Center for Democracy & Technology’s Post

"Most youth of color experience ethnic/racial discrimination at least once in their lifetime, yet very few studies have found strong empirical support that school practices can mitigate such harms. The school context may be a place where students of color are able to receive positive messages about their ethnic/racial groups to counteract negative discriminatory messages. Findings from the current study highlight the importance of openly celebrating ethnic/racial diversity in the classroom" (Del Toro et al., 2024, p. 14). 🔓 Del Toro, J., Atkin, A., Golden, A. R., Ip, K. I., & Wang, M.-T. (2024). Ethnic/racial discrimination, school cultural socialization, and negative affect: Daily diaries reveal African American, Asian American, and Latinx adolescents’ resilience.Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://lnkd.in/gFhqHmkE

Do phone bans in England's schools breach young people's protected digital rights? The United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child had an updated comment in 2021 to reflect children’s rights in relation to the digital environment. The update stated that young people have the right to access information through technology and ‘that the exercise of that right is restricted only when it is provided by law’. Given phone bans in England's schools do not constitute statutory law, what are the legal and ethical consequences of taking a young person's phone off of them in the classroom? Catherine Dunn and I explore this burgeoning area of discussion in a recent article in Postdigital Science and Education. Free to access here: https://lnkd.in/eN4pv4RN

I think it would be prudent to share on this platform an Op-Ed I wrote which was published today by Cardinal & Pine. In it, I briefly discuss the legacy of Chancellor Sheri Everts, the appointment process of a succeeding chancellor, and what students and residents of Watauga County need from the next Chancellor of Appalachian State University. In short, the people of this county and the students of App State deserve better. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/ezRnwykK

📣📣NEW REPORT - The best interests of the child in the digital environment from Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC) (5Rights and The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Sonia Livingstone). "The ‘best interests of the child’ implies ‘the full and effective enjoyment of rights … and the holistic development of the child’ in both the immediate and longer term. However, in relation to the digital environment, there is evidence that ‘best interests’ is being misunderstood, or even misused. Specifically, in some contexts it is being used as a substitute for the full range of children’s rights, which may not be fully substantiated, or to legitimate a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, notwithstanding children’s diverse circumstances or to suggest that any single right trumps all their other rights. We argue that in most cases it is not necessary to evoke best interests but rather to respect, protect and fulfil the full range of children’s rights in the UNCRC. To put it another way, best interests is not a replacement for other or all of children’s rights, and nor are children’s rights a matter of pick and mix." Link to report in the first comment below ⤵️ #ChildRights #DigitalFutures4Children #UNCRC

The ‘Children’s Internet’ provides a way to focus less on how much time children should spend online and more on the quality of the experience they have. In this publication we outline 17 principles for change, across four key areas of Quality, Slow Design, Child Centred Regulation and Media Literacy. ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child https://lnkd.in/ghBuZsYG

NEW PUBLICATION! I'm excited to share this labor of love with you all! "Whenever I see those little rainbow stickers, I know that there is a place you can go”: Visibility and sense of belonging for queer and/or trans community college students I frame this study in sense of belonging and using the mirror effect model while employing a queer phenomenological approach. With 10 cocreators we uncover how QT images (i.e., rainbow flags, role models) foster belonging at community colleges in California. This article becomes one of the few empirical pieces that adds to the conversations around QT students in community colleges! READ, CITE, and APPLY in practice!

Many students will be heading off to college in the next few weeks. It's an exciting and pivotal time in a young person's life. However, for students with disabilities it can be challenging to figure out how to get the supports they need to be successful in college. This task can be especially daunting without the support of parents or other familiar adults to help them navigate new places and processes. Approximately 19% of undergraduate students in the United States have disabilities, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). If your child has a disability, I highly recommend checking out the National Center for College Students with Disabilities. The NCCSD is the only federally-funded national center in the U.S. with information and resources for future and current college students with disabilities, including those in part-time programs and graduate students. They work with students, their families, teachers, professors, and anyone with questions about disability and higher education. https://nccsd.ici.umn.edu/

Coordinated attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion are designed to confuse, scare, and polarize people in order to erase the social progress of the last 60 years. A new, one-of-its-kind Movement Advancement Project (MAP) report breaks down widespread efforts targeting DEI since 2023. Learn more: bit.ly/map-dei-report

A nice article to mark the start of #lgbthistorymonth.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register, focusing on accessibility requirements for online and app-based services offered by state and local government entities, particularly in education, for individuals with disabilities. Husch Blackwell's John W. Borkowski, Aleks O. Rushing, Katherine Tierney, and Mackenzie Conway outline the important elements of the proposed rule that school districts should be aware of: https://lnkd.in/grr3vWDe #educationaccess #webaccessibility #virtuallearning