(1978). Human Rights: 1948-1978–Changing Perceptions. A Wingspread Conference. Conference participants examined the attitudes toward human rights which led to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, as compared to today's perceptions of the meaning of human rights. Using Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" as a point of departure–freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear–the participants examined the declaration to ascertain its applicability to today's world situation. Factors in today's world situations which might change the picture were examined. For example, there is a new balance between national sovereignty and global concerns. But new tensions are created by many problems such as over-population, hunger, and the effects of industrialization. To deal with these issues will require some important changes in 30-year-old perceptions in the field of human rights. A second major aspect of today's human rights picture is the public…
(1978). A Hierarchy of Human Rights. To establish an objective conception of human rights, one must first identify basic needs intrinsic to all people and then determine whether these needs are or can be hierarchically ordered. Many scholars have conducted research on the concept of human needs, particularly in the area of human rights. Among these scholars are Abraham H. Maslow (\The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance\); J.C. Davies (\Human Nature in Politics\); and Christian Bay (\The Structure of Freedom\). Basic human needs identified by these and other scholars provide a general outline for a hierarchy of human rights. Most basic of these rights are satisfaction of physiological and safety needs. Physiological rights are interpreted to include the right to life and to bsic requirements such as food, water, and air. Safety rights include protection from physical or psychic injury. Next in importance after physiological and safety rights are gratifications such as love, esteem, and self-actualization. The… [PDF]
(1993). Education for Human Rights: Demythologizing Dysfunctional Qualities of Myths. International Journal of Educational Reform, v2 n1 p49-55 Jan. Recognition, understanding, and implementation of human rights on international scale is idealized goal for which all nations and all peoples should strive. Some myths and traditions characterizing many cultures and subcultures are antithetical to consensual version of human rights. Education is one form of demythologizing traditions incompatible with human rights as defined by various organizations and educators around world. (MLH)…
(1979). International Human Rights and U.S. Policy–A Unit for High School and Junior College Classes. This document defines human rights, examines U.S. international human rights policy, analyzes various critiques of U.S. policy, and evaluates different judgments regarding an ideal U.S. policy. Presented in the form of a unit of study, the document is intended for use by high school and junior college classroom teachers as they develop and implement educational programs on human rights. The document is presented in seven parts. Part one examines various definitions of rights and relates the definitions to their legal and moral sources. Types of rights examined include civil, political, social, and economic. Suggested activities include making lists of rights, comparing lists among students, and summarizing readings. Part two analyzes the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Human Rights. Part three relates rights to duties and directs students to differentiate between rights and duties in "Pacem in Terris," written by Pope John XXIII in 1963. Part four focuses on U.S….
(1975). Turning Up the Heat: The Role of Human Rights Agencies Today. Civil Rights Digest, 7, 2, 20-25, W 75. This article, adapted from a speech made before a state wide meeting of Human Rights workers in Denver, December 1974 asserts that agencies fighting for Human Rights must continually advocate social reform, and argues that in considering the role of Human Rights Agencies in today's atmosphere, attention must be focused on evolutionary social changes as well as crises. (JM)…
(1991). The Right to Fair and Equal Treatment: A Straightforward Guide to Human Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act. This book, written in simple language, explains the Canadian Human Rights Act and how and when it can be used to assist individuals with mental handicaps. The book is designed to help people learn their rights as citizens of Canada and learn that if something wrong is done to them they can do something to change it. It explains what human rights are and how people with a mental handicap are often treated by the rest of society in a way that ignores their human rights. The book's seven chapters cover: laws that protect people from discrimination and which levels of government protect which rights; protection under the Canadian Human Rights Act; responsibilities of the Canadian Human Rights Commission; types of complaints that can be filed with the Commission; steps of the complaint process; using the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to attack barriers; and helpful hints. The book contains a detachable board game called "Rights and Wrongs"; a… [PDF]
(1987). Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide. Concern for human rights is a major element in the California State Board of Education's "History-Social Science Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve," and this document contains resources and guidelines to help teachers and curriculum developers integrate the teaching of human rights into their courses. Part l of this document contains a model that can be used by developers of curricula. This section also provides the philosophical basis for including studies on human rights and genocide in the curriculum; the location in the History-Social Science Framework where these learnings can be integrated; and questions that will engage students in critical thinking on this topic. Part 2 contains curriculum resources to help school districts develop their history-social science curriculum. Appendix A is a summary of where human rights and genocide are addressed in the History-Social Science Framework and includes: (1) the goals and curricula…
