Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools:
Perspective of an Outsider

Anamika*Human rights education is an emerging field, and it is all encompassing in nature. It addresses the developmental aspects ofan individual in totality. It builds on cognition, attitude towards
and skills required for establishing respect for human rights in a society.
Human rights education contributes towards developing the ability to think
and act critically. The social and humane skills inculcated by human rights
education play a crucial role in assessing the circumstances of conflicts andpossibilities of resolution. Human rights education helps establish harmony
and unity in diversity. In a nutshell, human rights education helps individuals to feel the importance of human rights, internalize human rights values,
integrate them into their way of life, and give a sense of responsibility for
respecting and defending the rights of others.
A major responsibility of promoting awareness about human rights, developing pro human rights attitude and inculcating skills to protect and prevent human rights violation lies with primary school teachers. The teacher isthe link between the curriculum and the students. No curriculum can attainits objectives unless the teacher is transacting the content of human rights
as well as building on it by creating a human rights culture within as well as
outside the classroom.1 The development of human rights values, attitudes
and skills cannot be an outcome of a mere transmission of the knowledgeof the content of human rights, related regulations or legal texts or international conventions. For this, teaching must involve and establish a linkwith the daily life experiences of students and teachers. The present paper
is aimed towards discussing the pedagogy of human rights education with a*Ms. Anamika, PhD, is currently teaching at the Department of Elementary Education,
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She wishes to thank Professor TasoLing Fong, Professor Tung-Liao Cheng, Professor Pei-Ying Chen, Professor Mei-Ying Tang,
Professor Chia-Fan Lin and Professor Mab Huang for their critical comments, suggestions andconstant help extended to the author during her stay in Taipei.

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focus on the teacher as the main human agency involved in the educational
process.
Human Rights Education in Taiwan
Human rights education in Taiwan received impetus when the process of
democratization accelerated with the political reforms introduced by Lee
Teng-hui from 1988 onwards. It culminated when Taiwan adhered to theUnited Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (undhre) in 1997. The
United Nations declared the Decade for Human Rights Education spanning
the years from 1995 to 2004. Undhre led various initiatives to promote human rights education in different parts of the world, sometimes independently and sometimes in collaboration with the United Nations. Taiwan wasa little late in joining the decade program but it gradually speeded up its
efforts to catch up with other nations. The government, non-governmentalorganizations (ngos) and academicians joined hands and consequently various international seminars, workshops, and training programs on humanrights education came into being. There was a provision in the government
policy which empowered school administrators to further develop humanrights education in their school systems. As a result of this policy, a lot more
freedom was given to the schools in developing human rights education.
Following this some schools started teaching human rights as an independent but co-curricular subject. Realizing the vitality of human rights education, schools widened the scope of human rights by making it an integral
part of their school curriculum as well as culture. The Taiwanese scholars
expressed their unshakable faith in human rights culture and persistently
contributed through their writings, teaching and training to interns as wellas in-service teachers in creating and promoting the human rights culture
based school tradition in Taiwan.2
Following are the major initiatives and institutions involved in the development of human rights education in Taiwan.
a. Workshop on Human Rights Education
In November 1997, Professor Meiying Tang of Taipei Municipal
University of Education organized the Workshop on Human Rights
Education funded by the Taipei Bureau of Education. The Workshop wasplanned on a weekly basis (usually on Friday afternoons so that teachersHuman Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 119

could attend it after the school). Thirty teachers from primary and lower
secondary schools either voluntarily or on the recommendation of theirPrincipals attended the Workshop. The Workshop covered a wide range of
topics including concepts and history of human rights, child rights, constitutional protection of human rights, and planning and revision of teachingmaterials.
A separate session in the Workshop was convened for the planning andrevision of teaching materials. Fifteen teachers from primary and lower secondary schools formed four groups that performed different assignments
ranging from translation of international documents into simple Mandarin
to compilation and revision of teaching materials. One of the groups focusedon the development of materials and activities from case studies drawn fromtheir observations of students’ experiences in schools3 The Department of
Education, Taipei Municipal University of Education subsequently published A Handbook on Human Rights Education prepared by the group inaccordance with Nine-Year Universal Compulsory Education to integrate
human rights education into the curriculum.
In 1998, the Yang Ming University Crusades organized an “Education
Camp for Lower Secondary School Students”. The purpose of the conference was to spread the concept of human rights to villages and other remoteareas. The issues addressed by the conference included smoking, drinking,chewing betel nut and taking drugs.4
b. National and International Conferences
In late 1998, the Ministry of Education, Chang Fo-Chuan Centerfor the Study of Human Rights of Soochow University, Taipei Municipal
Teachers College and National Yang-Ming University jointly organized theInternational Conference on Human Rights Education in Taipei with the participation of educators from the U.S.A., Europe and the Asia-Pacific Human
Rights Information Center in Osaka, Japan In December 2009, a two-day
International Conference on Civics and Human Rights Education in Asia
that took place at Taipei Municipal University of Education addressed various issues pertaining to human rights education and its relationship withcitizenship education in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. University
scholars presented in the conference the theoretical framework of humanrights education, while teachers from primary schools presented their class-120

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i croom experiences and the results of their action research on human rights
education.
c. Human Rights Education Policy
The Ministry of Education (moe) issued in 2003 a blueprint in the formof a report on human rights education promotion and development. The
report has seven parts, of which four are discussed below. The first part discusses the need to promote human rights education. In this, then President
Chen Shui-bian’s commitment to promotion of human rights in Taiwan wasreiterated. There was also an urgency to improve the human rights situationin Taiwan and change the perception of the world regarding human rights
violations at home. How education could play a vital role in the promotion of human rights and lay the foundation for human rights culture wasdiscussed.
The second part defines human rights education and delineates fiveprinciples on which it is founded. The five underlying principles of humanrights education are:
1. Ability to espouse one’s rights: the individual clearly knows what
one’s rights are in a variety of social settings, and having sufficientsocial skills and abilities, stands up for [one’s] rights.
2. Willingness to espouse one’s own rights: aside from knowing one’s
own rights and standing up for them, one must have sufficient motivation to push oneself to fight for those rights.
3. Ability to respect others’ rights: the individual clearly knows therights of others in a variety of social settings and accepts others’
rights to espouse their rights.
4. Willingness to respect that others advocate their rights: the individual has the sufficient motivation to accept other people’s advocacy of their rights.
5. Concern for a society’s political, economic and cultural development that gradually tends towards social justice: the individual
knows, is capable, and willing to care about all aspects of a society’s
political, economic and cultural development, so that it may gradually move in the direction of social justice.5
According to the report, knowledge, ability, willingness and responsibility are the four domains crucial for the success of human rights educa-

