Educating for Human Rights and Global Citizenship

Essays that highlight the role of education in bringing about inclusive citizenship and human rights norms.

Nearly sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in spite of progress on some fronts, we are in many cases as far away as ever from achieving an inclusive citizenship and human rights for all. While human rights violations continue to affect millions across the world, there are also ongoing contestations regarding citizenship. In response to these and related issues, the contributors to this book critique both historical and current practices and suggest several pragmatic options, highlighting the role of education in attaining these noble yet unachieved objectives. This book represents a welcome addition to the human rights and global citizenship literature and provides ideas for new platforms that are human rights friendly and expansively attuned toward global citizenship.

“…this is a well-written and accessible book that takes up issues of human rights and global citizenship from diverse perspectives and challenges schools to ‘achieve more inclusive, socially responsible, and pedagogically transformative spaces’ (p. 8) by including these issues as part of their public purpose. The book is a major contribution to the ever-expanding categories and definitions of human rights.” — Alberta Journal of Educational Research

“This well-written and accessible book provides an excellent analysis of the current issues in education for human rights and global citizenship. The historical framework is valuable, as is the direct questioning of ‘global citizenship for whom?’” — Allan Pitman, University of Western Ontario

At the University of Alberta, Ali A. Abdi is Professor of Education and International Development and Lynette Shultz is Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies. Abdi is the author of Culture, Education, and Development in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives and the coeditor (with Korbla P. Puplampu, and George J. Sefa Dei) of African Education and Globalization: Critical Perspectives.