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- South Asia Training Workshop on Human Rights Education in Schools (June 23-26, 2000)
South Asia Training Workshop on Human Rights Education in Schools
June 23-26, 2000
Bangkok
HURIGHTS OSAKA held the South Asia Training Workshop on Human Rights Education in Schools in Bangkok on June 23-26, 2000. This is a follow-up activity discussed in the South Asian Workshop on Human Rights Education in Schools also organized by HURIGHTS OSAKA and held in New Delhi in 1998.
The workshop aimed to make the participants have:
a. a better understanding of the human rights situation in South Asia and the human rights education experiences in the sub-region;b. discuss concepts and issues related to human rights in light of the new developments at the international level;
c. develop shared understanding of developing curriculum for human rights education;
f. develop plans for the creation of national and regional networks for human rights education in schools.
Curriculum developers, teachers, teacher trainers and education ministry officials attended the workshop from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This mix of participants is deemed important in making the discussions veer away from the technical aspects of curriculum development and focus instead on the substance of the curriculum that can promote understanding of human rights.
The workshop was divided into five sessions spread over a three and a half-day period. The first session was devoted to reviewing the situation of both the human rights and the human rights education in schools in South Asia. Session two discussed the challenges in institutionalizing human rights education in schools in the context of South Asia. This session includes small group discussions on the same topic. Session three discussed the way to develop a human rights curriculum. It includes group work on developing curriculum guidelines. Session four dealt with the development of sample curriculum. This was done through group work.
There were long plenary sessions during the workshop extending beyond the allotted time. The participants and resource persons raised a number of issues. The discussions reflect the need for further clarification of various aspects of human rights education in schools including concepts of human rights/human rights education; problems of incorporating human rights in the formal school curriculum; and translating the curriculum into the classroom setting.
The main agenda of the workshop is the institutionalization of human rights education in South Asian schools. Institutionalization is seen as the only way by which human rights can be effectively understood by the students. Temporary or ad hoc activities have less impact in the long run. In this light, the development of human rights curriculum is one of the important areas to work on.
It was emphasized in the workshop that the curriculum is the sum total of the students' learning experience in the school. It is not limited to the formal curriculum. It extends to the so-called hidden curriculum. The behavior, attitude, and language of the teachers and school administrators, and the whole school environment form the unwritten/hidden curriculum that the students learn as much, if not more than, the formal curriculum. If human rights education, for example, deals with the idea of non-discrimination, the teachers and school administrators should not have bias against certain students. They have to treat each and every student equally regardless of personal background or circumstances. Otherwise, what is taught in the formal curriculum is negated by what is learned from the hidden curriculum.
It was also stressed that the understanding of human rights cannot be limited to a specific area of study or level of education. It must be a continuing process that covers the whole period of school education (primary, secondary and tertiary). The effectiveness of human rights education programs cannot be measured by having a few years of learning the subject.
It was suggested that the two approaches in human rights education in schools -- integration and separation -- be applied sequentially. Considering the level of the students, primary level curriculum may adopt the integration approach. But secondary level may have specific subjects on human rights. It is likewise suggested that students at the primary level may have to learn values related to human rights rather than human rights concepts. The latter will be taught at the secondary level.
In case the formal school curriculum does not yet include human rights, one possible way of integrating human rights into the curriculum is the use of subjects that can discuss human rights. The experience of People's Watch Tamil Nadu is an example.
Another important issue discussed is the need for a pragmatic approach to institutionalizing human rights education. Total education reform that can incorporate human rights education in the curriculum is not possible at least in the short term. In the meantime, existing spaces in the current curriculum can be used for human rights education. Related curricular subjects can cover human rights without curriculum change. Extra-curricular subjects can also be used as shown by the experience of some groups in the region.
In the presentation and discussion on human rights issues in South Asia, one of the issues raised is the role of culture. This issue was linked to the need for an examination of local cultures in promoting human rights. The presentation on a review of human rights education in schools programs in the region pointed out the various inter-governmental, NGO and UN specialized agency activities during the past year. National or local programs complemented these regional activities. In most cases, national or local programs developed way ahead of the regional initiatives.
The workshop had three small group discussion sessions. They covered three separate topics, namely, institutionalization of human rights education in schools programs, guidelines for developing human rights curriculum, and developing sample curriculum. Following are the reports made by the participants.
The small group discussion on factors that support or inhibit the institutionalization of human rights education programs in schools is divided into two parts. The first part deals with factors seen from the perspective of each country. The second part deals with factors relating to four themes -- policy, structure, culture and networking.
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Bangladesh |
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India |
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Nepal |
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Pakistan |
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Sri Lanka |
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Culture |
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Structure |
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Policy |
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Networking |
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The feasible measures suggested in these reports reflect strong desires for changes in the current education system. This view corresponds to the views expressed in the previous workshops held by HURIGHTS OSAKA.
