's universities and women's junior colleges were criticized as contrary to gender equality. It was only after the 1985 ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the spread of gender equality that the gender characteristics theory was finally rejected. Today, the raison d'être of girls' education is being questioned again. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women not only rejects the gender characteristics theory and fixed gender roles, but also defines "discrimination against women" as "discrimination, exclusion or restriction based on sex." As the concept of gender spreads, the view that separating men and women is itself "discrimination" is also spreading. If women's education is to continue to exist, its raison d'être will depend on its ability to contribute to the elimination of gender disparities.

In this article, I document and analyze all municipal, state, and county-level efforts for Black reparations in the United States. Most efforts resemble H.R. 40's exploratory commission model, possibly due to policy path dependency. Few geographies have allocated funding for committee recommendations, but some have allocated funds for committee activities. Only Evanston, Illinois, has allocated and distributed funds to qualifying residents. On average, cities with reparations efforts demonstrated mixed performance on metrics related to Black wealth, with insufficient evidence to suggest local Black-White disparities are more severe than the nation as a whole. Several proposals emphasize the Black-White racial wealth gap as emblematic of slavery- derived disparity, but no municipal or state proposal can rival the scale or potential of a federal program.

This study comprehensively analyzes the effectiveness of the services provided to disabled people in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) within the legislation framework and the communication barriers experienced by these individuals. The research examines how disability affects individuals' participation in social life and how TRNC legislation limits this participation. While attention is drawn to the communication difficulties faced by disabled people, especially those living in rural areas, it is emphasized that technological innovations and updating existing legislation are of critical importance in solving these problems. The article provides recommendations for education, awareness programs and policy changes to improve services for people with disabilities. This study aims to serve as an essential resource for developing disability policies in TRNC.

Chinese Sani folk songs, originating from the vibrant culture of the Sani people in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, represent a precious tapestry of musical heritage. This research aims to examine the preservation and promotion of cultural literacy through the education of Chinese Sani folk songs in Kunming City, Yunnan Province. Esteemed Sani scholars, composers, and song transmitters serve as key informants, providing valuable insights into the multifaceted process of preserving and promoting this cultural treasure. A mixed-methods approach is employed. Combining qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires, this research offers a comprehensive perspective on Sani folk song preservation. The results highlight the importance of education, legislative support, cultural promotion, and collaboration with universities in preserving Sani folk songs. Suggestions include the establishment of folk song learning workshops, youth education programs, the preservation of traditional living environments, and the creation of a Sani folk song database. Overall, this research underscores the urgency of safeguarding this unique cultural heritage and contributes to the global discourse on preserving endangered folk music traditions.

Jiujiang Folk Songs, from Jiujiang County in Jiangxi Province, is a traditional Chinese folk genre with unique musical styles and themes focusing on daily life, labor, love, and historical narratives. Beginning with an introduction that highlights the cultural significance of these songs, the study's objective is to propose strategies for education and literacy in the preservation and transmission of Jiujiang folk songs in Jiangxi Province. Focusing on Jiujiang County, known for its rich cultural heritage, the research involves key informants with deep roots in the region and extensive experience in performing and teaching Jiujiang folk songs. Through qualitative data analysis, including live performance observations and structured interviews, the study identifies key challenges such as an aging population of practitioners, language barriers, and a lack of modern promotion. Drawing from these findings, the research suggests strategies at multiple levels, including legislative protection, cultural promotion, and school involvement, to bridge these gaps and ensure the continued preservation and transmission of Jiujiang folk songs. This study contributes to the broader discourse on the preservation of traditional cultural heritage in the face of modernization and serves as a model for safeguarding similar treasures worldwide.

This study explores how policy discourses on academic career are articulated in Swedish higher education. Discourses on academic career are often expressing meritocracy and the necessity of competition, but also include demands for flexibility and global participation. Recent decades of higher education policy have also stressed the importance of gender equity, which is particularly evident in the Nordic countries. Yet, how these discourses interact and impact on contemporary ideas on academic career remains unclear. We analyse a selection of Swedish government bills to explore present policy discourses on academic career mobility, and how these discourses express and create tensions for different staff groups. The findings shows that the notion, and promotion of career mobility in Swedish higher education features tensions between career advancement, transnational mobility and work life stability. It is also clear that some scholars are defined as more career mobile and successful than others. Hence, discourses on career mobility tend to give legitimacy to already existing work divisions and hierarchies partly undermining gender equity. In conclusion, our findings show tensions and contradictions in these policies, which give base for further nuanced and critical discussions on the current conditions and possibilities in Swedish higher education and academic career.

