Widening Access to Education as Social Justice

Access to education for all, everywhere, is among the priorities advanced by the International Panel on Democracy and Development. It would be illusory to seek to promote development or to claim to strengthen democracy without focusing, at the same time, on eradicating the scourge of illiteracy, which still, today, affects one adult in five in the world.

"Among the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century is that of providing adequate educational opportunities to all citizens of the globe. The broad availability of such opportunities and the genuine ability to take advantage of them are fundamental components of any equitable society. In examining how widening access to education contributes to social justice, this anthology composes a tribute to the life and work of the Nigerian educationist Michael A. Omolewa. The twenty-seven contributions to this volume discuss foundational issues related to the educational dimensions of social justice, present overviews of approaches related to widening access, and analyze case studies from around the world, as well as consider future directions in education policy and research. This thematic depth is matched by the geographic representativeness of the work, with contributors coming from the global South and North. Widening Access to Education as Social Justice speaks with a credible and powerful voice about how making greater formal and informal educational opportunities available to men and women, young adults and children everywhere can help bring about more equitable ways of living together, thereby fostering the goods of cultural diversity, tolerance and respect along with the creativity and responsibility vital to bringing about actual social harmony. TOC:From the contents

I - Foundational issues.- Michael Omolewa's advocacy of widening access to education.- Widening access by bringing education home.- Access to education: a global perspective.- Conceptualizing the widening of access to education as social justice.- Education, law, and social justice.- Globalization and state socialism: end of illusions or new educational opportunities?.- II - Overviews.- Widening participation for social justice: poverty and access to education.- HIV/AIDS as a depleting factor in widening access to education.- The dialectics of poverty, educational opportunities, and ICTs.- UNESCO policies and conferences: widening access to education to further social justice.- Universalizing access to basic education: UNESCO's normative action.- III - National case studies.- Reaching the unreached learner: lifelong learning, adult and community education in Victoria, Austra.- Access and participation issues in New Zealand Adult, Community, and Tertiary Education.- The United States' "No Child Left Behind Act" and its implications for widening access to education.- Towards comparative equality but persisting inequality in relation to the ambitions of Swedish education.- Problems and prospects of access to education in China.- Contexts and challenges of widening access to education in Japan.- Social justice and access to education: a case study of Pakistan.- Opportunities and challenges of widening access to education: adult education in Botswana.- Access and equal opportunity in higher education in the United States: the effects of education and public finance policies.- IV - llustrative and special cases.- From exclusion to participation in English higher education.- African school curriculum as a front on which to widen access to education.- Educational access for girls: the case of Kano State of Nigeria.- Widening access to university education in Nigeria: the Open University option.- Mature age entry and widening access to university education: a Southern African perspective.- Access to basic education for girls: the Nigerian experience.- V - Future directions.- Widening access to education in the era of globalization: future policy thrusts.- Widening access to education in the era of globalization: future research thrusts.