Primary School Teachers’ Understandings of Human Rights and Human Rights Education (HRE) in Cyprus: An Exploratory Study

Human rights and the ethno—nationalist problematic through the eyes of Greek-Cypriot teachers

“…As to the place of human rights in Greek-Cypriot curricula, a recent analysis as part of the present study (Zembylas et al, 2015) has shown that there are obvious differences in the way human rights have been understood and presented in the old (1996) and the new (2010) national curriculum in Cyprus. Both curricula emphasize the potential of human rights to shape active citizens who respect fundamental values and claim their rights.…”

“…Teachers' trajectories to 'fit' or 'adjust' contextual demands-educational and political onesinto their understandings of human rights have important consequences in terms of inhibiting or expanding the potentiality of human rights teaching. For example, teachers' understandings of human rights within a restricted framework of victims-perpetrators may be interpreted in many ways: it may be indicative of the confusion teachers have about human rights principles (Cassidy et al, 2014), it may be a sign that teachers are not particularly knowledgeable or confident in human rights teaching (Howe and Covell, 2010), or still, it might be an indication that teachers may not know how to handle in practice the tensions between national memory and human rights (Zembylas et al, 2015). These challenges have important implications for students who may also end up perceiving the two (i.e.…”

“…Some initial work raises concerns whether the universal and the particular can really co-exist (Vincent, 2009;Zembylas, 2012), especially in conflict-affected societies. 1 However, there are many unanswered questions regarding the ways in which teachers practically translate and interpret transnational discourses of human rights into their local contexts (Cassidy et al, 2014;Zembylas et al, 2015).…”

Studying Global Human Rights Education. Theoretical and Empirical Approaches

“…Historical analysis of the changes in national education systems at policy level reveal that many nations are over time incorporating the global discourse of human rights into the curriculum (Al-Nakib 2014;Chandrasiri 2001;Froese-Germain, Riel, Theoret 2013;Kang 2002Kang , 2007Kelly 2013;Leung 2008;Shuji 2012;Smith 2003;Suárez 2007;Zembylas, Charalambous, Lesta, Charalambous 2014). Some studies, in particular, focus on how national policy-making has happened in response to UN initiatives and highlight the development of a national plan of action for HRE as part of this response (Lapayese 2005;Suwansathit 1999;Xia 2013).…”

“…The importance of the role of teachers and their attitudes towards the curriculum policy is often cited as a reason for limited success in the implementation of HRE (Bajaj 2011b;Bron, Thijs 2011;Froese-Germain et al 2013;Gerber 2008;Kang 2007;Lapayese 2005;Leung, Lo 2012;Messina, Jacott 2013;Rinchin 2000;Zembylas et al 2014). 6 Evidence is found of teachers facing pressure to spend time developing student competencies in examination subjects, particularly Math, Reading and Science, at the expense of time that could be spent on HRE.…”