This study proposes a rights-based instructional planning approach for teachers serving indigenous learners, particularly those assigned to schools in Higaonon communities (IPEd). The content of the paper focuses on the following: (1) assumptions about Higaonon indigenous learners; (2) components of the right-based instructional planning approach; and (3) facilitating and hindering factors that may affect the implementation of the right-based instructional planning approach. The researcher used an exploratory research design to develop the proposed planning approach. It was conducted in Higaonon communities in the Municipality of Esperanza, Agusan Del Sur, Philippines. The responses of the selected school officials, IPEd teachers, Higaonon tribal leaders, parents, students, and external stakeholders. The responses of the selected school officials, IPEd teachers, Higaonon tribal leaders, parents, students, and external stakeholders. This paper strongly believes that shifting from a culture-based to right-based IPEd teaching approach is expected to lay down positive changes in all aspects of life for indigenous learners, including social, economic, education, civic, and political, as they begin to understand and protect the inherent rights to ancestral domains, cultural integrity, self-governance, and social justice which are accounted for them. The early inculcation of Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) law into their identity formation through school curriculum is projected to eradicate all forms of discrimination, exclusion, alienation, disintegration, and vulnerabilities in mainstream societies.

In England the 2014 Children and Families Act introduced wide ranging changes to the assessment of and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Guidance underpinning implementation was then published in the Code of Practice. Our study focuses on a key component of that legislation, known as the 'local offer', which requires local authorities to establish and maintain, clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information for children and young people with SEND, and their families, about available SEND provision. Local authorities are expected to involve children and young people and their families in co-designing and reviewing their local offer, alongside other key stakeholders, to ensure provision is responsive to local needs and aspirations. To support our assessment of local offers we first established six categories based on the criteria in the Code of Practice about expected availability of SEND-related information (e.g. financial support, health service information, accessibility information). We used these categories to evaluate the relevant local offer websites of all 151 English local authorities with legal responsibilities for SEND assessment and provision. We further assessed whether each local offer website included three common website accessibility functions. Our findings demonstrate variation in the availability of information at local authority level, therefore limiting the ability of some young people and families to make informed decisions about the support available to them. This provides further evidence to support growing concerns about 'postcode lottery' inequities for families and their children with SEND.

In the past five years, Delta State University's academic library has made significant efforts to develop sustainable outreach programs that support the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+) community. This program has increased the library's visibility and enhanced its image among its students, faculty, and staff. The article describes the outreach program's effort, and the collected data will provide a framework for others interested in designing and hosting such programs, including adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) have a responsibility to conduct assessments of decision-making capacity that comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Current best-practice guidance, such as the Mental Capacity Code of Practice and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence decision-making and mental capacity guidance, does not stipulate how to accomplish this in practice, for example, what questions should be asked, how options and information should be provided. In addition, HCPs struggle to assess the capacity of individuals with communication difficulties. Aims: This study was a service evaluation that aimed to objectively analyse, using Conversation Analysis (CA), how real-life capacity assessments were conducted in a hospital setting with patients with acquired brain injury (ABI)-related communication difficulties. A second aim was to establish the feasibility of using CA to advance knowledge of the conduct of capacity assessment. Methods & Procedures: Four naturally occurring capacity assessments were video-recorded. Recordings involved speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, neuropsychologists and patients with communication difficulties as a result of ABI. The methods and findings of CA were used to investigate the interactional behaviours of HCPs and patients during assessments of decision-making capacity. The analysis was informed by our knowledge of the MCA best practice guidance. Outcomes & Results: An overall structure of capacity assessment that enacted some of the best-practice MCA guidance was identified in one recording, consisting of six phases: (i) opening, (ii) preparation, (iii) option-listing, (iv) test, (v) decision, and (vi) close. The preparation phase consisted of two sub-components: information gathering and information giving. Variation from this structure was observed across the dataset, notably in the way in which options were (or were not) presented. Conclusions & Implications: CA is a feasible empirical method for exploring the structure and conduct of capacity assessments. CA identifies and provides ways of describing interactional behaviours that align with and diverge from best-practice MCA guidance. Future CA studies including a wider range of health and social care professionals and patients have the potential to inform evidence based training for HCPs who conduct assessments of decision-making capacity.

