Human rights studies as an opportunity for advancing students' citizenship education
2013
Jurgena, I., Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy (Latvia) | Mikainis, Z., Rezekne Higher Education Institution (Latvia)
In the last decade, interest in human rights and their role in citizenship education has become increasingly topical and developed in Latvia. In higher education, citizenship education plays a decisive role in the practical implementation of the citizenship competencies of young specialists. Citizenship and civic participation are the aggregates of life skills based on the comprehensive acquisition of human rights and their application in practice. The analysis of the content of the study programmes of the Latvian institutions of higher education shows that they contain a number of courses concerning human rights. Their acquisition is an important element for the development of the citizenship awareness of young specialists, based on the understanding of the versatile content of principal human rights and the diverse mechanism of their development. The aim of the study is to analyze and assess the role of human rights in the citizenship education of the teachers of studies within the system of higher education in Latvia. The article is based on the analysis of theoretical literature, the regulatory acts of the Republic of Latvia concerning higher education, the documents of various institutions of higher education, curricula and study programmes concerning the acquisition of the values of citizenship education, the development of citizenship and its advancement in the context of human rights acquisition. The authors of the article consider that there is a close interconnection between human rights and the formation of individual’s citizenship awareness. Citizenship education and human rights education comprise essential fundamental values and understanding about the mutual dependence and interconnectedness of all aspects of social life. Consequently, it also ensures the formation of citizenship competencies of future specialists. In Latvia, citizenship education and human rights education can be acquired as an interdisciplinary system. This process is implemented in the context of changes and development, i.e., in a constructive context.
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