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Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 5 (2010) 2103–2107

WCPCG-2010

Human rights education in Iranian secondary education: gaps in the

curriculum
A. Shekarey a, A. Zare-ee* a, H. Haji Rashidi a, M. Sedaghat Rostami a
a
English Department, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

Received January 15, 2010; revised February 9, 2010; accepted March 24, 2010

Abstract

This study investigates traces of human rights education in Iran, one of the basic internationally controversial issues in education
in general and in Iranian curriculum development in particular. The study basically focused on two areas: a) concepts and
components in human rights education and b) the amount of attention possibly paid to these concepts and components in Iranian
Secondary Education. Three basic domains of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in relation to human rights education in Iran were
considered and the amount of attention possibly paid to these was investigated in the design, administration, and evaluation of
curricula for Iranian secondary education. To do this, the viewpoints of teachers, administrators, and experts were collected in a
descriptive survey attempt. A researcher-made questionnaire with the Cronbach alpha reliability of 0.88 was used for data
collection from 200 teachers, 27 administrators, and 15 experts. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were
used. The results suggested that the administrators, the teachers and the curriculum planners all agreed with teaching the concepts
of human rights expressed in the domains of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Curriculum planners admitted that the amount of
attention paid to the concepts and components of human rights was not satisfactory. There was no significant difference between
the students, teachers and experts concerning the education of peace. Suggestions and implication for authorities in Iran are
discussed in the light of the participants' voices.
© 2010 Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Keywords: Human rights, Human rights education, Curriculum, Secondary education

1. Introduction and background

Human rights education is a movement for the promotion of awareness about the rights declared by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the procedures that exist for addressing violations of these rights (Reardon, 1995;
Tibbitts, 1996, Amnesty International, 2005;Batelaan and Coomans, 1999, Tibbitts 2008,). The United Nations (UN)
formally recognized the right of citizens to be informed about their rights contained in the documents, that is the
right to human rights education (UNGA, 2005). International policymakers, human rights bodies, and national
human rights agencies have addressed human rights education, arguing that the treatment of human rights themes
should be present in schooling (Pearse, 1987). Teaching the skills of social life, offering knowledge and forming
behaviours which develop human rights are among the objectives of the human rights education. During the
conference of the united nations organization which was held in Vienna in 1933, human rights education was
declared as necessary for the expansion of mutual understanding, patience and international peace. Given the
importance of human rights education, the United Nations Organization duly stressed human rights education in
order to increase knowledge about human rights and to boost the perception and respect human rights. Like any

1877-0428 © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.421
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other educational issue, human rights education can also be decomposed for the purpose of analysis to components
and parts, an awareness of which will increase the effectiveness of human rights education especially in developing
countries. The first consequence of the better understanding of human rights and their inclusion in the curriculum
may be a reconsideration of the school curriculum at different levels of education (Shekarey,. & Rahimi 2006). This
study attempts to investigate human rights education in the three components of knowledge, skills and attitudes with
an intention to sensitize curriculum designers to such issues in relation to human rights.
The main objectives were to survey the amount of attentions paid to human rights education in the Iranian secondary
education curriculum and to offer suggestions for the improvement of the secondary education curriculum in terms
of human rights education. The secondary purposes were to differentiate the knowledge, skill and attitude concepts
of human rights education, and to survey references to human rights in the Iranian secondary school curriculum, in
its implementation, and in its evaluation.
It is difficult to give a comprehensive and unanimous definition of human rights, because there are different theories
and schools describing rights, human beings, the origins of rights, governments and so on. Perhaps the following
descriptions can cover what comes in many existing definitions. Human rights mean determinate privileges for the
human race because of his being human. Human rights refer to rights which all members of the society, man or
woman, boy or girl, the young or old must enjoy. In the modern world, Human rights are the embodiment of
fundamental standards without which people cannot maintain their humanity. Human rights are the kind of rights
which people must be enjoyed because of one's human identity not because of one's religion, race, language, or
nationality.
Amnesty International defines human right education as a plan to provide the knowledge and the understanding of
human rights in an attempt to introduce human rights values in the curriculums and in both formal and informal
education (Shekarey, Zare-ee, Rahimi, and Behravy 2009). It can also be said that human rights education is a
combination of trainings for the following purposes: Developing an awareness of human rights values, improving
and observing human rights through education, familiarizing people with ways to fight against human rights
violation, and promoting the enforcement of human rights

