Teaching-learning and curriculum development for human rights education: two sides of the same coin

Abstract

The diverse nature of South African classrooms presents a number of challenges. One of these is creating a culture of human rights. Although South African school curricula promote the infusion of human rights, teachers are still uncertain about how to apply human rights and learners are, at best, equivocal about human rights. The purpose of this research was to investigate teachers’ and the learners’ perspectives on human rights, to explore concomitant challenges, and to present proposals for human rights teachinglearning and curriculum development. To achieve this, two qualitative studies were conducted and the following research questions were posed: What challenges arise for human rights education in teaching-learning and curriculum development? What are the implications of these challenges for both teachers and learners? The findings suggest ways of addressing human rights more optimally in curriculum development and teachinglearning practice to the advantage of teachers and learners in diverse contexts.