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This article explores children’s human rights in school-age educare centers. Schoolage educare( SAEC) is an underexplored educational context in terms of children’s human rights. Previous research has emphasized the importance of a whole-school approach for sustainable human rights education. The aim of this article is to clarify how SAEC teachers position children’s human rights within their practice in terms of where rights are actualized and with what aims. Interviews with19 SAEC teachers were conducted and analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Biesta’s aims of education - qualification, socialization and subjectification - were used in the analysis. The results show how teachers position children’s human rights in SAEC practice as: 1) an overarching pedagogic approach; 2) participation for satisfaction; 3) social relations for exploring the self; 4)social learning for being in the world; 5) knowledge to understand the world. An unexpectedr esult was the finding of an additional aim – satisfication

Undervisning om mänskliga rättigheter i skolan är ett komplext område som lärare kan känna sig osäkra för hur de ska ta sig an. Då mänskliga rättigheter blir allt mer ifrågasatta och utmanade på samhällets alla nivåer blir den här undervisningen alltmer angelägen. I den här artikeln använder jag kunskaperna från tidigare studier inom området tillsammans med teoretiska begrepp så som medföljande lärande och in-bäddad undervisning. Syftet är att utveckla en didaktisk modell som kan stötta lärare att använda vardagliga skolsituationer till planerad och reflekterad rättighetsunder-visning. I både svenska och internationella styrdokument uttrycks att lärare har ansvar för att skapa möjlighet för elevers lärande av kunskaper om mänskliga rättigheter samt lärande av rättighetsgrundade värderingar, attityder och beteenden. Därför behöver rättighetsundervisningen inkludera undervisning om mänskliga rättigheter. Genom-föras genom rättigheter, där eleverna får erfara och träna på att utöva och respektera mänskliga rättigheter samt rättighets relaterade förmågor. Undervisningen ska också stödja eleverna att utveckla rättighetsgrundade värderingar och beteenden fören handlingskapacitet. De här aspekterna kompletterar varandra och ingen kan uteslutas eller ges enskilt. Med omfattande exempel visar jag hur den didaktiska modellen kan användas i lärares arbete för att väva samman om,genom och för mänskliga rättigheter till en kraftfull och hållbar rättighetsundervisning.

Teaching human rights in school is a complex topic and teachers tend to feel insecure in how to provide children with human rights education (Kasa et al., 2021; Rinaldi, 2017). When human rights are more and more questioned and challenged, on society’s all levels, this part of the educations’ responsibility becomes especially urgent. In this article I propose a teaching model to support practitioners’ work with human rights in school.

Swedish policy documents state that “the goals of the school are that each pupil can consciously determine and express ethical standpoints based on knowledge of human rights and basic democratic values, as well as personal experiences” (Skolverket, 2022, s. 11). Globally the international community has, through UN policy documents, emphasized that education and schools are key actors to strengthen human rights. Research has also highlighted educational systems to be important contexts for children, already from an early age, to develop knowledge about human rights as well as rights-respecting values, attitudes and behaviors (Osler & Solhaug, 2018; Struthers, 2016). Planned interventions such as specially designed lessons and programs has been the main focus in previous rights-education research (Brandefors & Thelander, 2017; Quennerstedt, 2019). This restricted perspective on rights-education has been questioned and a broader perspective in which rights-education can permeate a variation of school situations is called for (Frödén & Tellgren, 2020). Accordingly, teachers act in a number of ways in their daily work that support students to develop rights-based values, attitudes and behaviors. However, this is often unintentionally, unplanned and unreflected (Isenström, 2020; Rinaldi, 2017). This article uses the knowledge from previous research and the theoretical concepts collateral learning and embedded teaching. The purpose is to develop a model which can support teachers to make the unreflected collateral learning that goes on in everyday school situations to be planned and reflected rights-education.

