(English) Why every school needs to consider Human Rights Education

If there was a way to help reduce truancy, bullying, conflict, and even create a calmer atmosphere for learning, wouldn’t you jump at the chance to use it in your classroom? In this blog we explore how Human Rights Education can do all of these and more.In the United Kingdom, UNICEF pioneered a program called ‘the rights-respecting school award’. More than 1000 schools took part, teaching students about their human rights and responsibilities, and encouraging them to draw up classroom behaviour charters. After a few years, researchers conducted an academic study to see what effect it had had on the schools. The results were astounding.Pupils were more engaged, conflicts between pupils escalated far less frequently, exclusions decreased, and even test scores went up – particularly at schools with a higher proportion of disadvantaged children.A great example of these successes can be seen in this video case study from the Knights Enham junior school in the UK, the first in the world to be given a UNICEF level 2 rights respecting school award.The praise for Human Rights Education (HRE) is not limited to the UK. Research in Australian schools also found that values-based education produced better learning outcomes and enhanced emotional well-being. So much so that HRE was introduced to the national curriculum.The United Nations and UNESCO state that, internationally, HRE not only improves the quality of learning and social and emotional development of students, but further down the line it also contributes to a country’s political and economic development.

When to start

Some human rights touch on subjects you may not be comfortable discussing with small children (human trafficking for example). But there is still plenty of room for HRE.Experts believe that even the youngest children can understand concepts such as justice, fairness and conflict resolution. Educational development author, Susan Fountain, says the basic concept of human rights on a global level are parallel to what happens on a daily basis in Kindergarten where children:Call each other names, sometimes gender or race-related (prejudice)Exclude others from play for arbitrary reasons (discrimination)Argue over materials (resource distribution)Protest that rules are ‘not fair’ (human rights)Fight (peace and conflict)Use consumable materials, sometimes unwisely (environmental awareness)Find that by sharing and working together, more can be accomplished (interdependence)Negotiate to find a solution to a problem both parties will find acceptable (perspective consciousness/empathy)Discover that some adults have power in the school to make decisions or that older children may be allowed to do things that younger children are not (analysis of power)Decide what activities they will take part in (awareness of human choice and action)Addressing these experiences sensitively can help young children begin to build an understanding of concepts that they can explore in increasing depth throughout their schooling.Resources to help you get startedTeaching students about their own rights as children not only makes human rights more relevant, but also helps them to recognise when their own rights are not being recognised. Here you’ll find UNICEF’s child friendly version of The Conventions of the Rights of The Child.Amnesty International provides great resources for educators, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission has resource toolkits for primary, secondary schools, as well as guidelines for higher education.There’s an amazing collection of rights based picture books listed on the Elementary Teachers Association of Ontario site. The United Nations has also published a guide to practical activities for primary and secondary schools that is well worth checking out.You can also read about very successful human rights project by the Pembina Trails School Division in Canada for some inspiration.And lastly, keep an eye on our Human Rights Pinterest page where we’ll keep posting new resources as we find them. Art is also a great way for children of all ages to explore the concept of human rights. Whether you focus on just one of the conventions articles such as ‘the right to play’ or explore all of the Conventions of the Rights of the Child in its entirety, you’ll find that when children create art about topics they care about, the results are amazing.Oh and one last thing. Perhaps the most compelling reason for HRE is that it’s proven to increase teacher satisfaction, improve morale, and reduce burnout.