A revised way of thinking is essential for promoting harm reduction strategies and reducing the negative implications of injection drug use (IDU). Despite the growth of harm reduction approaches in the United States, there is limited guidance for designing and implementing multi-sector efforts that address the external determinants that promote and facilitate IDU. Current frameworks fail to acknowledge the individual's role and influence in multi-sector change. To address the multifaceted nature of IDU, we must address the complex relationship between people who inject drugs (PWID) and their external environment. As part of a community-academic partnership, a framework was developed to address the gaps in current theoretical models and community practice. Our Harm Reduction Collaboration Framework (HRCF) accepts PWID as key stakeholders and presents a practical framework in which PWID and community organizations partner in decision making to influence policy, systems, and environmental change. We provide examples of two organizations that have made substantive changes in implementing harm reduction strategies in their communities by utilizing the HRCF.

Professional legislative advocacy is a pathway to improve the field of education as it may lead to policy changes that impact schools and the profession directly. Higher education faculty have the opportunity to infuse in their students the skills and confidence to become advocates for their respective disciplines. In this study on an approach to teaching, we developed a training intervention to teach and build school counseling trainees' confidence for engaging in professional legislative advocacy and evaluated its effectiveness in an initial study. Compared to pretest scores, the participants had significant gains in knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to professional legislative advocacy after the training intervention. Their posttest scores were also higher than a sample of school counselor trainees who did not participate in the training. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggested research directions.

To establish good maritime governance, the Indonesian government must pay attention to maritime security aspects in every maritime policy and integrate maritime security education into the national education curriculum. However, implementing the World Maritime Axis concept, the Indonesian government still needs to consider the maritime security perspective as a top priority. The ultimate goal of good maritime governance development should include the strength of the Navy as the most important supporting element and the implementation of maritime security training and education for Indonesian maritime society. This study aims to analyze the efforts of the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration in addressing maritime security issues through the implemented maritime security training and education programs. The research method used is qualitative descriptive by using secondary data from a literature review and interpretation found in previous journal articles, with data collection techniques through literature study. The study results indicate that addressing maritime security issues requires hard and soft efforts from the government, including implementing maritime security training and education programs for Indonesian maritime society and integrating maritime security education into the national education curriculum.

Significant collaborations with research partners in China are seen in many Western countries. With increasing US-China geopolitical tensions, governments, research institutions, and individuals in established scientific systems are increasingly required to address a proliferating array of risks and challenges associated with collaboration with China. Academic researchers are only beginning to describe how countries are responding to the ongoing need for global scientific collaboration amidst intensifying geopolitical competition. Several studies have examined the securitization of scientific connections with China in the USA, while others have documented developments in nations such as Australia, the UK, and Sweden. However, there is limited comparative research on approaches to international science amid geopolitical tensions. This paper bridges the gap, illuminating the key dimensions of variation in country-level responses by comparing the cases of Sweden and Australia. The questions we ask are as follows: Who responds to the challenges? By what means? And to what ends are responses directed? Swedish government have been largely passive, but Swedish funding agencies have developed "responsible internationalisation" guidelines that aim to induce proactive reflection by institutions and individual researchers. Australia's approach, by contrast, has centred on legislation, the exercise of ministerial powers, along with sector-wide enactment of expanded due diligence protocols. The comparison highlights key differences in the actors, methods and goals of responses to the intensifying geopolitics of scientific collaboration.

This paper examined the impact of the 2017 Recognition of Irish Travellers as an Ethnic Minority through the lens of Fraser's model of justice. A number of interviews were held with a community development worker, a Traveller support worker, a Traveller education officer and three groups of Traveller women in relation to the impact of the recognition, and several themes emerged. Overall, the recognition as an ethnic minority was celebrated by Traveller organisations but for Travellers in the community there was little to no impact on their daily lives and on education provision, and no impact on Traveller status and recognition of the Traveller culture. Gaps in educational provision persisted with insufficient literacy and other learning supports. Awareness of Traveller culture was needed in schools for staff and students, and discrimination continued to be an issue.

