Raising a Cautionary Flag: Educational Malpractice and the Professional Teacher

The judicial reticence to recognize educational malpractice as a viable tort of negligence has been a long-standing issue, with federal and state courts constructing a sturdy wall against it. However, recent advances in research on instruction and statistical analyses may have cracked the wall, leading to demolishing it. The authors of Raising a Cautionary Flag: Educational Malpractice and the Professional Teacher explore the concept of what constitutes a professional, what is malpractice, and how it is related to the professional malpractice of physicians and attorneys, and the potential responses to education malpractice. They conclude by raising a cautionary flag about breaching the judicial wall.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 226 pages
Publication date: 28 October 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Nearly 50 years ago, a California court heard a complaint from a recent high school graduate who alleged that he could not read at a level that would allow him to apply for, let alone hold, a meaningful job. He asserted that the public school district was negligent and that his prospects for a productive life were diminished by their negligence. The court disagreed and educational malpractice was cast outside the schoolhouse gate and an educational malpractice wall was erected.

In sum, both federal and state courts have constructed a sturdy wall against the recognition of educational malpractice lawsuits. However, recent advances in research on instruction, statistical analyses that some have argued can identify substandard teaching, may have cracked the wall. Thus, a confluence of events may lead to demolishing the educational malpractice wall constructed over the past half century.

The authors of Raising a Cautionary Flag: Educational Malpractice and the Professional Teacher explore the judicial reticence to recognize educational malpractice as a viable tort of negligence. They review the concept of what constitutes a professional, what is malpractice, and how it is related to the professional malpractice of physicians and attorneys, and the potential responses to education malpractice. They conclude by raising a cautionary flag about breaching the judicial wall.

Weight: 356g
Dimension: 151 x 228 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781475866766