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tion. They all work collectively. It is apparent that the absence of any of thesewould result in either partial or non-attainment of desired or expected results of human rights education.
The third part provides guidelines for the moe, i.e., what can the ministry do? In the answer to this question, the mou outlined the following
targets for itself: establish a human rights education promotional working
group, conduct workshops for human rights educators, establish a humanrights education guidance group and a human rights education resource
center, and prepare guidelines for conducting evaluation of human rights
education. Many of them have been implemented by the moe but it ought
to be an ongoing task. For instance, workshop for human rights educators
is not a one-time affair. It needs to be organized on a regular basis. It is anever-ending process just as the role the moe has to be continuing also.
The fourth part is on expectations from the schools. There are manysuggestions on what schools should do such as creation of a human rights
education school environment including both hardware and software facilities, introducing human rights education into the school curriculum andevaluation of the schools’ own human rights status.
In 1998, the cumulative effect of all these initiatives was moe’s decision to introduce human rights in the Grade I-IX Integrated Curriculumfor Primary and Lower Secondary School Education. The integrated curriculum had two components: seven main learning areas and ten basic skills:
Main learning area:
Languages: Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, aboriginal languages and English; Health and physical education including sex
education; Social studies including history, geography, civics,
economics, law, and human rights; Arts: music, visual arts, andperforming arts; Mathematics; Science: biology, physics, chemistry, earth science, environmental science, and life and information sciences; General activities: [use of ] computers, club activities, scouting, outdoor activities, and home economics.6
Basic skills:
Understand self, and develop one’s potential; Appreciation,
expression, and creation; Life and career planning; Lifelong
learning; Expression, communication, and sharing; Respect,compassion, and group cooperation; Cultural learning, international understanding; Planning, organization, and implementa-

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exploration and research; Independent thought and problem
solving.7
The seventeen learning areas and basic skills together formed the integrated curriculum for nine years. In other words, from grade I all the abovementioned learning areas and skills were to be taught and developed andevery successive stage would advance it further. All nine stages were interconnected and not to be skipped. It was expected that the nine-year integrated curriculum would broaden the spectrum of learning. Incorporationof human rights as part of social studies learning area illustrates the widening scope of the curriculum.
The promotion of human rights education was ensured not only byincorporating it into the social studies learning area but also by making it
part of extracurricular activities. The moe urged schools to make humanrights an integral part of their campus activities. For moe, human rights andhuman rights education concepts are defined as follows:[Human rights] are inherent rights and freedoms, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or social class. They are not subject todeprivation or violation on the part of any society or government; the opportunity for individual expression must even be
positively provided in order to respect individual dignity andseek the perfect life. Therefore, in actuality [human rights education] is concerned with education as to the dignity of humanity, which helps us understand the basic physiological, psychological and spiritual conditions that we must enjoy…“that whichmakes us human.”8
The moe’s interpretation of the concept of human rights and humanrights education is in accordance with Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (udhr). The thrust of human rights education is on human dignitythat cannot be degraded by any authority. In other words, the purpose ofhuman rights education is to sensitize and familiarize students about issuesof human rights and encourage them to actively participate in restoration ofhuman rights if they are violated in any form.

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d. Human Rights Education Committee of moe
The Human Rights Education Committee of moe, established in April
2001, was chaired by the Education Minister and with twenty-four members from different areas including scholars, experts, ngo and human rights
activists. In 2001, the Committee formed four sub-committees: 1) research,development and evaluation; 2) teacher education and curriculum planning; 3) social promotion and publicity; 4) campus environment. A study
called “Guidelines for Evaluation in Each School Level” was commissioned
to Professor Fong Chao-lin of National Chengchi University. Professor
Lin Chia-fan of National Taiwan Normal University was assigned a project called “Campus Regulations vs. Students’ Rights and Responsibilities:
Perspective from a Study of Legal Cases in the US and Taiwan”.
The Committee prepared guidelines to promote and protect humanrights education and human rights respectively. It was committed to improving the school campus environment by making it conducive to humanrights education. It also took initiative to conduct new researches in thefield of human rights. Entrusted with the responsibilities of curriculum development and training in human rights education, it was also expected tocooperate and collaborate with international human rights education agencies. The Committee sought directions from international institutions in thearena of human rights education.
e. Center for Law Related Education, Judicial Reform Foundation
Despite political reforms, old social and cultural contentions hindered
the practice of democracy in Taiwan. Three institutions - Chung Hwa
Rotary Education Foundation, Taipei Bar Association and Judicial Reform
Foundation - joined hands to combat this situation and promote democracy
down to the grassroots level. In May 2003, they initiated a project called thePlanting Seeds of Law-Related Education in Taiwan (paslrt). Their goal
was to develop a new kind of law-related education in place of old dogmatic
pedagogies with the purpose of preparing enlightened and responsible citizens committed to democratic principles in theory as well as in practice.
The Foundation was highly inspired by the efforts of the Center for
Civic Education (u.s.a.). The Center for Civic Education had developed aseries for K-2 and 3-6 grades called “Foundations of Democracy: Authority,
Privacy, Responsibility and Justice.” The human rights literature for primary school children attempts to provide functional as well as theoretical

