THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF LEARNING HUMAN RIGHTS, HURIGHTS OSAKA : "THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF LEARNING HUMAN RIGHTS, HURIGHTS OSAKA (First Part)

Full support for human rights education in schools means making changes in
many components of the formal education system.
There is a need for an explicit support for human rights education in
education laws and policies. This legal and policy support in
turn paves the way for o Changes in the school curriculum to incorporate
human rights in various subjects or as a separate human
rights subject, o Critical review of school textbooks based on human rights
standards, and development of text-books on human rights,
o Development of human rights lesson plans and other teaching materials,
and o Review of school rules and regulations to revise provisions
that run counter to human rights principles.

Pre- and in-service teacher training curriculums will have to include human
rights and human rights teaching as major subjects.
Parents and even the local communities have to take part also in the school
programs. Relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
are tapped for support.

So far, no government in the [Asia-Pacific] region has completely
undertaken all the needed supporting components for human rights
education in schools. But there are experiences that show how human rights
education in schools programs are being implemented
along these lines.

Two issues that have caught the attention of educators are about textbooks
and the school system. There are studies that examined
textbooks and the school system in relation to human rights principles.

Textbook analysis Regardless of absence of educational policy supporting
human rights education, the need to expunge the textbooks
of statements and illustrations (or photographs) that depict bias and
prejudice against anyone (because of sex, race, age, social or
economic status, religion, or political opinion) cannot be denied.

The current problems of violence in the streets and inside the home are
linked to the perpetration of thinking and practices that promote
bias, prejudice and bigotry.

A research done by the Equal Opportunity Commission in Hong Kong in 2001
confirms the existence of biased or discriminatory thinking
in textbooks. Among the guidelines to improve textbooks suggested by the
research report, here are some: [1]

Cultural/Ethnic/Social groups:

are presented with respect for themselves and their customs, beliefs and
activities are well represented in proportion to their numbers in the
community are seen as active in a range of professions and occupations in
the community are recognized for their contributions to the community

Old persons: are presented with respect in a range of activities and
occupations in the community are presented in a range of ages
(not just young and old) are shown enjoying an active and productive social
life in the community

Children: are shown as having the ability to make decisions, offer advice,
solve problems are encouraged to engage with issues concerning
social stereotypes are involved in exploring and evaluating social and
personal themes and content

Persons with disabilities: are presented with respect in a range of
activities and occupations in the community are celebrated in terms of their
contributions to the community are presented in the same kinds of
activities as persons without disabilities.

These guidelines can be further developed to suit situations in other
countries in the region. Other textbook analysis projects echo the
guidelines. An examination of Pakistani textbooks, for example, resulted in
the following suggestions: [2]

Language-use [in English textbooks] Some examples of changes that need to
be introduced in routine language-use:
1.Substitute the universal 'he' for the more specific 'he' or 'she'
depending on the context.
2.'Humankind' for the universal 'mankind' as the latter tends to subsume
the feminine category and render it invisible.

Similarly, 'Chairperson' for 'Chairman' and Ms. for Mrs. as the former
signifies an adult woman regard-less of whether she is married or not.
It is the equivalent of Mr. which also signifies an adult man regardless of
whether he is married or not.

Representation The ways in which women are represented also need to be
changed. Instead of constantly seeing them referentially or with
reference to nurturing and caring activities, they could be seen in their
other roles viz. doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. This would not only
redress the gender bias found in textbooks it would also present a more
realistic view of our society.

There is also a need to emphasise women's economically productive role in
society as opposed to their reproductive role.

Beginning with the unpaid and unrecognised labour that sustains household
economies viz. cooking, washing, housekeeping, looking after
domestic animals, milking, making ghee,[3] stitching clothes etc. and going
on to include the different categories of work in the informal sector, it
would be necessary to stress the fact that paid work in the public field is
enabled by the unpaid work in the domestic enclosure.

(end of first part)

Notes **

This article appeared in the March 2004 issue of FOCUS Asia-Pacific. It can
also be accessed in the HURIGHTS OSAKA website: www.hurights.or.jp

1. Equal Opportunity Commission of Hong Kong, "Stereotypes in Textbooks and
Teaching Materials in Hong Kong,
" Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, volume 6 (Osaka: HURIGHTS OSAKA,
2003).
2. Aamna Mattu and Neelam Hussain, "Gender Biases and Stereotypes in School
Texts" in The Subtle Subversion
-The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan, a report of the project
"A Civil Society Initiative in Curricula and Textbooks Reform,
" Sustainable Development Policy Institute (Islamabad, 2003), available at
www.sdpi.org, and also in volume 7 of Human Rights Education
in Asian Schools (Osaka: HURIGHTS OSAKA, 2004).
3. Clarified butter.



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