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Human rights education in the elementary school: A case study of fourth graders' responses to a democratic, social action oriented human rights curriculum
Abstract
This qualitative, exploratory case study focused on the design and implementation of a human rights curriculum in a fourth grade, public school classroom. Based on a review of the literature on human rights education, a curriculum incorporating a month long unit, democratic classroom practices, and social action projects was designed and carried out with a group of eighteen, White fourth graders. The study examined students' responses in terms of their thinking about human rights, themselves, and others; their peer relations; and their involvement in social action projects. Data collection methods included participant observation, interviews, audiotaping and videotaping classroom events, and document analysis. Feedback from the students, parents, and teachers in the school helped to establish reliability and confirmability. The major finding of the study was that students' personal experiences, developmental levels, and family and cultural backgrounds strongly influenced their ideas, interests, and subsequent learning about human rights. Most students were able to develop a basic understanding of human rights concepts. Effective teaching techniques were simulations, using children's literature, role play, and action projects. Though the students' peer relations did not change appreciably, most of the students developed a greater interest in human rights issues and learning about different others as a result of the human rights curriculum. The democratic classroom practices and the social action projects gave many students opportunities to become empowered in their own learning. The implications of this study are relevant for teaching at the upper elementary level. It is important for teachers to become aware of children's pre-existing knowledge and attitudes and provide them with with meaningful experiences to build upon or change their thinking. In teaching about human rights and other cultural issues, educators need to be aware of their own biases and teach in ways that reduce rather than increase stereotypes and prejudice. An integrated, comprehensive, and developmentally appropriate approach to human rights instruction will maximize students' learning.
Subject Area
Social studies education|Elementary education|Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
Wade, Rahima Carol, "Human rights education in the elementary school: A case study of fourth graders' responses to a democratic, social action oriented human rights curriculum" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9233173.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9233173