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aspects of human rights to the young learners. There are four illustrated
books on Authority: Orb and Effy Learn about Authority, on Privacy: Jessica
Fish Learns about Privacy, on Responsibility: The Zookeeper Learns about
Responsibility, and on Justice: Fair Bears Learn about Justice. In December
2006, the paslrt translated the series into Mandarin and published fifteen
thousand copies for K-2 grades and ten thousand copies for grades 3-6.
The paslrt trained two hundred forty-eight lawyers to help and introduce
teachers to the Foundations of Democracy Series. Paslrt developed, adapted and replaced American laws into Taiwanese ones for 7-9 and 10-12 grades
materials.
f. Taiwan Association for Human Rights
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (tahr) was founded on
International Human Rights Day, 10 December 1984 to highlight the goaland purpose behind the establishment of the organization. In the beginning,tahr’s primary concern was to protect and promote the Taiwanese people’s
civil and political rights, mainly by freeing political prisoners and advocating scrapping of political blacklist (Taiwan Association for Human Rights,
2008). Tahr is truly committed to furthering the cause of human rights. It
is fighting on behalf of all people regardless of class, race, gender, religion
or nationality. It provides enormous help to protect the human rights offoreigners, most likely to be violated in the case of foreign labor from thePhilippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Tahr also ventures into human rights
education by organizing human rights training sessions and volunteer training programs, issues Online Human Rights Weekly, publishes Human Rights
Quarterly and Annual Human Rights Report, translates and publishes international publications on human rights into Mandarin, and organizes film
festivals to promote human rights.
g. Chang Fo-Chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights
In December 2000, the Chang Fo-Chuan Center for the Study of
Human Rights was established at Soochow University. The Center is named
after Chang Fo-Chuan who was a political scientist well known for his workon human rights theory and history. The purpose of the Center was to facilitate the development of a human rights culture by encouraging researchin human rights, peace and development, training teachers, developing
human rights materials for primary and lower secondary schools; to train

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human rights ngo workers; and to promote international exchange.9 The
Center was involved in various activities pertaining to human rights andhuman rights education. For the first time in the history of human rights
in Taiwan, it organized an “International Conference on National Human
Rights Commissions”. The Conference was in line with other initiatives tofulfill a pending demand to create a National Human Rights Commission of
Taiwan. Apart from organizing seminars, the Center also offers courses inhuman rights, peace and development with the help of experts in the fieldof human rights.
Study on Human Rights Education Pedagogy
a. Rationale for the Study
Human rights education is growing its roots and branches in Taiwan.
More and more primary schools are joining the league of institutions where
human rights education is an integral part of school curriculum and culture. Not much documentation and discussion is available on human rights
education at this level. This study is an attempt to throw light on how human rights education is promoted and practiced at the primary schoollevel by impassionate Taiwanese teachers. The premise of the study is thatthe pedagogical beliefs and praxis of a teacher are central to the successful implementation of human rights education at the primary school level.
Researches have shown that inculcation of human rights should begin as
early as possible.10 The role of the teacher in human rights education is paramount and needs to be perused as much as possible. This study attempts to
document and share the findings of a research conducted to probe the roleof primary school teachers in promoting human rights culture among adolescents that the wider academia can ponder and reflect upon. It also throws
light on the praxis of the human rights educator.
b. Sample of the Study
The study involved three sixth grade teachers in Taipei. Their pseudonyms are Miss Zhang, Miss Ma and Miss Xie. The data for the researchwere collected from these primary school teachers. The information is directly attained from the subjects with help of interviews and classroom observations and formed the basis of the present study.

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cc. Research Methodology
The study employs critical qualitative research method, one of several
genres of inquiry into non-quantifiable features of social research.11 The basic premise of criticalist scholars is that inequality, oppression, and unequal
power relations are the main features of all societies whether they are hidden or apparent. Hence, the purpose of critical qualitative research is not
only to expose such disparities but also ensure social change through unbiased research. The application of critical qualitative research to study thepedagogy of human rights education can yield rich dividends.
In critical qualitative research, critical epistemology is used as a conceptual tool to conduct inquiry. Critical epistemology provides the principles for conducting valid inquiries into any area of human experience,12
including the present one in which it provides the framework for a better
understanding of the problem, conduct valid research, analyze data and produce effective results. A valid research is based on validity claim. Validity
claim entails, first, the procedure followed to come to a claim, and, second,
the acceptance of it by a certain social or cultural group. Carspecken categorized validity claims into three sets: objective, subjective and normative.
The objective category includes existing things and events that are directly
accessible to all; for example, classroom observation notes, recording or videotaping. The subjective category includes feelings, desires, intentions andstates of mind that are directly accessible only to the subject-actor. The observer does not have a direct access to these and has to rely almost entirelyon versions received from the subject. There is always a possibility that thewhole picture is not presented by the subject. In the normative category,value claims play an important role.13 Value claims are a subset of normative
truth claims because these are concerned with what is good, bad, right, andwrong, but include also ideas about what is proper, and what is appropriate;that is, what behaviors ought to be exhibited in which circumstances.14 The
normative category includes consensus about an activity or event whether
it is proper and appropriate. As claims, they impose on others by tacitly
insisting that the other should conform to a certain convention. In the academic world, there is a broad agreement among scholars over value-based
norms. In a nutshell, objective category denotes “the world”, subjective category indicates “my world” and normative category implies “our world.” On
the basis of the three validity claims categories, five stages have evolved in
critical qualitative research: (1) compiling primary record, (2) preliminary

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reconstructive analysis, (3) dialogical data generation, (4) describing system
relations, and (5) system relations as explanations of findings.15 These stages
are flexible and circular in nature, and carry the possibilities of frequent referring back to the earlier or later stages while conducting research. The research questions have been substantiated with many more questions asked
during interviews as well as in informal conversations with interviewees.16
Stage I: Compiling Primary Record
For the present research the primary data came from interviews, while
the data generated by observations were used to substantiate and validate
the findings of the primary data. The research began with an introduction
with the teachers. The introductory interview was meant to probe their personal backgrounds as well as reasons for choosing the teaching profession.
It is premised that those teachers who come into teaching profession bychoice are more enthusiastic about innovation in their teaching practices
and they enjoy their work more. On teaching of human rights, apart fromcommitment to them (human rights), it is also necessary for a teacher toenjoy her profession from the bottom of her heart.17 Interviews with thesubjects of this study provided an opportunity to fathom the depth of theteachers’ feelings, values and belief systems. It provided insight into the cultural background of the teachers. It also helped in reading the psyche of theteachers to the extent that one possibly could. I developed rapport with theteachers as well as a relationship of trust. As a result, I was able to establish asmooth line of communication with them. We were engaged in continuous
dialogue around human rights and human rights education. It is important
to mention that the subjects of this research were very comfortable with thequestions that were put forward. Their answers were not one-liners; they
were elaborating their statements, opinions and arguments as well as offering clarifications. An excerpt from Ms. Xie’s18 interview illustrates the point:
There is very little material on human rights teachingavailable in Chinese. Almost everything on human rights is in
English. This makes human rights very “alien” to Taiwaneseteachers. There are two reasons to call it “alien”. First it was never a part of Taiwanese culture, being born in western societies.
Second, the literature pertaining to it is primarily available in
English and European languages. There are a few attempts totranslate the available content into Chinese. Some authors are
writing on human rights in Chinese but it is not enough. I think128