This article examines the concept of academic autonomy within the "Yugoslav model" of higher education as a peripheral system characterised by an eclectic mix of elements from different systems, resulting in mutations with unique features during its development. The hitherto under-researched history of this higher education model has by no means been uniform or linear; because of this complexity, the focus here is limited to the case of Slovenia but considers the broader context. The focus is on the understanding, legislation, and (non-)implementation of academic autonomy as articulated between 1945 and 1991. The concept was inherited: it was never used in the legislation of federal socialist Yugoslavia yet was used in political and public debates. Our analysis relates these debates to the rapidly changing legislation and the broader socio-political context. Although the "Yugoslav model" has vanished, its traces and ashes, including old contradictions and dilemmas, remain partly present in the higher education systems of independent states that emerged on the territory of the former federation. The principle that knowledge of the past is the key to understanding the present and approaching the future is confirmed in this case as well.

Governance and regulation of the use of live animals in research and teaching is examined in Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan and India. A comparison of the systems in different countries will enable the determination of best practice and fit-forpurpose regulation. The most comprehensive government regulation of animal welfare in institutions covers a broad range of animals and institutions are required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, whose membership is specified in guidelines or regulations. The work of the Committees is rigorously overseen by government and facilities that use live animals are audited externally. All countries examined have legislation governing the use of live animals in research, although only Australia and Malaysia have a fully equivalent mandated oversight of teaching. Teaching that uses live animals is partly covered in the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Thailand This paper thus aims to review the regulation of animal use in different Asian jurisdictions in order to determine best practices that are appropriate to those settings. The most comprehensive oversight is provided in Australia and Malaysia that essentially use the same regulatory framework.

The German school system is known for its stratified secondary school system following the four-year elementary school. While access to grammar schools was strictly regulated in German school history, most federal states have now strengthened the will of parents and abolished the tradition of binding elementary school recommendations. New in the group of Laender that do not have a binding "Gymnasium" recommendation are Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony. By analyzing parliament debates, this paper analyzes why Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony abolished the binding elementary school recommendation and have strengthened parental choice for secondary schools.

Background: There are limited studies focused on examining specific types of evidence, like surveys beyond the US and territories with unicameral legislatures and unique contexts. Aims and objectives: To measure the extent of survey research being used as evidence in policymaking in Hong Kong. Methods: Through document analysis, this study screened and examined Hong Kong Legislative Council documents utilised to enact 569 bills from 2000 to 2022. Findings: About 25% of bills utilised surveys as evidence, with differences across 18 policy areas. Health services recorded the highest percentage of survey use in legislation. In the Hong Kong legislature, surveys are primarily used to understand policy issues better. Mode of data collection, sample size, response rates, and representativeness of surveys are not commonly discussed in legislative documents. Discussion and conclusion: The study findings reaffirm previous research on the limited utilisation of survey evidence in policymaking in Hong Kong, an Asian context with a unicameral legislation and colonial history. The importance of survey evidence was highlighted in policy areas that directly impact the public, such as healthcare. The findings also highlight the important role of politics in investigating the use of surveys as research evidence for policymaking.

Text and data mining activities -- that is, the automated processing of digital materials to uncover new knowledge -- have become more frequent in all areas of scientific research. Because they require a massive use of copyrighted work, there are evident conflicts with copyright legislation. Countries at the forefront of research and development have begun to address this issue. This paper presents the basic aspects of legislation applicable to text and data mining activities. It offers a detailed comparative analysis of the norms of the main jurisdictions that have regulated them to date, highlighting in each case the positive and negative aspects. An adequate knowledge of these laws is not only important for researchers but also important for the academic librarians who provide advice and support in these matters.

Incorporating Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL) evolved from Taiwan's historical linguistic ecology and intertwined with the linguistic ecology of Taiwan's Deaf community. Utilising a qualitative document analysis incorporating a language planning and policy framework [Cooper, R. L. (1989). Language planning and social change. Cambridge University Press; Reagan, T. (2022). Language planning and language policies for sign languages: an emerging civil rights movement. Sociolinguistica, 36(1-2), 169-182], we analyze how this law fits into Taiwan's multicultural milieu. Specifically, we analyze the transmission, revival, and development of TSL by legislating status, acquisition, corpus, and prestige planning for teaching TSL to hearing learners. Secondly, gaps are identified, such as establishing early TSL access to the birth to age five deaf learners and their caregivers, promoting Chinese literacy with TSL strategies, and hiring native Deaf signing teachers. Limitations and future directions for research and practice are then outlined.

