Conclusion: Reconstructing Education as Protection

Abstract

The overall architecture of education seems to be firmly rooted in rituals of reproducing society. Also, the agenda – or philosophy – of many education systems remains at odds with the socioeconomic situation and needs of many if not most of the schoolchildren. It is an education system targeted at urban children with at least some means, or a “pre-packaged solution.” My belief is that schools can and should be reinvented, although there is no blueprint on how to do so. From a protection point of view, a bare minimum would be to do no harm. It would be to train teachers in protection; and set up norms of behavior in schools that are regulating the relationship between teachers and students, and among students. At a larger scale, it is necessary to reconstruct teacher training which should include emotional pedagogy and/or training to identify and deal with situations of abuse. Again, widening the scope, I believe there is a real need to integrate vocational learning into primary and secondary school. Schools in many contexts could function as a transition between childhood and gainful youth employment. An example could be models of combined work and schooling. In particular, lessons from vocational training and life skills programs could be useful to reconstruct a more practical and locally relevant curriculum, which would allow that not all children complete secondary school. Instead of outlawing child labour, it should be regulated, thus giving children a voice in their transition from school to work and marriage. Schools have an important role in facilitating this transfer, instead of – frequently – ignoring it.