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if adequate material on human rights can be made available in
Chinese to the teachers this problem can be solved. As it comes
down to us from the West, the examples, events, situations, andincidents mentioned in the literature are alien to us. I also try tocorrelate and contextualize human rights concepts, issues, andincidents to Taiwanese conditions. It is difficult but a challenging enterprise.
The above quotation is an excerpt from the interview transcript of Ms.
Xie on the question of the problem she faces while teaching human rights inher classroom. She gave elaborate answers with reasons and explanations on
the efforts she was putting to overcome the problems. The interview transcript served as primary record because it provided categories, patterns andthemes for analysis. The importance of these interviews made careful transcription absolutely necessary.
The second level of the compilation of the primary record was of observation. By observing these teachers I tried to see whether they werepracticing in the classrooms or not the values and ethos mentioned in theinterviews. In stage one of the present study, various tools, such as intensive
field notes (with all the details), observations, audio and video recording(with the permission of the teacher) were simultaneously used. The detailsof the context of all classroom observations and interviews were recorded inadvance. Sometimes the context of observations and interviews was different from the previous meeting. The change was either subtle or significant.
Such minor or major contextual changes are required to be incorporated
in the compilation of primary record. These changes affected the teachers’
pedagogic practices.
Stage II: Preliminary Reconstructive Analysis
Once a substantial amount of thick observation records was available,
the process of inferring and reconstructing meanings out of them began.
This deduction was inter-subjective in nature because inferences were basedon the observer assuming the position of the subject and the third person(other than observer and observed). Taking various positions was not aneasy task. I was aware of the moments when my personal point of view was
influencing the analysis. I formulated a wide horizon of meaning field on
the selected sections of transcription. The selection of main sections fromtranscription was based purely on research questions that I was interested
in. At another level of reconstruction, I took into account the normativeHuman Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 129

factors that made these meanings possible. All social acts derive their meanings from the background sets of rules.19 In other words, normative factors
provide validity and reasons (i.e., why certain meaning has been derived) tothe reconstructed meanings. Stage II provided the foundation for the nextstage of analysis when the subjects were also involved to further clarify the
preliminary reconstruction.
Stage III: Dialogical Data Generation
In stage three, I involved the subject into the analysis process by giving
her an opportunity to reflect on the various issues and meanings constructed in stage two. This was a more democratic process of analysis because thesubjects had a voice in it. There are no fixed rules or time for the beginningof stage three. It primarily depends on the researcher and her sense of judgment. When the researcher is certain about the thickness of primary record,
the third stage begins automatically. Without enough and firm grounding
in the primary record, the third stage cannot be started. This stage not only
generates dialogical data with the help of preliminary informal interviews
and discussions but also provides conviction for the method on which research is conducted.
Stage IV: Describing System Relations
In the context of the present study, system relations denote the relationship between teaching and the teacher’s cultural background. The subjectsof this study are primary school teachers, who come from a wider social set
up that functions in a micro school site, and who embodied beliefs, values,
opinions and ideas about issues that are culture specific. When they enter
the classroom, they do not put these aside and transform themselves intoa different being. For example, if a teacher has strong opinions about race,
gender, and class these will be reflected in her classroom teaching as well,
overtly or covertly. Thus, the researcher needs to examine the full cultural
settings of her subjects. To fully reconstruct the culture of the subjects, I
spent time with the subject outside the classroom, in teacher’s lounge, in assembly, etc. In one instance, the parent of her student came to the school totalk to her. I requested the teacher to permit me to sit and observe the meeting. The teacher allowed me to be a silent observer during the discussion.
The session helped me to gather information about communication andproblem solving skills of the teacher as well as values she believed in. After130

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cthey finished the discussion and reached a solution on how to deal withthe problem, their conversation became informal. Interestingly, the informal talk gave glimpses of the social background and lifestyle of the teacher.
She was speaking about her childhood experience. She told the parent how
her parents especially her father was too sensitive toward his children. “Healways handled the situation calmly. He believed in communication insteadof imposing authority.” She made it clear to the parent that by being strict
with her son she could not eradicate the problem. She said her father could
only win over his children with love and understanding. She thus suggested
to the parent to be patient with the child and establish a line of communication first.
This was an example of how the teacher’s family background guided
her decision-making process. She was endorsing the ethos and practices she
had experienced in her childhood and found to be favorable to the healthof parent-child relationship. In this instance, the nature of the solution offered showed that she was trying to change the conventional authoritarian
attitude of parents towards their child that sought solution in discipline andpunishment. For her, the integrity of the child was important and for thisreason she did not want the mother to do anything which would make thechild feel culpable or guilty.
Stage V: System Relations as Explanations of Findings
This stage explains findings in the wider context of society. No qualitative study can be restricted to the classroom or the school. Since the present
study is concerned with teachers and their pedagogy of human rights education, at this stage it would be relevant to ask the question whether or notthere can be a general theory of pedagogy of human rights education thatcan be applied to various settings, first to understand its undercurrents andsecond to make its implications in a particular context more effective.
Research Setting
The primary school selected was located in Taipei County. The school had
around three thousand students. The number of students in the school had
started decreasing due to demographic change, a sharp decrease in thenumber of children in Taiwan. To make up for the shortfall, the school was
working to attract students from distant places. Competition for students

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among schools had ensured that they had something extra to offer to attract
parents. This school was also not untouched by the problem of competition. In response, it had come up with a new idea of citizenship and humanrights education. The aim of introducing citizenship and human rights education was to prepare good and just citizens for Taiwan in the future. The
other notable features of the school life were sports and music. The aim of
the school was to let students decide what they would like to do. “We try
to let their creativity unfold. We believe every student has a special ability
and our effort is to develop every student’s special ability fully.”20 The school
was getting funds from Taipei County Government. The infrastructure of
the school was very good. Every classroom was equipped with a computer,video projector, lcd (liquid crystal display) screen, microphone, speakers,a small library (apart from the main library), comfortable desks and chairs,
and other basic amenities.
The keystone of an institution is the head. The smooth functioning of
any institution depends on the capacity, ability and leadership skills of thehead. The principal of this school was a man of deeds. He was doing every
possible effort ranging from infrastructural development to introductionof new courses (human rights education, citizenship education) to the development of teachers’ potential through in-service training to giving them
freedom to create and innovate in their respective fields. A very remarkable
initiative started in his leadership was collaboration between the school andthe community.21 More than a hundred parents were serving as volunteers,
helping the school in various ways, such as helping students of the school
in crossing the busy road in front of the school; parents taking classes whenteachers were busy attending meetings; telling stories to the students; helping the school in preparing skits and other programs; and providing educational help to weak students of the school.
Grade six, the site of my research, consisted of twenty-five students. At
the time I started my fieldwork, the teacher was teaching a theme on privacy. Thus, the observation was based on the delivery of the topic of privacy
taught in the context of human rights and citizenship education. It took seven weeks to complete the theme. The topic had both theoretical and practical components. After discussing the issue of privacy in theory, a practicalactivity was conducted called public hearing. In the public hearing, students
played different roles such as teachers, students, parents, officials, memberof the police, member of an ngo and human rights activist. The audience