This article examines the involvement of family, community, and school in citizenship education in China, particularly in terms of the tension between traditional cultural values and today's modernisation. The analysis was based on written materials acquired through a systematic search of English and Chinese scholarly literature on the subject and relevant Chinese policy documents and laws. Following a hermeneutic approach, the image formed in the literature of Chinese citizenship education was interpreted and explained in a broader historical-cultural-social context. The results show that the traditional values of Chinese civilisation continue to play a strong role in all three arenas of citizenship education, although the conflict between traditional values emphasising conformism and modern values emphasising individual self-determination is also recognisable in them.

This article is part of a case study of U.S. federal leadership in special education from the perspective of those who served in the roles of Assistant Secretaries of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and Directors of the Office of Special Education Programs or their equivalents in the former U.S. Office of Education and later U.S. Department of Education. This case study covers the time period from the George W. Bush administration and lasting through the first 4 years of President Barack Obama's administration (2000-2012). During this time, government intervention in education reached its zenith with the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001 and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. The participants detailed their (a) career and appointment, (b) vision for educating students with disabilities, (c) theory of change, (d) politics and financial constraints, (e) advocacy, and (f) views of the past, present, and future.

In 2019, a new national Ethics Review Authority (Etikprövningsmyndigheten, EPM) was created in Sweden. In 2020, Sweden's "Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans Act" was revised, tightening this legislation, and increasing penalties for its infraction. This article draws on empirical material generated by artistic research conducted with a norm-critical contemporary music ensemble. Two of the musicians who collaborated with this research identify as disabled. Consequently, in accordance with EPM, my artistic research was subject to mandatory ethics review. Reflecting critically on my own experience of seeking ethical approval for this artistic research project, I show how EPM's process of ethics review enacts scientific boundary work in Sweden that privileges the interests of academic disciplines that are already well-established. As a corrective to EPM's scientific boundary work I propose the application of an ethics of care that recognises the complex relationalities that exist between research institutions, researchers and research participants.

This article is a call for collective action across health equity researchers and advocates to build a more just world. We attempt to make sense of senseless structural and interpersonal brutality in the context of the current political climate across the United States, whereby the spectrum of gender nonconformity has been and continues to be stigmatized. From drag performance to transgender identities to gender-affirming health care, extremists have instrumentalized primary levers of democracy--the courts, legislatures, and social media--to attempt to outlaw and eradicate gender expansiveness and those who provide forms of support and care, including gender-affirming medical care, to transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive (TNBGE) individuals.

This article discusses the nationwide shortage of sports officials, best practices and solutions, and how current physical educators, coaches and SHAPE America members in general can help address the shortage and educate youths on the value of sportsmanship.

In England, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice (2015) was heralded as a significant reformation of provision for children and young people with additional and complex learning needs. Effective implementation of the Code requires the key implementers, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCos), to develop and negotiate provision in their settings, to interface with colleagues, families and expert professionals, and to apply for and implement Education and Health Care (EHC) plans for the children and young people with the most complex needs. However, whilst this added to SENCo workload and responsibilities, systemic, resource and dominant discourse challenges remained the same. EHC plans have been described as a microcosm of the wider arena of policy and practice. Studies exploring SENCo perceptions of the enablers and challenges, which has import for commissioners and practitioners, are limited. This article presents part of a mixed-methods study which examined SENCo perceptions of the salient external and internal influences on EHC plan implementation. Integration of the analysed data sets uncovered themes related to purpose, support, communities of learning, and relationships. Key recommendations, whose enactment would support and develop SENCos, so they in turn can best promote the learning, development, wellbeing and inclusion of children and young people with SEND, and their families, are made. This article closes by proposing that the need for a professional information hub and support mechanisms for SENCos has never been greater.

Despite the fact that schools remain incredibly safe spaces for children and youth to spend time, the occurrence of mass school shootings, although rare, is a pressing issue for our society. In this paper we discuss the importance of action, advocacy, and research related to mass school shootings. Specifically, we discuss research-based actions for preventing and responding to mass school shootings, including multi-tiered systems of support, positive behavior interventions and supports, threat assessment, and trauma-informed care. In regard to advocacy, we focus on the need to discontinue ineffective and, in some cases, harmful practices such as zero-tolerance policies. We conclude with an examination of the needed research in this area, with special attention on the use of active shooter drills and firearm legislation.

