What is a School?: An Answer Consistent with Human Rights

Abstract

This essay relates the philosophical and conceptual study of educational institutions with educational policy. I argue that both the descriptive and prescriptive answer to what a school is should focus on the school that is important, which is the central case. This central case of a school should embody an ethos of openness towards the basic goods. This translates into rights discourse as a school which respects human rights. From this description I propose policy for evaluating, ranking and developing educational institutions and focused on the merit of philosophy and theology departments in educational institutions.

Keywords: School, Human Rights, Basic Goods, Natural Law, Ranking, Evaluation, Ethos