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consisted of representatives from the community, parents and personnel ofthe Ministry of Education. The public hearing raised the issues of privacy
from the perspective of human rights. It was a very enriching experience not
only for students but also for everyone present there.
Pedagogy of Human Rights Education and Educators
The teachers represented in this study had their own definition of humanrights that do not cover all elements of human rights espoused by the udhrsuch as human dignity or equality. Zhang believed that human rights shouldbe the basic principle of the code of conduct for teachers, students, administrators and all other members of a society. Ma said that, “Human rights
are for human dignity what oxygen is for human existence.” Human rights
are necessary for the survival of any democratic society. Xie thought thathuman rights were vital to human existence and always came with responsibilities. All the three teachers perceived human rights differently according
to their beliefs and value system.
Characteristics of Human Rights Educators
During this study the following characteristics were observed generally inall three teachers. These were: critical thinking, commitment and belief inhuman rights, belief in efficacy of human rights education, belief in democratic communication instead of giving instruction, zeal of a learner, facilitator not controller, observer, activist, ability to handle challenges, patience,and tolerance. Some of the characteristics were dominant in some teachers
but all the characteristics were present in different degrees.
Now the crucial question is whether these qualities are specific tohuman rights educators or are they likewise present in other teachers.
Answering this question is a bit difficult and the present study did not undertake a probe on this matter. But my own experience as a student and ateacher at a primary school offers some insights on the issue. Teachers who
do not believe in human rights and do not practice them are not capable ofrespecting children’s rights as human beings. Their classes tend to be moreauthoritative than democratic. They will seldom allow critical thinking to
be a part of their pedagogy because it curtails their power and puts a question mark on their classroom behavior. Their classes are always quiet; in theHuman Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 133

name of discipline, no discussion is required or allowed because the teacher’s words are final.
Educators’ Perception of Pedagogy for Human Rights Education
This is a subjective category and thus deals with the values, beliefs, attitudes,
and ideals of teachers. Zhang argued that human rights education should
be started from the very beginning of schooling. It should be sown early
like a seed so that it could gradually grow into a plant. To create a cultureof human rights in a society it is important that human rights education be
introduced as early as possible. Zhang further substantiated this argument
by stressing that human rights education was not only meant for students
but for teachers as well. She found the concept of human rights education
very abstract and imbued with legal precepts that require an understanding that can only be acquired by training. Ma believed that human rights
education created a culture of respect not only for those who came from thesame culture but for those also who were from other cultures, ethnicities,
societies, or countries. Human rights education was also meant to destroy
misconceptions that students form at home and bring to the schools as amatter of fact. Xie was extremely positive and optimistic about enculturation of human rights in a society with the help of human rights education.
For her it was a never-ending process that had the potential to change themindset of people in a society. In a nutshell, human rights education createsa culture that is founded on human dignity and also weakens and demolishes that culture which ignores or humiliates the dignity of an individual.
Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Praxis
The three teachers of the present study employed in different degrees various teaching-learning approaches and models. Their selection of the teaching-learning approaches and models relied on their perception of humanrights and human rights education and their pedagogic beliefs and practices. Zhang believed in how to think, not in what to think. She did not
believe in dominating the teaching-learning process. She denounced the
traditional role of a teacher as an instructor. She provided with the required
basic facts and information regarding the theme that was being discussed in
the classroom. Her pedagogy of human rights education was based on re-

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cconstructionist approach where the process of thinking was important. Thisapproach perceives a phenomenon from a critical perspective. In addition,
she based her pedagogy on accountability model too. It is a model foundedon the legal approach and prepares the students to deal with human rights
violations legally. In practicing the accountability model, Zhang’s husband
helped her. He was a law graduate and had a good understanding of the legal aspects of human rights. He would accompany Zhang in her classroom
and make a presentation of law-related matters. Zhang’s pedagogy also had
an element of international standards and institutions approach. In this approach, the international human rights standards (mainly those adopted by
the UN) are being followed. Zhang’s human rights education pedagogy was
always a process in the making and she visited websites of the UN to seekmaterials for teaching human rights.
Ma’s human rights education pedagogy developed in phases. She started
with environmental education and gradually moved to human rights education issues discussed in Social Studies. Later, she realized that Social Studies’
classes were not enough to deal with human rights education. To fill thislacuna she integrated human rights education into her whole curriculum.
With the integration, human rights education had no specific time or subject in the curriculum. Human rights concepts circulated throughout her
curriculum from bottom up and top down as blood in the veins. Ma’s human rights education pedagogy was based on transformational model thatemphasized activism. Ma herself was a human rights activist. She always included documentaries or films that depicted activism of the lead character.
The “alien nature” of human rights shaped Xie’s pedagogy. Her humanrights education pedagogy heavily relied on multimedia to give humanrights education a concrete as well as local touch. Her human rights education pedagogy also followed the historical approach, which studied humanrights in historical context. History became the foundation of human rights
education insofar as human rights were derived from and defined out of the
lived history of human beings.22 Xie screened movies such as The Diary ofAnne Frank and The Color Purple. These films have a historical backgroundas well as lived experiences of an individual. Her human rights education
pedagogy was based on value awareness model, which required teachers toengage their students through different forms of media to inculcate interestin human rights and human rights education.

Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 135

Human Rights Education Content
In Taipei, the human rights education is done using Social Studies textbooks
and content themes in co-curricular subjects. The themes include privacy,
justice, democracy, authority, human world, family and raising boy and girl,society and country’s responsibilities, global village culture, scientific revolution, industrial revolution, modern science and technology, science andtechnology management, united world, environmental problems, and international organizations such as Red Cross, UN, World Trade Organization(wto), World Health Organization (who), Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (apec). There were also themes on international law, institutions and environmental issues. The focus of the curriculum is in tune with
the ideals of human rights education. Teachers directly teach these themes.
Some other contents not prescribed in the curriculum but taught by humanrights teachers consist generally of skills and attitudes, such as critical thinking, tolerance, patience, activism, problem solving skills and better communication skills. These skills are considered very important in the practice ofhuman rights in society.
Problems and Challenges Faced
The teachers in the present study expressed the problems and obstacles
they have experienced. Zhang showed utmost concern over the issue of theteacher as human rights violator. She also thought that a significant numberof teachers in Taiwan were - knowingly or unknowingly - human rights violators. They were violating human rights in various ways. They were imbued
with a sense of authority over students. They expected their students to follow them without questioning their authority. Zhang saw the Taiwanese examination system as the greatest violator of human rights, especially childrights. Education psychology has reached a level of maturity but it is still
unable to convince people that every individual is different and has special
abilities. If those abilities are recognized at the right time and developed in
the right direction, the individual can attain greater success. On the contrary, every parent wants her/his child to become not less than a doctor,
engineer or scientist. To attain these goals, the hurdle of examination has tobe crossed. The realization of these cherished dreams depends on how efficiently and ruthlessly the examinations have to be passed by the students.

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Another problem in implementing human rights education is availabilityof materials on human rights in the Mandarin language. It has been further accentuated by insufficient training of teachers in the area of humanrights education. In Zhang’s opinion, human rights concepts are not alien toteachers but how to teach them to primary students is altogether a different
story unless they are thoroughly trained in it.
Ma was not very happy with whatever progress Taiwanese society had
made. Improvement in economic arena had raised living standards but failed
to bring ethical, moral, humane, judicious, and equality-based standards tothe society. It had filled the income gap among the masses but failed to narrow down the gulf of gender inequality, class, race (aborigines vs. Hakka,
Hoklo and Han), and color bar. On the other hand, the society was legitimizing them by endorsing them in various subtle ways. Ma held that teaching
human rights is like waging war against the whole society’s mentality that is
weakening the ground for human rights. Ma saw the Taiwanese education
system as an eyesore for human rights and human rights education since it
was not in accordance with human rights at all. First of all, it was a teachercentric system where teachers spoke and students listened. Second, there
was no scope for innovation insofar as a teacher had to follow the curriculum mechanically. Insofar as human rights education is all about innovation,
it is not a subject to mug up facts and regurgitate in the exams. Human rights
education promotes a culture that questions the education system itself for
not being human rights-friendly. The pressure of examination on students isincreasing at an unprecedented speed. Another impediment is the absenceof a comprehensive evaluation system of primary school teachers in Taiwan.
Ma said, “In Taiwan, lots of teachers do not teach properly and nobody goesand check on them but they know what they are doing and still go on withthat.” When the general evaluation system is so feeble one can imagine what
could be the situation of evaluation of human rights education.
Xie felt that Taiwanese parents were over protective of their children.
This tendency affected the development of children in many ways. Taiwanesechildren are indeed highly dependent on their parents for every small or big
thing. The parents took decisions for them regarding all matters. Xie asserted that the overprotective behavior of Taiwanese parents did not go wellwith the idea of human rights. When students learn about human rights
they complain that none, other than their parents, has encroached upon
their rights. Xie also felt that human rights education was a fairly recent

Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 137

phenomenon in the Taiwanese educational arena. Being in its initial stage,
human rights education is bound to be dependent on the outside world forvarious things ranging from subject material on human rights for teaching
to how to teach them in a classroom situation.
Possibility of a Theory of Pedagogy of Human Rights Education
In social research the context plays an important role.23 As far as the findings of the present research are concerned, they indicate that social context
is actually quite important. For instance, in Taipei, teaching of human rights
in English is not possible and the human rights content has to be translated
into Mandarin. In addition, the examples used in English literature have tobe reinforced with local examples because every example has a cultural andsocial context. Students would better understand those examples that are
directly coming from their social and cultural milieu because they would be
already familiar with the background. Successful implementation of humanrights education, therefore, requires contextualization.
The eight principles of human rights are human dignity, equality, nondiscrimination, universality, interdependence, indivisibility, inalienability,
and responsibility. These principles provide a ground for general pedagogyof human rights education. These principles are the same everywhere andneed to be practiced and upheld. For instance, human dignity is not different from that of a Taiwanese individual to that of an American or European
individual for that matter. So, these principles can become a beckon lightfor human rights educators to guide their pedagogical beliefs, values andpractices. In addition to the human rights principles, udhr is another standard that needs to be followed by every nation.24 The pedagogy of humanrights education has certain approaches and models that present themselves
as standard approaches and models. The beauty of these approaches andmodels is that they can be applied by any human rights educator in any
context because they are guided by international human rights standards.
In addition to that there are some skills and attitudes, such as critical thinking, commitment and strong belief in human rights, belief in efficacy of human rights education, belief in democratic communication, patience, tolerance, responsibility, and strength to fight for one’s as well as others’ humanrights. These are applicable in any context because relationships are guided
by power structure and herein lies a great possibility of violation of human138

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i crights. Thus, it is conceivable to have a general pedagogy of human rights
education that can be applied in any context.
System Relations as Explanations of Findings
This section explains the findings in the research on the wider context ofsociety. No qualitative study can be restricted to classroom or the school.
Since the present study is concerned with teachers and their pedagogy ofhuman rights education, at this stage it would be relevant to ask the question on how external systems support or constrain the purpose, agenda, andcause of human rights education at the level of policy, content, pedagogic
beliefs and practices.
Governmental Support/Constrain
In the case of Taiwan, the announcement to adhere to the UN Decadefor Human Rights Education was part of an initiative to join the UN. By thisact of the Taiwanese government, Taiwan was sending the message that it
followed UN regulations, and accepted the importance of this internationalorganization. All this constituted a subtle indication of its willingness to join
the UN as a member-state. It is interesting to note that it was during the
Democratic Progressive Party’s (dpp) rule that Taiwan organized its efforts
to promote Taiwan. Thus, the dpp’s ideology is more in coherence with theidea of human rights. Ever since the Kuomintang (kmt) government came
to power in 2008 human rights education projects have either slowed down
or stopped.
NGOs and INGOs Role
International ngos (ingos) are nonprofit organizations with international perspective on development, education and human rights. They generally operate from Western nations. On the other hand, ngos or domesticorganizations function within a nation. Some are truly “grassroots” organizations.25 Orlin notes that ngos are the “Human Rights Gatekeepers” andrely on the human rights theory for legitimacy.26 Boli and Thomas (1997)
argued that ingos form a “world culture.” 27 They identified the principles
of universalism, individualism, rationalist voluntaristic authority,28 rational
progress, and world citizenship as the central elements of “world culture.”29
These principles of ingos are consistent with human rights, human rights

Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 139

education and human rights culture. Hence, ingos and ngos play the roleof catalysts in propagating human rights culture by promoting “world culture.” The goal of human rights culture is achieved especially through educational instruments and means, i.e., human rights education. In the case of
Taiwan, ngos are supporting the cause of human rights and human rights
education because it matches with their purpose and ideology.
Teacher’s Authority and Power Relations
All relations are mediated by power.30 The powerful tend to assert authority over those who are subordinate. In other words, there is a hierarchyof structures bound with power relations to dominate the downtrodden. In
the education system the hierarchy goes like this: Minister of Education,
education secretary, education officer, principal, vice-principal, teacher, andstudent. On this ladder, teachers and students are at the lowest level. The
teacher has authority to wield only inside the classroom. In turn, classrooms
also become the place for teachers to vent out their frustrations, and examples of this can be seen everywhere. But the present study found that
this system relations was not reproduced in the classrooms of human rights
educators. Human rights educators had a different relationship with theirstudents. Their relationship with the students was almost on an equal plane.
Human rights educators of this study did not believe in exercising their authority over children. They respected students’ rights as individuals. Zhang
believed that a successful pedagogy of human rights education depended on
the nature of interaction between the teacher and the students. Ma treated
her students as responsible individuals. Xie advocated that a friendly, democratic, and trustworthy relationship between the teacher and the student
was the need of the time.
Conclusion and Recommendations
When it becomes a program, hopelessness paralyzes us,
immobilizes us. We succumb to fatalism, and then it becomes
impossible to muster the strength we absolutely need for a fierce
struggle that will re-create the world. I am hopeful, not out ofmere stubbornness, but out of an existential concrete imperative. I do not mean that, because I am hopeful, I attribute to thishope of mine the power to transform reality all by itself, so that I
set out for the fray without taking account of concrete, material
data, declaring, “My hope is enough!” No, my hope is necessary,

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but it is not enough. Alone, it does not win. But without it, mystruggle will be weak and wobbly. We need critical hope the way
a fish needs unpolluted water.31
The contemporary world is scarred with human rights violations.
Exploitation of the downtrodden is rampant at all levels, individual, social,economic, cultural, and political. This dismal scenario may lead to hopelessness, but the pedagogy of human rights shows us a ray of hope reminiscentof what Paolo Freire mentioned above. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights purports to establish a human rights-based culture. Human rights
education is an instrument for achieving empowerment that prepares theground for human rights culture in a society. To bring the “hope” closer toreality, it is necessary to have a properly carved out educational programand passionate efforts on the part of those involved in this program. Carter
and Osler have argued that it is only through education, both experiential
and cognitive, that human rights education would be achieved.32 The community of teachers would undoubtedly play the most important role in the
program of human rights education. A curriculum is only as powerful as theteacher using it.33 Thus, it is not the content of human rights but the pedagogy of a teacher that will determine the efficacy of human rights educationand promotion of human rights. This chapter concludes the present workwith the “hope” shown by Freire that the reality would be transformed andthe teaching community along with their students would restore degradedhuman dignity. The chapter also presents some recommendations to realize
the hope to have a human rights-based culture.
Teacher as an Agency of Human Rights Education
Best (1991) stated that defending and promoting human rights education is largely a matter of education and it depends on the attitudes andefforts of teachers.34 A human rights educator must be endowed with, ordevelop, abilities, values and beliefs that are essential for teaching humanrights. A human rights educator must have a firm belief in the necessity andefficacy of human rights for bringing social transformation. A teacher mustpractice human rights in the classroom as well as outside of it. A humanrights educator must see social disparities, inequalities, and discrepancies
from a critical perspective. The critical perspective on issues prepares theground for human rights implementation. Without the critical perspective,
one cannot see the rationale behind things and the way they exist. For in-Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 141

stance, the presence of stark economic disparities is not God-given but ahuman-made situation and hence not sacrosanct. The critical perspective
proposes that if it is human-made it can be changed. Thus, it is imperative
for a human rights educator to analyze social conditions critically and instill
the same ability among the students as well.
Institutionalization of Human Rights Education
During the UN Decade for Human Rights Education, the field was institutionalized through development of an internationally framed and produced curriculum and methodology supported by various governmental
and nongovernmental human rights centers.35 Institutionalization of human rights as a culture is not possible until national governments take up
the issue seriously. In the beginning, the Taiwanese government showed akeen interest and devised a policy pertaining to human rights education.
Unfortunately, now the government is largely silent about human rights education. It is extremely important to shake the indifference of governments
so that they fulfilled their duties.
The UN is contributing to human rights education endeavor in many
ways but the process is very slow and it does not reach all countries. Taiwan
is not a member of the UN and due to this she does not have access tomany human rights education resources, experts, or emoluments of the UN.
Taiwan is working hard to curb human rights violations and to promote
human rights education. Keeping this into consideration, the UN should
provide its assistance and expertise for furtherance of human rights and human rights education in Taiwan. The UN announced the Decade for Human
Rights Education in 1994 that led many countries to think about introducing
human rights education in their school curriculum. The decade had certainly produced significant results in the realm of human rights education.
The UN has to urgently think of practical interventions to mobilize and rejuvenate the slowing down of efforts in various parts of the world on humanrights education.
After UN it is the ingos and ngos that should be looked at for reviving the spirit of promoting human rights education at rapid pace. It istrue that whatever life human rights education program has is largely due
to the interest shown by ingos and ingos. In Taiwan these organizations
are contributing to the cause of human rights and human rights education.
By providing resource materials, translating English sources into Chinese,

