Inclusive practices to co-create human rights curriculum

• In Event: Peace and Human Rights Education and Activism: International and Indigenous Intersections

Proposal

This presentation will draw on a co-authored chapter entitled, Critical Reflections on the Positionality of Human Rights Educators Working in Diverse Contexts (Koirala-Azad, Argenal, & Zanoni, 2018) that proposes a set of four principles enacted in our research and practice to address power dynamics that arise when working in cross-cultural settings. Inspired by the methodology of participatory action research, principles of cultural humility (Sheridan, Bennett, & Blome, 2013), solidarity (Murithi, 2006), reciprocity, and conflict sensitivity (INEE, 2013) will be explored. As a co-author, I will draw upon my experience to embody these principles in my work with an all girls’ school in Kenya to develop an 8-week human rights education (HRE) curriculum for their Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope (W.I.S.H.) program. Through participatory methodology, HRE curriculum was designed based on knowledge shared by students, teachers, and administrators to center their voices, honor their wisdom, and contextualize the content to meet the needs of the learners.

Kenya is often referred to as a post-conflict context partially due to the fragile fault lines that run through the layers of ethnic identity that have been manipulated for political gains during election seasons. As societies attempt to transition in post-conflict settings, it is essential to offer a platform where civil society members can learn about their rights, how to report violations, and increase awareness of newly adopted legal instruments put in place to protect those marginalized by the conflict (Holland, 2010). The Daraja Academy opened in 2009 on the heels of the 2007-08 election violence. Administrators at the school recognized the need to address tribalism through community building and identify strategies to embolden the girl-child to advocate for her rights. From 2014-2015 I worked with the administration at the Daraja Academy to further develop and refine existing lessons focused on human rights. While I recognized the power of HRE to identify strategies to prevent further rights abuses and decrease the chance of relapsing into conflict (Holland, 2010), I proceeded cautiously so as not to conjure up the “negative face of education” through homogenizing diversity or imposing non-indigenous values (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000).

Several questions arose to advance the “positive face of education” to support the development of the W.I.S.H. program through the addition of HRE: How can the curriculum be developed in a culturally sensitive manner to honor local wisdom, be pedagogically relevant and inclusive to foster a space for the W.I.S.H. teachers and the students to gain compa sense of ownership? Furthermore, how can lessons challenge notions of power, identity and culture (Bajaj, 2008) construct a human rights consciousness (Bellino, 2014) and activate “transformative agency and participatory citizenship” among the girls (Bajaj & Brantmeier, 2011, p. 222)? Returning to these questions allowed me to maintain a reflective stance in my pedagogical practice and explore participatory principles to inform my methodology.

Through a reflexive practice focused on these principles, I hope to continually re-center the voices of those whom I have learned alongside and engage in a dynamic discussion to hear how other educators break down barriers across borders – real or imagined - to safeguard our collective human rights.

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Bajaj, M., & Brantmeier, E. J. (2011). The politics, praxis, and possibilities of critical peace education. Journal of Peace Education, 8(3), 221–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400201.2011.621356

Bellino, M. J. (2014). Educating for human rights consciousness. Listening: A Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, Fall(Special Issue: The social construction of human rights), 136–157.

Bush, K., & Saltarelli, D. (2000). The two faces of education in ethnic conflict: Towards a peacebuilding education for children. Florence: Innocenti Research Centre-UNICEF.

Holland, T. (2010). Human rights education in peace-building: A Look at where the practice has come from, and where it needs to head. Human Rights & Human Welfare. Retrieved from https://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/workingpapers/2010/62-holland-2010.pdf

INEE. (2013). INEE guidance note on conflict sensitive education. New York. Retrieved from http://toolkit.ineesite.org/toolkit/INEEcms/uploads/1150/INEE_GN_on_Conflict_Sensitive_Education%5B1%5D.pdf

Koirala-Azad, S., Argenal, A., & Zanoni, K. (n.d.). Critical reflections on the positionality of human rights educators working in diverse contexts. In S. M. Akpovo, M. J. Moran, & R. Brookshire (Eds.), Collaborative cross-cultural research methodologies in early care and education contexts. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Murithi, T. (2006). African approaches to building peace and social solidarity. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 6(2), 9–33.

Sheridan, M. J., Bennett, S., & Blome, W. W. (2013). Cultural humility and shared learning as hallmarks for international teaching: The SWEP experience. Social Work Education, 32(6), 818–833. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2013.805190

Author

• Katie Zanoni, University of San Francisco