Several authors have underlined that processes of Europeanisation of education emerge despite the European Union's lack of formal power in this area. This article argues on the contrary that its lack of power precisely enables the EU to open up a range of possibilities for its involvement in this sector, among which the ET2020 Working Groups (WG) of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). Based on observations of WG meetings and interviews with key actors, and using Niklas Luhmann's systems-theory, we aim to show how the distance separating the ET2020 WG from the formal circuits of European decision-making acts as a resource for the development of a European discourse on education. Alongside the ordinary legislative procedure based on voting and implementing collectively binding decisions, the alternative political circuit of the OMC is based on the irritation of a set of education sector stakeholders through the creation and dissemination of reports of 'good practices'. In doing so, the ET2020 Working Groups illustrate how politics transforms itself and redefines its boundaries when it is structured at the European level rather than at the level of the nation-state.

This comparative case study examines the policies of two new immigrant destinations in the United States and Canada that in the past 20 years experienced a rapid influx of immigrants. Using an integrated framework of policy design theory and the context of reception, this paper analyzes the framing of immigrant students in the state, district, and school-level policies. Interviews with immigrant students in these communities show how these policies shaped their schooling experiences and communicated important messages to them about their role in their new communities, thus shaping their political identities. The findings highlight the important interplay of these different policymakers in shaping the contexts of receptions students encountered. The paper concludes by discussing educators' role in working to craft more equitable policies.

This paper addresses the current educational rights of the Roma community (in the Czech Republic). The aim of the paper is to present the educational system, its advantages and disadvantages and the ways in which the legal system supports educational rights. The second part of the paper focuses on the exercising and negotiation of rights in the contemporary social context. The work is based on ethnographic research conducted since 2005 by the Levinska, Bittnerova, & Doubek team in socially excluded localities. The data analysis is based on the theoretical concept of cognitive anthropology and the cultural models theory (D'Andrare, & Strauss, 1992). Cultural models and the ways in which parents, students and teachers negotiate rights are presented. The tension between rationality and morality (Bateson, 1958) is demonstrated by the models' endurance; communication, cognitive and material support; and independence. Although the system itself provides equal opportunities, the prospects that education affords are a fundamental problem. One obstacle is racial bias, which influences members of the dominant group. Another significant obstacle is poverty and the costs of higher education, which are beyond the financial capacity of poor families. A third obstacle is knowledge, which is insufficient in excluded localities and poor families, and that families are unable to give students adequate support in navigating the full scope of student responsibilities.

This article recalls the key concept of due regard in the Equality Act 2010 and outlines how it was increasingly ignored by the Department for Education (DfE) in England in the following decade. Further, it speculates that if the concept of due regard had been observed more rigorously across all government departments, the COVID-19 pandemic would have been less tragic and traumatising in its effects, and less responsible for deepening inequalities throughout British society. It concludes that the Act should be revisited, revised and re-emphasised.

In this research, we compare interrelations between institutional settings and regional provision structures of continuing higher education (CHE) in England and Spain. The aim of the qualitative analysis is to identify and to compare country-specific linkages between national and regional policies, legal and financial regulations and their impact on providers, types of provision and target groups of CHE at the regional level. Theoretical assumptions of educational governance, environmental neo-institutionalism, and the sociology of conventions guide the analysis, based on expert interviews in England and Spain. Our research questions are: What modes of coordination of action to provide CHE are caused by national and regional regulations in England and Spain? How are these actions justified, and how do they influence regional CHE provision types and target groups in both countries? Interview-based findings show that national and regional regulations embrace hybrid modes of coordination of action regarding CHE provision in both countries. Specifically, centralised national policies in England and a mixture of centralised and decentralised legal frameworks in Spain impact regional CHE provision by universities, as does the scope of university autonomy in both countries. However, national frameworks only explain regional disparities in CHE provision to a limited extent. Less formal normative dimensions and social orders of university orientations and labour market demands also influence regional types of provision, concepts, provider cooperation, and adult CHE learners.