UN policy documents on Human Rights Education (HRE) state that rights education needs to encompass three aspects to be durable and resilient. It should include knowledge about human rights. It should be preformed through human rights as in an environment where students can practice to exercise and respect rights. Additionally, the education should support students to develop values, attitudes and behaviors for an action competence for human rights. These aspects supplement each other and therefore no one can be excluded or being presented exclusively. Consequently, the aspects need to be intertwined to an entity in school (UN, 2006; 2011). In the Swedish educational act (SFS 2010:800, §3) it is stated that teaching are goal steered processes lead by teachers aimed at development and learning and this is achieved through gained and expanded knowledges and values. Consequently, for situations where students are given the opportunity to develop rights-based knowledges and values to be classified as rights-education the teachers aim with the goal steered processes needs to be to for the students to develop rights-based knowledges and values. Or, with the UN terminology, clearly connect the about, through and for human rights.

Rights theorist Norberto Bobbio (1996) state that human rights are not for once given, but are constantly developing. They are now in a phase where they need to be understood from the perspective of a particular human being in its particular context. Therefore, children’s human rights need to be understood from children’s specific conditions and contexts. To really understand how human rights can be understood in a school context we need to explore how can for example “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…” and “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” (UN, 1948, art 1 & 3) be understood in a school context. It can be argued that when the teacher emphasis that it is not accepted to talk to each other in non-respecting ways it can be an expression of the rights of equal dignity and of security of person, and this could be teaching of values and behaviors for human rights.

John Dewey (1938) claims that when we experience something and when that experience changes how we act in future situations we have learned something. However, these experiences do not only take place in planned school work. The teachers’ talk and actions and choice of the methods etc. will provide for learning beyond the planned content. This learning is what Dewey calls the collateral learning and what Simpson (2006) describes as “whatever is being taught and learned regardless of whether it is official, planed, designed…(p. 58). Consequently, ordinary classroom work with a planned content can also be the context for students learning of rights-connected values, attitudes and behaviors. Thus, unplanned, unintentionally and unreflected.  

Embedded teaching is a technique to include goal-steered processes in ordinary school situations that aim for the students to develop knowledge and values. Ackesjö and Haglund (2021) claim that embedded teaching is not unplanned nor spontaneous but very intentional in which the teacher, with her professional expertise, uses everyday situations to teach knowledge and values. Hence, to include embedded rights-content in one’s teaching good knowledge about human rights and how theses are expressed in students’ specific situations is important.

This teaching model builds on results from previous studies (Isenström, 2020, 2022) and was developed in four steps. First the Universal declaration of human rights (1948) was used to identify which rights could be delineated in a school context and were identified in the data from the previous studies. Second the rights were scrutinized for qualitative differences and similarities and grouped thematically according to possible rights-content. Four themes of rights-content were identified. Thirdly, the four themes examined for their substantive distinctiveness and thereby named as Everyone have the right to equal value, Everyone have the right to express their opinion, Everyone have the right to impact their situation and Everyone have the right to be fairly treated.  From the processes of finding the possible embedded rights-content it has been illustrated how about, through and for rights can be intertwined in school situations. In the fourth step the illustrative model was created (figure 1).

The model illustrates how the separate parts of rights-education collaborate and that all parts need to be put in action to enable a resilient and durable learning of human rights. Additionally, illustrated by the model, is that teachers’ work with rights-education can start in either of the three cogwheels. When the work starts in the situation, the teacher uses everyday situations to elucidate what values and behaviors that are embodied and what human rights these connect to. In social science education human rights is a content expressed in the curriculum. When working with this content the rights-education starts with the cogwheel of knowledge. By connecting the teaching of human rights with situations the students recognize from there own lives and to, in those situations, relevant values and behaviors all cogwheels will be put into action. In schools work with for example bullying the rights-education could start in the wheel with values, attitudes and behavior if the discussions would include connected human rights and everyday situations. Hence, the model illustrates how rights-education can start in either of the cogwheels, but to become resilient and sustainable all three wheels need to be put into action.

