"Civil society must be granted new and expanded political and social scope, at all levels of society, in order to engage governments in dialogue, decision-making and innovation around the goals of basic education."
Dakar Framework for Action
Because civil society participation is important for strengthening government accountability, civil society actors play a central role within the human rights framework in ensuring human rights, including the right to education. The concept of civil society has a long history; its roots go back to ancient Greek and Roman culture, which perceived civil society as a body of active citizens organized to support political institutions.25 In the 17th and 18th centuries, this notion changed and the concept of civil society as something separate from government emerged.26 In the context of the French revolution, civil society came to mean a community of free and equal citizens able to represent public opinion or a "collective will" separate from the government.27
Civil society grew in importance as a social and political force in the 1970's. During this period, dissidents in both Latin America (facing fascism) and Eastern Europe (facing totalitarian communism) reconceptualized civil society as popular associations capable of resisting the State. When dictatorships in those regions fell, civil society continued to develop as a means for rebuilding and reframing democratic societies. Today, a strong civil society is universally seen as critical to revitalizing democracy and building "social capital" -- that is, a web of strong relationships within society built on trust and tolerance and capable of addressing social problems.28
The international human rights framework recognizes that civil society occupies the space between the government and private individuals. Civil society "is usually considered to embrace the various groups -- professional, economic, political, cultural, associative -- ...that make up all human society, with different interests that converge at times and conflict at others."29 "[ C]ivil society has many ...components: workers,...farmers, professionals, intellectuals and their respective organizations, political parties, grassroots movements in general and so on."30 Individuals may act as civil society participants without formally belonging to an organization or group, so long as they are not acting to further purely private interests, but rather as part of some overall movement toward a collective goal. When individuals and organizations come together as civil society participants, to mobilize collective assets and engage in "public and collective mediation among disparate interests,"31 they are more likely to act "in the interests of the entire community, in a spirit of solidarity that prevails over private interests."32
The international community has consistently affirmed the right of civil society to participate in government structures and processes essential to fulfilling human rights obligations, including the right to education.33 Indeed, civic participation of this kind is a fundamental component of any democratic system infused with human rights values. The right to participate extends to all civil society actors -- including parents, students, community organizations, and academic institutions. These stakeholders have a right to participate in the creation, decision-making and administration of structures designed to ensure the right to a fundamental education. Through these structures, civil society actors are able to shape the public institutions that serve them and to hold these institutions accountable.
"The indispensable role of the state in education must be supplemented and supported by bold and comprehensive educational partnerships at all levels of society. Education for All implies the involvement and commitment of all to education."
"Civil society has much experience and a crucial role to play in identifying barriers to [Education for All] goals, and developing policies and strategies to remove them."
Dakar Framework For Action
While all of society has a stake in the education of its future citizens, parent and youth groups play a particularly central role as civil society actors. These groupings are the stakeholders with the greatest investment in the educational system. Therefore, the human rights framework recognizes the need for them to have even greater access to accountability structures. Community groups are also key actors, because they have both organizational capacity and community experience, and thus are able to articulate the needs of parents and youth.
"Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity ...To take part in the conduct of public affairs..." ****"[Including] all aspects of public administration, and the formulation and implementation of policy at international, national, regional and local levels."
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 25 and UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment 25
The right to participation by civil society actors is also grounded in the contributions these actors make to the educational system. Not only can civil society actors more independently monitor and demand accountability on behalf of students, they can also help educators and officials meet the diverse and changing needs of students; understand the context of the communities in which students live; identify the barriers to their education; and develop policies and strategies for addressing them. Recent research by urban political theorists supports this view of civil society's contribution to improving public schools. Clarence Stone, for example, has linked effective urban school reform to the capacity of civil society to mobilize the resources and political will necessary to address critical schooling issues.34 Civil society participation is thus an essential component for revitalizing urban public schools.