Children's human rights education as a counter to social disadvantage: a case study from England

Children’s Rights and Human Rights as a Key Condition for the Education of Transformative Teachers

“…The aim of my paper was to show the importance of including the knowledge of human rights and children's rights in the education process of future teachers. Education based on the principle of equality, where both the teacher's and the child's voices are of the same importance, is possible only when teachers have full knowledge of these rights and understand their essence (Babicka- Wirkus,2018a;Covell, 2013;Öztürk and Doğan, 2017).…”

“…Apart from adjusting the teacher's attitude, it also requires changing the dominating school culture (Osler and Starkey, 2010;Rasmusson et al, 2016) which will become more open to manifestations of disagreement and disobedience, and thus the culture of resistance (Babicka- Wirkus, 2019). In order for such a change to happen, children's and human rights have to become a starting point of education that is reflected in the knowledge, skills and values of teachers and students (Covell, 2013). This requirement is important because of a student's development as an individual, as well as a responsible and active member of civil society who knows his/her rights, demands their execution and acts when those rights or the rights of other people are violated.…”

Studying Global Human Rights Education. Theoretical and Empirical Approaches

“…This suggests that variation in the way HRE is implemented exists at the local level irrespective of national policy. This local variation is also evident in a study that compared schools that are more or less successful at the implementation of HRE (Covell et al 2011). The study took place over a three year period, identifying positive factors in success to be strong commitment by the head teachers and the development of HRE as a philosophy that over-arched the school curriculum (Covell et al 2011).…”

Using child rights education to infuse a social justice framework into universal programming

“…This incorporation of learning and understanding child rights as not only personal rights but also social responsibilities leads to changes in student behavior including emphasis on respecting the rights of other children, on demonstrating concern for others, and on promoting acceptance and inclusion of students who are different from themselves (Bajaj, 2011; DeCoene & De Cock, 1996; Dunhill, 2018; Wallberg & Kahn, 2011). Other impacts of CRE include increased (a) student engagement and subsequent student self-efficacy (Bajaj, 2011; Covell et al., 2008), (b) positive school climate resulting in reductions in bullying and teacher burnout (Covell, Howe, & Polegato, 2011; Covell, McNeil, & Howe, 2009), and (c) student’s feelings of school citizenship (Covell et al., 2008; Wallberg & Kahn, 2011). CRE also gives teachers and students a shared language to discuss rights and responsibilities when interacting with each other and peers (Sebba & Robinson, 2010) allowing for stronger teacher–student relationships.…”