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between different persons and different groups of persons and we can’t be good mediators unless we are aware of what the referents of the mediation we engage in are. Teaching is complex, much more complex than mastering a body of knowledge and implementing curriculums. The thing about teaching is that the specificity of the context is always central.
We can’t get away with invoking rules and procedures that cut across contexts (1992, p. 17).
Perumal (2008) substantiated the above view by suggesting that despite the
‘nobility’ of her educative objectives, teaching is a complex and ambiguous activity (p.
211). Teaching is a responsibility that requires a lot of intellectual rigor and physical stamina. What makes teaching complex is its context specific nature. Giroux affirmed that there are no sacrosanct rules of teaching which cannot be applied to every context.
On the other hand, Osler and Starkey (1994) pointed out that commitment and skills of teachers are two important aspects of the teaching profession that can make HRE effective in any part of the world.
2.8 Teaching of Human Rights
There is a wide variety of pedagogies prevalent in different disciplines: pedagogy of science, pedagogy of social science, pedagogy of mathematics, etc. The pedagogy of HRE has not received the attention it deserves. The reason for this is the tendency either to assimilate HR concepts into social sciences or separate them as co-curriculum. There is no dispute over the significance of the teaching of HR but no special attention has been
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given to develop the pedagogy of HR. This section will survey the literature that has been produced so far on the teaching of HR.
The teaching of HR (as human values) was partially visible in moral education of the different education systems. In 1948, the preamble of universal declaration of HR emphasized the role of teaching in achieving the goals of HR. In 1978, UNESCO International Congress on Teaching of HR was held in Vienna. The document that was prepared carried guidelines listed below (UNESCO, 1978, p. 2). Lawson (1991) adumbrated the foundational principles that could constitute HRE, viz. reciprocity, solidarity and justice. These principles explain at least to an extent how HRE should be practiced.
2.8.1 Guidelines for Teaching Human Rights Education-UNESCO
The guidelines provided by UNESCO proved to be a landmark in the teaching of HRE. The guidelines included principles and considerations that could form the core of HRE:
1. [HRE] and teaching should be based on the principles which underlie the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. Consequently, equal emphasis should be placed on economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights as well as individual and collective rights. The indivisibility of all human rights should be recognized.
2. The concept of human rights should not be formulated in traditional or classical terms but should include the historical
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experience and contributions of all peoples particularly in relation to the major contemporary problems such as self-determination and all forms of discrimination and exploitation.
3. [HRE] and teaching must aim at:
(i) Fostering the attitudes of tolerance, respect and solidarity inherent in [HR].
(ii) Providing knowledge about human rights, in both their national and international dimensions, and the institutions established for their implementation.
(iii) Developing the individual’s awareness of the ways and means by which human rights can be translated into social and political reality at both the national and the international levels.
4. While education should make the individual aware of is or her own rights, it should at the same time instill respect for the rights of others.
5. Care should be constantly taken to create awareness about the close relationship between human rights, on the one hand, and development and peace, including inter alia disarmament, on the other hand. UNESCO should make it a priority task to promote the analysis and understanding of this relationship.
6. Human rights must be seen as an aspect of professional, ethical and social responsibility in all fields of research, study, teaching and work.
7. [HRE]and teaching should stress that a new international economic, social and cultural order is essential to enable all people to enjoy their human rights and to promote and facilitate education on human rights at all levels in all countries.
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8. [HR] must be taught at all levels of the educational system, as well as in out-of-school settings, including the family, and in continuing education programmes, including literacy and post-literacy programmes. States shall strive to improve and broaden [HRE] and teaching and co-operate to this end.
9. It is not enough to dispense teaching and education in the spirit of a respect for human rights; human rights should also be taught as a subject integrated in the appropriate disciplines and in particular fields such as philosophy, political science, law and theology, they should be taught as an independent course.
10. In order for the teacher of human rights to be able to carry out his or her task properly, it is particularly important that his or her personal integrity and freedom of expression be guaranteed (pp. 74-75).
The principles and considerations listed above are universal in nature because these are emanating from the UDHR where universality and indivisibility are the basic premise. This is a comprehensive and tangible set of guidelines for teachers of HRE grounded in historical experiences and contemporary problems. It inconspicuously states what, why, when and how of teaching HRE. The guidelines also provided the conceptual framework for HRE.