Human Rights Education

Abstract. Human rights have advanced to an important category of peace and international politics in recent decades. The reference document for human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which emphasizes, among other things, the relevance of human rights education. However, this topic has been largely neglected in empirical research until now. Peace psychology might contribute to a better understanding of human rights education. The present article examines effects of human rights education on knowledge, attitudes, and commitment concerning human rights. Three university seminars dealing with human rights as one of two principal topics formed the background for three quasiexperimental studies with pre-/posttest designs. All studies demonstrate that even short-time human rights education can increase the knowledge about human rights and enhance positive attitudes and commitment concerning human rights. The discussion stresses the importance of further empirical studies on human rights education for a culture of peace.

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„…wobec rozmiarów Zagłady świat doświadczył ogromnej winy…”. Debaty wokół nauczania o Holokauście

Studia nad Autorytaryzmem i Totalitaryzmem ◽

10.19195/2300-7249.38.2.2 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 19-33

Author(s):

Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Strong Association ◽

European Countries ◽

Human Rights Education ◽

Holocaust Education ◽

Local Populations ◽

The Holocaust ◽

The World ◽

Research And Education

„…THE WORLD FELT A HUGE GUILT OVER THE SCALE OF THE HOLOCAUST…”. DEBATES SURROUNDING THE TEACHING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUSTIn Europe a strong association with a sense of victimhood based on the memory of terror and murder in many cases creates conflicting approaches and generates obstacles to providing education about Jewish victims. Suppressed shame and tension together with conflicts related to insufficiently acknowledged victimhood of one’s own group intersect with political agreements on teaching about the Shoah such as the signing of the Stockholm Declaration and membership in the IHRA and other IGOs. The text presents selected challenges and the dynamics of education about the Holocaust and poses questions such as whether it is possible to identify clear concepts, strategies and good educational practices, whether there are links between education about the Holocaust, education against genocides and human rights education, and how education about the Holocaust relates to attitudes toward Jews? In many European countries disparities have grown between Holocaust research and education about the Holocaust. Empirical studies in the field of education reveal that there is a gap between research and education in some aspects of the way the Holocaust is presented, particularly with regard to the attitudes of local populations towards Jews during the Shoah. Nevertheless, the number of educational initiatives designed to teach and learn about the Shoah is steadily increasing.

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Remembrance and education about the Holocaust and Gulag crimes at selected museums and memorial sites in the context of learning from the past and human rights education

Studia nad Autorytaryzmem i Totalitaryzmem ◽

10.19195/2300-7249.40.3.7 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 65-86

Author(s):

Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Human Rights Education ◽

Historical Narratives ◽

Collective Memories ◽

Central Eastern Europe ◽

The Past ◽

The Holocaust ◽

Context Of Learning ◽

Memorial Sites

REMEMBRANCE AND EDUCATION ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AND GULAG CRIMES IN SELECTED MUSEUMS AND MEMORIAL SITES IN THE CONTEXT OF LEARNING FROM THE PAST AND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATIONDiff erent historical narratives and collective memories linked to the constructions of national identity still divide Western and Central-Eastern Europe. The framework of Human Rights Education addressing universality and interdependence of Human Rights may have a potential to overcome divisions connected with national approaches to history. They may connect young people to “negative” memory and shameful, hidden, distorted historical narratives of the past of their own countries. The attitude of European societies towards the Holocaust is one of the themes still not included in many curricula. The history of the Holocaust and Soviet crimes in many countries still waits for contextual approaches. Museums and memorial sites in this context are carriers of memory of wars, genocides, slavery, totalitarian regimes, crimes against humanity, mass atrocities and memories of their victims. They are also signifi cant agents of historical socialisation. History education at memorial sites is a form of historical education based not on teaching about but rather on learning through the past. The text deals with empirical studies focused on education at museums and memorial sites and will explore issues related to education about the Holocaust and Gulag in selected case studies.

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