HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION: AN ANALYSING STUDY OF THE PROGRAMS OF STUDY OF GREEK PEDAGOGICAL DEPARTMENTS

The United Nations (UN) declared 1995-2004 the Decade for Human Rights Education (HRE); as a follow-up, a HRE World Program (2005-2009) was initiated, aiming at the support and development of sustainable national strategies and programs in HRE. Many higher education institutions and universities seized upon the opportunity and infused their curricula with the philosophy and principles of HRE. HRE is a type of education that promotes training, dissemination, and information efforts aiming at building a universal culture of human rights (HR) by imparting knowledge and skills and shaping attitudes. This paper presents a thorough quantitative content analysis of a descriptive assessment of HRE in all Greek Pedagogical Departments' (GPD) Undergraduate Programs of Study (PS), where future Primary School Teachers (PST) and Preschool Educators (PE) are educated. A review of course titles and descriptions of the 19 PS of GPD was conducted to identify HR content. The results suggest that HR content is present in a variety of GPD courses. It is especially evident in 17 courses. The question arising and discussed is whether the attendance of such courses can lead to a robust and consistent implementation of HRE. Recommendations for further development of HRE in Pedagogical Departments (PD) are provided.