1.1. Human rights education objectives

Educational systems are established to achieve the goals that the founders of it want. International documents of
human rights also determine goals for the human rights education. For example, at the conference of human rights
education held in Vienna in 1987, some of the goals of the human rights education were introduced as follows:
1. The encouragement of behaviours focusing on compatibility with the others,
2. The development of respect, unity, knowledge and information about human rights,
3. The increase of ways and devices for bringing human rights into social and political reality,
Observing basic rights is the prerequisite of democracy, coordination , and social security. However, for the
improvement of human rights conditions, informing people of these rights is a necessity so that people can behave in
a way that human rights are guaranteed and observed and defended. Human rights education has some components
which link education to action. When these components are used together, the results will be more effective. There
are two important points to be considered regarding the components of human rights education. First, these
components can offere devices which teachers can use reasonably and logically to achieve the goals of human rights
education. Second, these components are not independent. The components of human rights education among others
include thoughts (what knowledge and information should the learners understand and what new abilities should the
learners gain?) and sentiments (how can the reinforcement of commitment and partnership among the learners be
fostered and what values and beliefs are important?). Human rights should be respected in communication and
cultural exchange. Equipping learners with the knowledge of human rights helps them to know what skills they will
have after their educational period. It will help the learners to acquire the skills which they need to defend their
rights and others’rights. Human rights education can address many skills such as helping learners how to react,
when confronting human rights violation and how to organize and teach others about human rights. Also, the skills
which are taught should be consistent and relevant to the conditions and the needs of the learners.
Undoubtedly, the outcomes of human rights education in a context like Iran are more important than the human
rights education itself (Navab Daneshmand 2007). There should be opportunities for students to put in action their
acquired skills and educations. These opportunities will make their learning meaningful.
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1.2. Types of human rights education

Generally, human rights education can be presented in both formal and informal educational systems. In the formal
education systems, human rights education is carried out in schools and universities. In informal education systems,
human rights are taught to different kinds and groups of people who are not in schools through NGOs, the media
and so on. The selection of teaching method is one of the important points in the process of human rights education.
Actually, the teacher should choose a suitable method for teaching rights which is definitely context-pecific.
Teaching methods which can fit for the human rights education include lecturing, brainstorming, and using new tolls
such as cell phones and blogs. There are also some research methods which will lend themselves to human rights
education such as case studies and field projects.
Despite comprehensive attempts on human rights education, there are a lot of concerns about it in Iran. As the global
community challenges nations for violations from time to time, countries are now changing and reforming their
educational systems to meet the needs of the peoples of the twenty-first century. These challenges are no longer
specific to one country. They are international issues. World-wide curriculum development organizations around the
world are now reconsidering their aims in these lights. In the introductions of many charters, it is mentioned that
now it's time for the worldwide community to give confidence to people about their rights. Education plays an
effective role in improving peace and in perceiving human rights worldwide. Therefore, all curriculia and teachings
of the educational systems should pave the way for children, the young and adults to improve their confidence and
social knowledge and to develop the ability to take part in all levels of their community in national and worldwide
arenas.
There is not any clear-cut course specifically designed for human rights education in the Iranian secondary
education system. Based on the purposes and the operational variables of this study, a set of concepts were chosen
from human rights education literature and were analyzed with the assistance of scholars from Beheshti and Tehran
universities who were specialized in human rights education. These were then used for the development of the
questionnaire used in the present study.
Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 show the framework used for the identification of human rights education concepts
and elements in the domains of knowledge, skill and attitude.
UTable 1: Concepts and elements of human right in the domain of knowledge
Awareness of the individual responsibilities
Awareness of the contrast between individual liberties and social control
Familiarity with the relations of the human being and the environment
Awareness of the social justice and equal opportunities
Awareness of the basic liberties
Awareness of the life standards
Familiarity with the concept of change through the changes in the individuals,the environment and the society
.Awareness of the social rules and relations to establish order and take responsibility

Table 2: Concepts and elements of human right in the domain of attitude

U U

Respect to all forms of life and existence

Development of the law respecting spirit
Development of the disagreeing attitude against the fight and violence
.Aquisition of the data collection spirit for data analysis
Development of the spirit of fighting against the oppression and defensing their rights
.Development of the spirit of cooperation, participation and integrity
.Acceptance of and disagreement with the discriminatory inequalities in the communities and the nations
Development of the spirit of Taking criticism from the individuals

Table 3: Concepts and elements of the human right in the domain of skill
U U

The ability of respecting and understanding each other’s rights

The ability of speaking and mutual understanding
The ability of accepting the varieties in the society and respecting them.
Taking a responsibility Individually and socially
The ability to understand the environment and to deal with it
The ability and skill to solve disagreements peacefully without violence and conflict
The ability to observe the social ethics and accepted principles
The ability to feel sympathy with the others in a group, local society and international level
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2. Method

In this study, a descriptive method was used to survey the amount of attention paid to the human rights education in
the Iranian secondary school curriculum based on the viewpoint of the secondary school teachers and specialists in
Kashan, and the curriculum experts in Tehran. According to the education department of kashan, 420 teachers are
employed in the secondary schools from among which 200 teachers were chosen by simple random sampling. 27
experts were chosen by simple random sampling and also 15 curriculum experts in the curriculum planning office of
the research organizations were chosen through random sampling. They all answered the questionnaire. To establish
the reliability of the questionnaire, the answers were analyzed with SPSS. The reliability of the teachers' responses
to the questionnaire was .89; for the specialists, it was .95 and for the experts it was .94. To analyze the results,
descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The questionnaire had two different scales: the first scale consisting
of 30 items to measure the elements of human rights education in the three domain of knowledge, skill and attitude
and the second scale consisting of 15 items to measure the amount of attention paid to these elements in the
secondary education curriculum in the planning, administrating and evaluating of the curriculum. Also to score the
items, Likert scale was used.