(1998). LRE Project Exchange: Building a Community through Partners in Human Rights Education. Update on Law-Related Education, v22 n3 p36-40 Fall. Describes Partners in Human Rights Education in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides the framework for using interactive teaching methods to relate human-rights concepts to students' lives. Highlights Amnesty International's "Urgent Action Network" that encourages children to become lobbyists in a letter-writing campaign for oppressed victims in other countries. (CMK)…
(2009). Religious Education and the Law in Northern Ireland's Controlled Schools. Irish Educational Studies, v28 n3 p297-313 Sep. This article examines the legislation under which religious education operates in Northern Ireland's schools. A brief historical sketch identifies the Irish Churches' interest in the educational debates of the 1920s and 1930s. The legislation that established religious education in the curriculum is traced from those debates to the present statutory core syllabus which requires denominational Christian teaching and the teaching of two other world faiths. This requirement is examined in light of earlier statutes which provided that religious education in controlled schools must be undenominational and based on the Holy Scriptures. Several legislative anomalies are identified and solutions proposed. Human rights and equality concerns raised by the core's largely Christian content and its production by Ireland's Christian Churches are discussed and set in a wider European context. (Contains 17 notes.)… [Direct]
(2011). Social Justice and Critical Peace Education: Common Ideals Guiding Student Teacher Transformation. Journal of Peace Education, v8 n3 p295-313. The primary objective of this paper is to report on two teacher educators' development and assessment of a framework and workshop to introduce student teachers to social justice and peace education ideals within the domains of teachers' work during student teachers' first full-time experience of teaching in diverse schools in a major city in the Pacific region. The framework builds from a critical re-constructionist perspective and aims to raise student teachers' critical consciousness of social and economic injustice, human rights, and defects in schooling and inspire a resolve to act on them to promote social justice (Bajaj 2008). Adopting an action research methodology, the authors/instructors assessed student teachers' perceptions of their learning after a two-hour workshop that introduced a social justice and peace education framework. Secondary student teachers participated in workshops in two consecutive years. Student teachers reported positive outcomes from the workshop in… [Direct]
(1997). Human Rights Education, Moral Education and Modernisation: The General Relevance of Some Latin American Experiences: A Conversation. Journal of Moral Education, v26 n2 p151-68 Jun. Transcribes a conversation between Dieter Misgeld and Abraham Magendzo on human rights education. Misgeld envisions a moral climate based on the preservation of human rights while Magendzo articulates a vision of human rights education to produce democratic institutions and moral practice. Both call for a political analysis of moral education. (DSK)…
(1999). Human Rights Education: A Framework for Social Study from the Interpersonal to the Global. Pull Out 1. Social Studies and the Young Learner, v11 n3 ps1-4 Jan-Feb. Addresses human rights education (HRE) for young learners stressing the centrality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Illustrates the use of HRE within history, geography, world cultures, and literature. Believes that HRE begins by creating a human rights community in the classroom. (CMK)…
(2021). Politics, Policies, and a Human Rights Agenda for Racialized Minorities: The Role of Adult Education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n170 p99-108 Sum. As we have witnessed under the Trump Administration, policies can negatively impact adults' livelihoods. Now more than ever, it is imperative that adult education organizations coalesce their resources and efforts to promote policies and agendas that serve our most vulnerable adult learners. This article will explore a framework to understand the historic struggle for social justice and governmental policies impacting adult education. It will also critically analyze how adult education research is poised to influence policy and how associations can partner for greater impact…. [Direct]
(1987). Human Rights: The Struggle for Freedom, Dignity and Equality. Resource Guide. Every human being deserves the right to live in freedom and dignity. Yet human rights violations dominate the headlines. In addition to becoming sensitive to human pain and suffering, young adults must also begin the lifelong process of creating, recognizing, and exercising options. This resource guide contains suggested questions and projects that have been found to be helpful in teaching about human rights. Chapter topics are: (1) What Are Human Rights?; (2) The Roots of Inhumanity; (3) Inhumanity: An Historical Overview; (4) The Rise of Totalitarianism in Germany; (5) Surplus People: The Final Solution; (6) Surplus People: The Pattern Continues (Argentina, Kampuchea [Cambodia], South Africa, and World Totalitarianism); and (7) Taking Action. Three appendices conclude the document: (1) Appendix A–"The Foundations of Human Rights in the United States"–containing excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights; (2) Appendix… [PDF]
(2006). Education of Youth, Human Rights and Human Development. Convergence, v39 n2-3 p131-145. This article discusses youth and adult education in a twofold perspective: that of a human right and that of human development. The first perspective is related to the concept of rights and the second perspective is related to the guarantee or negation of the right to development. In this article, the author discusses the universality of rights which is developed at two levels: a formal one, related to equality before the laws; and a real one, that is translated into state action for making it effective. The author proposes that publc policies within the area of education be deliberately directed to potential youth and adult education students who have previously had little or no schooling, and who have thereby been denied access to a healthy life. He asserts that the importance of investing in youth and adult education lies in the fact that this is an affirmative action to overcome inequalities, and that there is a universality of human right to education. (Contains 5 notes.)… [Direct]