Guidelines on Human Rights Education for Secondary School Systems

Abstract

These guidelines, which focus on human rights education in secondary schools, aim to support systemic and effective human rights learning for all young people. They were prepared on the basis of broad consultations in­volving teachers, teachers’ unions, teacher trainers, educational administra­tors, NGO specialists, and representatives from intergovernmental agencies and national human rights institutions. The guidelines promote the objec­tives of the First Phase of the United Nations World Programme for Human Rights Education (2005 to 2009), as well as the Council of Europe’s Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education, which asked governments to ensure that human rights education is inte­grated within the schooling sector.

The current document presents approaches to be adopted when planning or implementing human rights education for secondary schools related to six key structural areas: the human rights-based approach to human rights education; core competencies; curricula; teaching and learning pro­cesses; evaluation; and professional development and support of educational personnel. The guidelines also offer a list of key materials to assist in plan­ning, implementing and evaluating human rights education in schools.