3. Results

The results of the analyses showed that teachers, specialists and experts identified items that need to be included in
human rights education in Iran. All the participants in the study agreed with using these elements in the curriculum
of schools. Most of the participants in this study agreed with the lack of attention to human rights education in the
present curriculum structure in the society. They also strongly agreed that the amount of attention paid to the human
rights education in the secondary education curriculum was low and unfavourable. For the identification of human
rights education concepts in the secondary education, according to the results of t-test, the teachers, the experts and
the specialist’s attitudes were reported in the summaries of the following related tables in the three different
domains; In the domain of knowledge, the mean score was 3.43 for teachers, 3.47 for the specialist and 3.36 for the
experts. In the domain skill the mean score was 3.36 for the teachers, 3.66 for the specialist and 3.60 for the experts.
In the domain of attitude the mean score was 3.59 for the teachers, 3.46 for the specialist and 3.40for the experts.
According to the table 1., the comparison of the means show that they are in a favorable level , because these
means are higher than the theoretical means and are meaningful with the reliability of 99 percent. These means show
the positive attitudes of the participants to the human rights education in the small scales.
*Investigation of the amount of attentions paid to the human rights education in the secondary education curriculum.
Table 4: Questions regarding the amount of attention paid to the human rights education in the small scale design
U U

Is the human rights education considered in determining of the present curriculum objectives.?
Is the human rights education considered in designing of the secondary education curriculum?.
Is the human rights education considered in organizing of the curriculum contents?
Is the human rights education considered in designing of the education tools?

Statistical results are indicative of the fact that the majority of the research participants (85 percent of the experts),
with a mean of 1.70 agreed that the amount of attention paid to these elements was low an unfavourable in the
designing step of the secondary education curriculum.

Table 5: Questions regarding the amount of attention paid to the human rights education in the small scale administration
U U

Are the applied (current)teaching methods in the schools appropriate and compatible with the human rights education?
Do the teachers' relations with the students provide the required opportunities for the human rights education?
Are the teachers and the other staff committed to practically enforce the human rights education?
Are the methods of grouping compatible with the human rights education?
Is there the appropriate milieu and atmosphere for the human rights education?
Do the current rules and regulations in the schools provide an appropriate setting for the human rights? education?
Are the students provided with the appropriate opportunities to observe the human rights education.

Statistical results are indicative of this issue that the majority of the research participants (71.20 percent of teachers)
with a mean of 2.02 agreed that the amount of attention paid was low and unfavourable in the administrating step of
the secondary education curriculum.
Table 6 Questions regarding the amount of attention paid to the human rights education in the small scale evaluation.
U U

of the evaluation of the students, Are the values and features of human rights education and nurturing considered?
 A. Shekarey et al. / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 5 (2010) 2103–2107 2107

Are the effective evaluation methods used to pay more attentions to the knowledge, skill and attitude among the students?
Are the students evaluated according to the higher level of learning such as: analysis, compound, evaluation and so on?

Statistical results are indicative of this issue that the majority of the research participants (84.24 percent of teachers),
with the mean of 1.83 agreed that the amount of attention paid is low and unfavourable in the evaluation step of the
secondary education curriculum.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

Human rights are undeniable rights for mankind and must be considered as the part of the basic education for all
strata of people especially the young. The goal is to help individuals to identify the fundamental values of life and to
acquire the skills to defend these values. The goals of human rights education include respecting human rights and
basic liberties through increasing individuals' knowledge in this aspect, developing human personality, increasing
relations between scientific activities and research activities in the field of human rights, maintaining national
identity, and teaching students their rights as citizens. The findings of the present survey, which present the concepts
of the human rights education in the three domains of knowledge, skill and attitude in the viewpoint of the teachers,
specialists and experts, indicate that the identified elements have different values but have all been neglected in one
way or another in the system addressed in the study. The analysis of these values one by one takes a lot of time and
effort; however, generally statistical results are indicative of the positive attitudes of the participants to the identified
concepts. This can pave the way for an effective national as well as international development in terms of human
rights issues. Supplementary findings indicate that in the viewpoint of the experts the amount of attention paid to the
human rights education is low in devising the curriculum of the secondary education. Also, in the viewpoint of the
teachers the amount of attention paid to these concepts are low in the administration and evaluation steps. This study
attempts to make us aware of the gap felts in the curriculum. It is hoped that this study can be a trigger for steps
forward.

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