Despite growing evidence to the contrary, researchers continue to posit causal links between cannabis, crime, psychosis, and violence. These spurious connections are rooted in history and fueled decades of structural limitations that shaped how researchers studied cannabis. Until recently, research in this area was explicitly funded to link cannabis use and harm and ignore any potential benefits. Post-prohibition cannabis research has failed to replicate the dire findings of the past. This article outlines how the history of controlling cannabis research has led to various harms, injustices, and ethical complications. We compare commonly cited research from both the prohibition and post-prohibition eras and argue that many popular claims about the dangers of cannabis are the result of ethical lapses by researchers, journals, and funders. We propose researchers in this area adopt a duty of care in cannabis research going forward. This would oblige individual researchers to establish robust research designs, employ careful analytic strategies, and acknowledge limitations in more detail. This duty involves the institutional recognition by funders, journals, and others that cannabis research has been deliberately misconstrued to criminalize, stigmatize, and pathologize.

It is now 10 years since the "European Declaration on the Health of Children and Young People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families: Better Health -- Better Lives" was adopted by the World Health Organization. Through discussions with key informants and an online literature review, we reflect on actions and progress made in line with this Declaration to improve the health and wellbeing of children with intellectual disabilities and their families. Despite finding positive examples of policy, legislation and practice in support of children with intellectual disabilities, there are clear gaps and areas for improvement. Countries must continue to take action, as supported by the World Health Organization and other such organisations, in order to support children with intellectual disabilities in realising their fundamental human rights.

Historically, adverse events have reflected poorly on both the practice of dissection and the perception of the discipline of anatomy. The recent public dissection of a body donor is a regression to an unethical historical practice and was strongly denounced by anatomists around the world. The individual whose donated body was sourced from a 'for-profit" company in the United States had not given consent for a public dissection. This violates the ethics surrounding consent and body donation and potentially places the future of body donor programs in jeopardy as it compromises community frameworks around epistemic trust. Recent guiding frameworks by international anatomical associations on the ethical use of bodies have cemented the way in which body donor programs should operate. This viewpoint reflects on past and current events pertaining to public dissections and questions how these indignities may influence the public's interaction with human bodies. The authors argue that public dissection should be prohibited as it is against social mores. Social pressure should be applied to individuals or companies who wish to profit from unethical anatomical practice and legislation prohibiting public dissection should be introduced in those countries where it does not yet exist.

This study assessed needs and outcomes for people with developmental disability (DD) to understand the socioeconomic status of this group prior to implementation of the Accessible Canada Act in June 2019. The 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) was used to analyze data for a sample of individuals with self-reported disability. Data related to employment, education, income, housing, caregivers, and use of government benefits is reported. Compared to the general Canadian public, persons with DD are less likely to: finish high-school or post-secondary education; participate in the labor force or be employed; and earn on average less/year in total income. To align with recent accessibility legislation, significant progress is needed to address disparities for people with DD.

This paper offers an overview of the current status of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disorders (DD) in Oman. A review of demographic and background information about Oman is first presented, followed by an overview of the current status of individuals with autism and developmental disorders, in terms of disability-related legislation, prevalence and diagnosis, as well as treatment and education. In the last section of the paper, major challenges faced in the field are addressed, including lack of autism awareness, lack of healthcare and educational programs or related services, lack of highly qualified professionals to implement evidence-based practices, issues regarding early identification and early intervention, as well as issues pertaining secondary transition, independent living and employment. Corresponding recommendation is proposed at the end of each challenge.

This paper explores whether children and young people (CYP) with additional learning needs (ALN) are at a systemic disadvantage regarding Welsh language opportunities. Justification pertaining to why this should be on the radar of educational psychologists (EPs) in Wales is provided. Congruent with critical realism, quantitative and qualitative research is reviewed, examining micro, eco and macrosystems. A systemic lens illuminates the context and process factors that CYP with ALN and their families may encounter regarding Welsh language opportunities. This paper is informed by the bioecological Person Process Context Time (PPCT) model, and the Constructionist Model of Informed and Reasoned Action (COMOIRA). Limitations demarcating interpretation of identified issues are highlighted, without negating their significance. Implications for EPs are offered, contemplating their role in facilitating inclusion through supporting the development of greater cohesion between Welsh Government (WG) legislation (macrosystem), and the systemic realities of CYP with ALN in Wales.