The arguments here is not that teachers should talk about human rights in every possible situation during the school day. Rather, the model should be understood as a tool to an expanded view of how rights-education could be preformed by using what is already happening in everyday school life. With planning and a conscious stratigies goal steered processes aimed at rights-knowledge and rights-based values and behaviors can be included in the everyday school life where it is considered applicable.

This article furthers pedagogical knowledge on educating children about their human rights, specifically in school contexts, with the aim of elucidating the features and the collateral learning of educative situations through which children are supported to grow as rights-holders. The data, obtained from fieldwork in three Year 1 classes in Swedish schools, were analysed drawing on John Dewey ' s theory of experience, growth and collateral learning. The findings show that, in everyday classroom interactions, teachers' actions have implications for human rights learning. Four categories of collateral content were identified: a) Experience and respect equal value; b) Form, express and respect opinions; c) Take part and participate in individual and collective matters; d) Demonstrate understanding, and tolerance. It is argued that teachers' pedagogical actions support children's human rights learning in various everyday situations in the classroom, often in unintended and unplanned ways.

Framed by a Foucauldian governmentality perspective, this article shows teachers' different rights-teaching mentalities active in human rights education for children. The article draws on observation and interview data from fieldwork in three Year 1 classes in Swedish primary schools. In the holistic approach adopted, rights-learning is understood as learning about human rights as well as developing rights-conscious values and behaviours for human rights. This is enacted through human rights. Six rights-teaching mentalities were identified: Competent children learn rights from each other; Equal value in focus; Participation is a right; Respect is essential; Adult voices and interpretations are superior; and Competence and maturity determine access to rights. The analysis shows how the different rights-teaching mentalities support different forms of rights-learning.

Teaching children about human rights is an important step towards strengthening human rights internationally and schools are considered primary sites for children to develop human rights understandings, attitudes and behaviours. This dissertation explores the teachers’ role in educating children about their human rights. Focusing on the everyday school life of young children, a holistic approach to rights-learning is applied that includes not only learning about human rights but also developing rights-conscious values, attitudes and behaviours. Also included in the concept rights-learning is the formation of a self-conception as a rights-holder. Against this background the aim of this dissertation is to clarify the impact of teachers’ actions on the construction of young children’s rights-learning, and their self-conceptions as rights-holders.

Theoretically, the dissertation combines: (i) rights theorisation; (ii) theorisation of differing discourses of children and childhood; and (iii) Foucauldian governmentality. From these, analytical concepts of rights-learning situations, teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities and privileged rightssubject positions are constructed. The data used in the study derives from classroom observations and interviews with teachers, as well as drawing on previous research.

The findings highlight that in everyday school practice the teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities will privilege different rights-subject positions for the children and thereby construct children’s rights-learning in different ways. With a holistic approach to rights-learning, as something that occurs in various interactions and situations in everyday school life, the findings presented in this dissertation can provide new perspectives and enrich discussions on teaching and learning children’s human rights.

The overarching ambition of this paper is to explore how teachers’ actions shape children’s growth as rights-subjects. This is done by addressing the question: which rights-subjects are privileged for children by teachers’ different rights-teaching mentalities? The paper draws on observation and interview data from fieldwork in three Year classes in Swedish primary schools. Theoretically framed by a Foucauldian governmentality perspective, rights-learning situations were analysed through the lens of teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities and governing techniques. The findings show how teachers’ different actions privilege different rights-subjects for the children, and demonstrate how the teachers’ actions in everyday interaction in the classroom play a significant role in this process. It is argued that rights-learning, and growing as a rights-subject, does not primarily happen in designated children’s human rights events at school, but rather occurs continuously, day after day, in ordinary school practice.

This research synthesis examines earlier studies within the field of children's human rights in education, with the specific aim of clarifying which rationalities of teaching and learning children's human rights are activated as significant for teachers’ thinking and work. Theoretically framed by a Foucauldian governmentality approach, the qualitative analysis identifies five different rationalities in the teaching and learning of children's human rights in previous research. The paper discusses how the identified rationalities support or contradict each other in a complex way and their connection to differing conceptions of rights for children. Further, the possible consequences for teachers, teacher educators and policymakers are considered.

