"Human Rights and Education": Theory and praxis in an educational context - report of an experience in Higher Education in Portugal

Abstract

Human rights education and citizenship education constitutes the main goal of the curricular unit of Human Rights and Education, inserted in the 1st year of the Degree in Social Education taught at the Higher School of Education and Social Sciences (ESECS) of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal It aims to promote knowledge of what human rights are, their meaning, their inherent values and principles, the main legal instruments that proclaim and protect them, as well as their importance and focus on generic and specific contexts, mainly: educational and social contexts. It is intended to contribute to the education of responsible, autonomous, solidary citizens, who know and exercise their rights and duties, in dialogue and respect for others. In this text, it is intended to discuss theory and praxis in the teaching of the curricular unit of Human Rights and Education, with special focus on the respective teaching-learning process.