The next small group discussion on guidelines for curriculum development, two groups presented their report, Here below is a comparison of the two reports:
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Perspectives |
- Understanding human life |
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Approach |
Integration on the basis of class/grade/learning level |
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Objectives |
- Protection and promotion of human rights culture |
Develop Skill, Knowledge, Attitude Awareness |
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Subject modules |
- Child rights, women's rights, minority rights, right against discrimination, etc. |
Human rights values, such as
Non-discrimination |
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Pedagogy |
- Participatory method |
- Activity-based |
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Type of materials |
- Interesting stories Materials for teachers, parents, community leaders, school administrators, etc. |
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Other needs |
- Detailed analysis of existing textbooks |
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Impact assessment |
Assessment of impact on
- teachers, students, guardians, family and school authority |
The two reports have similarities as well as differences. The most obvious difference is on the subject modules. While Group 1 proposes specific rights to be discussed, Group 2 suggests "human rights" values. To reconcile the two suggestions, the approach suggested by Group 2 was used. Human rights values can be learned during the primary or elementary level while specific human rights issues can be learned during the secondary level. It should be noted that it is difficult to put an exact year coverage for primary/elementary and secondary levels due to the differences in the school system among South Asian countries. But for purposes of the last group work, it was agreed that the elementary level would cover 5 or 6 year-old to 14 year-old students, while the secondary level covers 15 to 16 year-old students.
Prior to the division of the participants into two groups for the exercise on curriculum development, the following were agreed upon:
a. The objectives of the curriculum on human rights would be:- to promote the knowledge and understanding about human rights
- to foster positive attitudes
- to develop skills for making human rights practice as a way of life.b. The curriculum will focus on the following themes:
- equality
- freedom (of choice, speech)
- dignity
- solidarity
- life
- dialogue
- integrity (physical, cultural, moral)
- honesty
- justice.
Time constraint however limited the development of sample curriculum to the themes on equality and cooperation. Below are the results of the group work.
Group 1 -- secondary level
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To understand the meaning of equality of man |
I. Equality before the law II. Common humanity |
I. Equality before the law a. brief history of the law
- law of the jungle b. Order in society
- weak vs. strong c. anti-discrimination law d. commonality of laws II. Common humanity a. common heritage of humanity
- evolution |
- 1. case studies
- simulation 2. Projects
- visit to jails, police stations, etc. |
Group 2 -- elementary level
The members of this group decided to list down the learning competencies corresponding to each of the human rights values listed during the plenary session.
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I. Equality |
- cooperation |
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II. Dignity |
- self-esteem |
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III. Freedom |
- problem solving |
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IV. Solidarity/unity |
- unity |
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V. Justice |
- equity |
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VI. Truth |
- courage |
The group also suggested adopting the integration approach for the elementary level. Subjects such as Language, Environmental Studies and Mathematics can be infused with human rights values. Activities such as role-play, drama, debates, exhibition, use of charts, posters, drawings and sketches, and cartoons are recommended.
In order to provide a specific sample curriculum the following was presented:
Core Value -- Cooperation
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I. Making an activity in small groups
- Choosing the activity collectively |
- Students decide on materials with teacher's assistance |
a. Process indicators
- expressing of ideas of individual students b. Impact indicator - expressing ideas about collective effort |
a. Observation b. Questioning and listening |
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II. Making an improvised musical individually and singing a song collectively |
- Students decide on material with teacher's assistance (depending on type of instrument) |
a. Process indicators
same as above with one additional indicator b. Impact indicator same as above |
same as above |
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III. Choosing a game for winning collectively - preparing playing area in/by group - playing the game for winning or losing collectively - emphasizing core value through discussion after game |
Students decide on materials depending on the game (with teacher's assistance) |
a. Process indicators
- playing as a team b. Impact indicator same as above |
same as above |
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Several comments were raised on the reports. One of the comments refer to the use of the phrase "law of the jungle" which seems to discriminate against indigenous systems. It was pointed out that the supposed civilized European laws permitted the colonization of peoples in various parts of the globe which subsequently caused deaths to many and destruction not only of property but of existing social systems. Another refers to the need to train teachers to be able to make use of human rights curriculum. It was emphasized that teacher training alone will not guarantee the actual use of the curriculum. Training sessions may be successful but the employment of the ideas learned may not be so successful (some may do the activities suggested while others may not). In other words, there are other factors to consider in introducing and effectively using human rights curriculum.
The workshop ended with statements of support for networking among the participants. Some participants expressed their willingness to undertake joint projects for the South Asian region through their respective institutional programs.
