ON IMPLEMENTING HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED EDUCATION IN

SCHOOLS

~LALIT KISHORE

Pedagogical foundations of Human Rights Education (HRE)

HRE is concerned with experiences and approaches to the issues of education in: Cooperation as societal value rather than

competition, Democratic values and processes, Respect for cultural diversity, Equitable gender perspectives, Removal of domination and oppression, and Emancipation, liberation and freedom

Elements of a pedagogy of human rights education. Understanding the context and present

societal reality Identifying the current barriers or unjust

structures and processes to human rights education

Planning education inextricably linked to issues of mal-development, patriarchy, inequity and exclusion

Educating for a coherent and necessary response to the barriers to human rights

Why HRE?

For examining critically the barriers to equitable education and development

For seeking alternative perspectives and strategies of education and development that would meaningfully realize human rights aspirations

Central issue of gender equity in human rights Entrenched patriarchal societal structures Hierarchical and authoritarian power forces

based on dominations and oppressions. Existing unequal treatment to women and girls

and Practices of discrimination and violation of

women's human rights

HRE: A VIEW POINT Human rights education is both a tool for and the

process of the struggle for social change toward fulfillment of human rights.

To begin with, it requires to examine current discourse on gender and social equity

Essentially, human rights education opens a dynamic and evolving space for equitable human rights

The Learning Process

Pedagogy refers to a planned learning environment and processes through which learners develop cognitively, experientially and affectively in response to interaction with facilitators and supporters of learning

Teachers and learners must pursue explicit purposes of equity and inclusion in learning

Education to be seen as the full development of the human personality and potentials.

1. Such a pedagogy is to be contrasted with a pedagogy of social reproduction in which patterns of hierarchy, abuse and exclusion may be legitimized and preserved.

to pursue the search for justice and to develop their unique beings in an atmosphere of safety, caring, and compassion

challenge social and cultural domination. Vested interests, persistent habits, and bureaucratic can be obstacles to the incorporation of a human rights pedagogy into formal education

Principles of HRE

These principles include: Full respect for all people regardless of class,

caste, sexual preference, race, gender, religion, income, ability, age, or other condition;

Participation of students in their own education and sharing in the decision-making process;

Celebration of human experience as an expression of diversity and uniqueness as well as an important source of knowledge and wisdom; and

Treating education as social process

Preconditions for HRE in schools Professional collectivism of teachers for

development of curriculum materials and instructional approaches suitable for HRE.

Adherence to convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the child's rights to dignity, security, participation, identity, freedom of thought, access to information, and privacy.

What to do? Create a just and caring learning community

of teachers and students; Develop the critical consciousness necessary

to sustain rationality; self-reflection and self-transformation;

Democratize functioning of classrooms and schools.

Bring about radical changes in the preparation of teachers as facilitators and coordinators of HRE

Some helpful learning tools writing personal narratives Role playing exercises Use of drama, stories, popular theater Use of expressive arts Creation of forums for discussion and

self-reflection Organizing media interaction Use of puppetry and pantomime Use of case studies and case

illustrations