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cproviding assistance in human rights education training for teachers, andspreading awareness among the masses, the ngos in Taiwan are working in
the direction of institutionalization of human rights and human rights education. This is an example that could be followed by other nations.
Ngos have tremendous potential, a wider base, direct contact withpeople, and can establish relations with the schools too. Human rights education program has to be implemented by these organizations. Amnesty
International is working for human rights zealously. It has programs related
to human rights education that need to be expanded further. It has online
resource materials for teaching human rights but they have to be purchased.
Amnesty International would have to think about it and make at least someresources if not all available for free.
Another segment of the society that can improve human rights education is academicians. Academicians tend to shift the emphasis from outcomes to the values that create and inform the outcomes.36 They contribute in expanding the knowledge base of human rights education. They are
working on almost every aspect of human rights education from theories toteaching methodologies; from approaches to models, problems, challenges,
etc. Their work is scholarly but technical. If these scholars can communicate
in a language and style that could be fully grasped by human rights educators it would produce better results. This would ensure that their work isused smoothly in the classrooms. This would enhance their contribution to
the world of human rights education exponentially.
Importance of Training in Human Rights Education
Magendzo is of the opinion that many teachers not only lack the knowledge of international and national human rights instruments and institutions, they are also unprepared emotionally, pedagogically and culturally toteach human rights.37 The biggest challenge in front of human rights education is to ensure proper and quality training in human rights education forprospective and in-service teachers. There is no program for this in Taiwan,
only some training programs or workshops are being organized as sporadic
efforts by ngos or teacher educators in Taiwanese universities. The teacher
is instrumental in human rights education and until she/he is trained forteaching human rights successful translation of human rights education is
not possible. Sebaly prescribed that incorporation of human rights education in teacher preparation program will certainly help the teachers in incul-

Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 143

cating human rights perspectives and skills among their students.38 Teacher
education colleges and institutes have to prepare a comprehensive blue printof training in human rights education. Incorporating concepts, themes, andissues of human rights into training syllabus is easier compared to the main
challenge of providing these trainees practical or field experience. For this,the teacher training institutions need to liaise with ngos in their areas andarrange for fieldwork. Association with ngos would provide future teachers
an exposure to ways of addressing human rights violations including providing comfort and justice to the victims. In addition, they have to carrythe zeal forward into their classrooms and further to the society along with
their students. It is a long drawn and difficult process, sometimes disheartening and tiring, but human rights educators must not compromise with
their commitment to human rights.
Endnotes
1
Paolo Freire (1998) strongly put forward the view that teaching is a human act
and the role of the teacher is more than transferring knowledge of the subject matter.
2
For a discussion on this point, see articles on human rights education in Taiwan
published in the various volumes of Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific, available at www.hurights.or.jp/archives/asia-pacific/.
3
Mei-Ying Tang, “Human Rights Education in Taiwan: The Experience of theWorkshops for School Teachers,” in Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, vol.
2, 1999/March, page 163.
4
Mab Huang, “Human Rights in Taiwan: Current Situation and Future
Challenges,” in Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, vol. 9, 2006/March, page76.
5
Ministry of Education, “Human Rights Education: Promotion and Cultivation,”(Taipei: Ministry of Education, 2003), page 9.
6Huang, op. cit, page 74.
7
President Li cited in C.P. Chou and A.H. Ho, “Schooling in Taiwan,” in G.A.
Postiglione and J. Tan, Going to School in East Asia (Westport: Greenwood Press,
2007), pages 344-377.
8
Ministry of Education, op.cit, pages, 15-16.
9Huang, op.cit, page 76.
10
B.A. Reardon, Educating for human dignity: Learning about rights and responsibilities (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995).
11
See P.F. Carspecken, Critical Ethnography in Education (New York: Routledge,
1996), page 3.
12
Ibid., page 8.
13
Norms and values are distinct but internally connected.
14Carspecken, op.cit, page 82.

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Philip F. Carspecken, and Michael.W. Apple, “Critical Qualitative Research,
Theory, Method, and Practice,” in M. LeComte, W. Millroy and J. Preissley, Handbookof Qualitative Research in Education (San Diego, CA: Academic, 1992). For latest
discussion see Carspecken, op. cit, page 84.
16
Informal conversations generally centered on the various aspects of the research and were also documented.
17
Nancy Flowers, “What is Human Rights Education?,” text can be found on
www.hrea.org/pubs/HREA=Research-in-HRE-Papers_issue1.pdf
18
The surnames used in the paper are pseudonyms.
19
Anthony Giddens, Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, andContradiction in Social Analysis (London: Macmillan, 1979).
20
Inputs from a person in charge of in-service teacher education and curriculum
development in the school.
21
I found that this is increasingly becoming a common practice in Taiwanese
schools.
22
See Reardon, op. cit., page 8.
23
Carspecken, op.cit, page 35.
24
Judith Torney-Purta, “Human Rights and Education Viewed in a Comparative
Framework: Synthesis and Conclusions,” in Norma Bernstein Tarrow, Human Rights
and Education (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1987), page, 224.
25
Hartmut Scharfe, Education in Ancient India (Leiden: Brill, 2002), page 70.
26
T. S. Orlin, On Human Rights Education (Utica, NY: Utica College, 1998), page1.
27
John Boli and George M. Thomas, “World culture in the world polity: A century of international non-governmental organization,” American Sociological Review,
vol. 62(2), 171.
28
Rational Voluntaristic Authority is a model which holds that INGOs attempt
to organize the world on the issue of human rights with the help of democratic processess such as debate.
29
Ibid., page 171.
30
Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison (NewYork: Vintage/Random House, 1979), passim.
31
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed(London: Continuum, 1994), page 2.
32
Charlotte Carter and Audrey Osler, “Human Rights, Identities and Conflict
Management: A Study of School Culture as Experienced through Classroom
Relationships,” Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 30(3), 2000, 355.
33
Felisa Tibbitts, Literature review on outcomes of school-based programs related
to “Learning To Live Together,” (UNESCO: International Bureau of Education, 2005).
34
Francine Best, “Human Rights Education and Teacher Training,” in Hugh
Starkey, The Challenge of Human Rights Education (London: Cassell, Council ofEurope, 1991), page 140.
35
Sharon Sliwinski, “Thinking without banisters: Toward a compassionate inquiry into human rights education,” Educational Theory, vol. 55(2), 2005, 221.
15

Human Rights Education Pedagogy in Taipei Primary Schools: Perspective of an Outsider 145

Flowers, op.cit, page 8.
Magendzo, op.cit, page 140.
38
Kim Sebaly, “Education about Human Rights: Teacher Preparation,” in Norma
Bernstein Tarrow, Human Rights and Education (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1987),
page 207.
3637