Both education for democratic citizenship and human rights education tend to emphasise political and legal learning. In both human rights education and moral education in Japan, however, there has been a tendency to give particular attention to interpersonal elements of learning such as kindness and sympathy. This article draws on feminist…

In this opinion piece, Abraham Magendzo and Audrey Osler discuss a range of challenges facing educators, many of which are thrown into sharper relief by the COVID-19 crisis. Both authors see the need for deep reflection within the community of human rights educators and recognise the crisis as an opportunity for informed dialogue among educators…

Sexual abuse is a public health issue with long-term consequences for children's lives and education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a key reference point in safeguarding, increasingly incorporated into domestic law. This article aims to strengthen safeguarding theory and practice by reviewing human rights education (HRE) theory and…

The 21st century has seen changes in migration patterns in Europe with implications for schooling and civic education: movement from eastern and central European Union member states to western Europe; increased movement between member states for study or work; and growth in the numbers of migrants and refugees seeking asylum in Europe as a result…

A multicultural society that equates Christian and humanist values with human rights denies pluralism, placing human rights culture at risk. We examine Norwegian education policy discourses, noting human rights as a key feature of national identity, said to underpin schooling. Education policy maintains distinctions between those who embody…

In 2003, citizenship education had recently been introduced to the national curriculum for England, and the model adopted was proving to be influential in a variety of settings worldwide. We sought to challenge a nationalist version of citizenship education by proposing "education for cosmopolitan citizenship" arguing for citizenship…

We report on the development of an instrument to measure attitudes to children's human rights and diversity in schools. It was developed to investigate perceptions of human rights and diversity among students and then teachers in two contrasting areas of Norway. The instrument draws on human rights standards articulated in the United Nations…

This paper focuses on the role of narrative in enabling educational processes to support justice and equality in multicultural societies. It draws on Bhabha's (2003) concept "the right to narrate", arguing that conceptions of multicultural education which focus exclusively on the nation are insufficient in a globalized and interdependent…

Teachers across the globe engage in day-to-day struggles for justice, often with support from unions and community-led groups. Teacher narratives reveal opportunities for building an inclusive theory and practice of education for social justice. I profile one teacher, a third generation "zainichi" Korean permanent resident in Japan,…

In recent decades, Norwegian schools have experienced increased cultural diversification among students. Growing heterogeneity in origin and culture may enhance the risk of student marginalisation, segregation and exclusion. In response to these challenges, this paper examines students' intercultural empathy and, particularly, how schools can…

In our global age, educational researchers and practitioners need tools that can be applied in a range of contexts and scales: local, national, and international. This article argues that human rights education (HRE) is a site of struggle in which human rights and democracy need to be constantly renewed. It contextualizes HRE within a critical,…

Across Europe there are growing concerns about Islamophobia and far-right and anti-democratic movements. Until Anders Behring Breivik's July 2011 attacks in which 77 died, Norway's vulnerability was not perceived as great as that of other jurisdictions. Breivik declared his abhorrence of multiculturalism but also drew the world's attention to…

Human rights are commonly conceived as more relevant to foreign policy than day-to-day living. Drawing on Eleanor Roosevelt's conception of human rights as beginning close to home, this article illustrates how human rights principles might inform everyday processes of schooling and learning to live together. It considers rights to, in and…

Why do teachers need to be familiar with human rights? In multicultural societies, whose values take precedence? How do schools resolve tensions between children's rights and teachers' rights? Campaigners, politicians and the media cite human rights to justify or challenge anything from peaceful protest to military action. The phrase "human…

Throughout history individual and collective narratives have been used in struggles for justice. We draw on Sen's theory of justice to examine the potential of narratives in teaching and researching for social justice. Human rights are presented as powerful ethical claims that can be critically examined by learners to consider their rights and…