Human Rights Education in Schools in Mauritius

1. Human Rights Education in Schools in Mauritius Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) www.hrea.org Paul McAdams, Senior Program Associate p.mcadams@hrea.org December 2 2011

2. Overview • Purpose of the Project • Outputs • Initial Observations • Human Rights Education (HRE) • World Programme for HRE • So What? • Next Steps

3. Why is human rights education important? Why? Why?

4. Purpose of the Project • Integrate human rights into secondary schools curricula and teaching. • Influence the adoption of new approaches to human rights education (HRE) in schools.

5. Outputs • Desk review of (educational policies, curricula, learning materials/textbooks): • The current status of HRE in secondary education. • The needs of the sector. • Guidelines for the integration of HRE in secondary education. • How to integrate models developed in other jurisdictions, into Mauritius schools. • Document extra-curricular values based work. • Take cognisance of previous work done in this area by the MoE, other development partners, and the Commonwealth. • Prepare a report which includes the work documented as outlined and recommendations.

6. Initial Observations • Human rights values of respect, tolerance, peace identified as cross-cutting domains of learning in pre-primary, primary, and secondary. • Principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child stated in guiding the pre-primary NCF. • In primary NCF, reference to rights and responsibilities.

7. Initial Observations • In secondary: learning area of “Rights and Responsibilities” under Health and Physical Education. • Level descriptors from Form I to Form V • Personal and societal attitudes and values • Interpersonal skills and conflict resolution • Rights and responsibilities • Interest in HRE, but must work within existing system: Training of teachers, improving school environment, making HRE “more explicit” in curricula and in practice

8. HRE Encompasses… • Knowledge and skills — learning about human rights and mechanisms, as well as acquiring skills to apply them in a practical way in daily life. • Values, attitudes and behaviour — developing values and reinforcing attitudes and behaviour which uphold human rights. • Action — taking action to defend and promote human rights.

9. World Programme for Human Rights Education

10. World Programme for HRE • Follow up to UN Decade for HRE (1995-2004). • Covers all members of society but is being implemented in stages. • Intended for States but recognizes roles of civil society. • Implemented in stages. First phase (2005-2009): formal schooling sector. Phase 2 (2010-2014): higher education including professional training institutions.

11. Objectives of the World Programme for HRE • To promote the development of a culture of human rights. • To promote a common understanding, based on international instruments, of basic principles and methodologies for HRE. • To ensure a focus on HRE at the national, regional and international levels.

12. Objectives of the World Programme for HRE (cont.) • To provide a common collective framework for action by all relevant actors. • To enhance partnership and cooperation at all levels. • To survey, evaluate and support existing HRE programmes, to highlight successful practices, and to provide an incentive to continue and/or expand them and to develop new ones.

13. Components of Success

14. 5 Key components of success • Policy • Policy Implementation • Learning Environment • Teaching and Learning • Educational and Professional Development of School Personnel

15. So what? • What already exists in our secondary education system that contains elements of or reflects HRE? (learning environment, teaching and learning, professional development of education staff, evaluation…) • What do we want: • For the students? • For teachers? • For parents? • For ourselves?

16. Next: The Commonwealth Secretariat Will… • Compile a report on the situation of HRE in schools in Mauritius, making recommendations to the GoM. • Present a report to the GoM for their inputs and approval of recommendations. • Assist the GoM with model curricula for schools as well as curricula for the training of teachers. • Assist the GoM in building the capacity of teachers and other key stakeholders in implementing the model curricula.

17. Merci!