| CODE | EDS1216 | ||||||
| TITLE | Education Policy And Law | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Education Studies | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The aim of the study-unit is to familiarise the student with the main points of contact between law and education. Special emphasis will be laid on practical problems with legal implications encountered by teachers on the job so as to enable them to act confidently when faced with such situations. This study-unit will attempt to mirror the increasing importance which Education Law as a distinct legal discipline is assuming in many European and North American universities. A comparative overview of this field of study will be kept to the fore and references will be made, where appropriate, to topical foreign judicial decisions and to academic contributions in specialised journals. The study-unit will consist of 14 one hour lectures where the main topics of the subject, together with the problems and issues which they raise, will be explained and analysed. Students will be expected to present their work in groups on pre-selected topics in the form of a brief presentation with the purpose of provoking interactivity and discussion. Reading materials will be provided by the lecturer. Students will be assessed on their course work. Study-unit content Sources of law - Elements of political theory - The democratic state and its legal framework - The rule of law and the separation of powers - Law as a regulatory force - The distinction between public and private law - The Constitution and the Maltese legal system - The set-up of the courts. Public Law Aspects Fundamental Human Rights - The constitutional right to education - The Education Act - Notions of administrative law in relation to education law - Freedom to Education - Setting up of schools - Teachers as employees (warrants, public servants, discipline, redress of grievances) - The regulation of private schools - vicarious responsibility and some criminal law aspects. Private Law Aspects Family law - Minority and Tutorship - Custody of minors - The role of the Civil Court Second Hall - Obligations of spouses towards children - torts and quasi-torts - intellectual property rights and schools. Special Topics The civil and criminal responsibility of teachers (negligence and supervision) - Teachers as parent substitutes - school discipline and school authority - codes of conduct, rights of children - case studies. Specific Topics: - Case study –of violence/conflict in schools. - The drawing up and enforcement of disciplinary rules by schools. - The National Curriculum and the constitutional right to education - Subsidiarity in Education. - The function of School Councils in the light of a decentralised educational system. - The involvement of the community in the running of schools. - Ethics as a legal duty and the teaching profession. Required Text: A lecturer’s reading pack is also provided. Reading list: - Joseph Muscat (ed):— Towards the New Millennium - The Changing Role of the Head (MUT Publications Ltd.) - J. ZammitMangion:— Education in Malta (Studia Editions) - Neil Adams: — Law and Teachers Today (Hutchinson) - Taylor and Saunder:— The Law of Education (Butterworths) - Comparative School Law — Pergamon Press — eds. Ian Birch and Ingo Richter - Education and the Law — Longman 2nd ed. — Robert Morris - Education and the Law, International Perspectives —Routledge —eds. W. Tulasiewicz and G. Strowbridge |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Kevan Azzopardi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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