Background: Educating children about human rights is an important step toward strengthening human rights in the global society. Teachers play a crucial role in the enactment of this education. Hence, teachers require extensive human rights knowledge. However, teachers also require knowledge of how their thinking about children and rights influence their pedagogical approaches and strategies in relation to children’s human rights education.

Significance and aims: The aim of this paper is to clarify how teachers’ different rights-teaching mentalities support children’s human rights-learning. By drawing on Foucault’s governmentality perspective I show teachers’ different rights-teaching mentalities and their impact on the enactment of children’s human rights education. This will provide valuable knowledge for teachers, teacher educators and policymakers when performing and/or making decisions about human rights education. 

Theoretical framework: The research draws on a theoretical framework that combines rights theorization and governmentality. The rights theorization (Bobbio, 1996, Orend, 2002), with a view on human rights as continually developing and expanding, creates a background for the study. By using the aspects of government - rationalities, techniques and aims (Foucault, 1987/2003; 1978/1991; Rose, 1999; Dean, 2010), I elaborate on the concept of teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities. With this concept I show how teachers’ theories when merged together with their actions and aims construct teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities and how they influence the education for children’s human rights. 

Research design: The data used in this paper draws on fieldwork from three grade 1 classes in Swedish schools. Each teacher was observed for approximately 50 hours. The observations were documented through field notes. Halfway into the observation period each teacher was interviewed. The aspects of government - rationalities, techniques and aims, guided the analysis. In several steps structures of qualitative similarities and differences were sought and potential rights-teaching mentalities were verified, changed, disappeared and new ones were formed. 

Findings: Six teachers’ rights-teaching mentalities were identified through the analysis. These could be divided into two groups, four rights-promoting mentalities and two rights-restraining mentalities. The rights-promoting mentalities support a positive rights-learning, install feelings of equal value and being an equal rights holder along with forming attitudes and behaviours in line with human rights. On the contrary the rights-restraining mentalities impose a negative rights-learning which can reduce feelings of equal value and being an equal rights holder along with fostering attitudes and behaviours not in line with human rights. 

This paper focuses on the field of children’s rights in education with a specific interest in the teacher’s role and views. The aim of this research is to increase knowledge on how the teacher’s approach to children and to rights is of importance for how education for children’s human rights is enacted in schools. Through a research synthesis I examine how previous research has constructed the teacher’s approach as a significant factor for education for children’s human rights. 

Theoretical frameworks: The research is based on a theoretical framework that combines rights theorization and governmentality. The rights theorization (Bobbio, 1996, Orend, 2002) with a view on human rights as continually developing and expanding create a background for the study. By using the aspects of government - rationalities, techniques and aims (Foucault, 1987/2003; 1978/1991; Rose, 1999; Dean, 2010; Walters, 2012) - I elaborate on the concept of teacher’s approach. By using the concept approach it is possible to perceive how previous research has constructed teachers’ theories and ideas as well as their actions and their aims as significant for how the education for children’s human rights is enacted. 

Methodology: An article search in relevant online databases was carried out. Different combinations of the words human rights, children’s rights, school, education and teacher resulted in 539 articles. After applying a inclusion criteria on the 539 abstracts, 118 studies were selected and read in full. This reading resulted in the inclusion of 31studies. To compensate for only using one search engine a snowball search from the 31 reference lists was performed. This resulted in another 9 texts, and the final number of texts included in the synthesis was 40. 

In the analysis the concepts rationalities, techniques and aims, which together construct the concept of teacher’s approach, were leading. Within each concept several categories were established. 

Findings: In using the theoretical argument for the concept approach, previous research puts great emphasis on teachers' rationalities. Teachers' aims and techniques are also highlighted as important for the enactment of education on children’s human rights. Previous research also stresses how these rationalities, techniques and aims are internalized in the teachers as well as teachers' lack of relevant theories, knowledge and reflection on techniques and reflected aims.