A Question of Commitment: Children’s Rights in Canada

10. Children's Rights Education: Canada's Best-Kept Secret

Katherine Covell, Department of Psychology and Children’s Rights Centre, Cape Breton University Introduction Canada is justly proud of its human rights record, its Charter of Rights, and that it ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. As a self-proclaimed world leader in human rights, it is ironic that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter the Convention) remains Canada’s best-kept rights secret. In ratifying the Convention, Canada agreed to make its provisions widely known. Yet more than a decade after ratification, there remains little knowledge among the public about the Convention.1 The dearth of knowledge is particularly evident among children —those for whom the Convention is intended. Rather than systematic education about the provisions and principles of the Convention, there have been sporadic initiatives and a seeming reluctance to act in more than a symbolic manner. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child repeatedly has called for the integration of the Convention into school curricula. That call appears not to have been heard. In this chapter, it will be shown that there is little evidence in Canada of commitment to children’s rights education in schools, and that systematic implementation would require some changes in teacher training and in the orientation of education officials. A model of children’s rights education, and its outcomes, will be described. First, however, it is important to clarify what is meant by children’s rights education. 10 Children’s Rights Education Canada’s Best-Kept Secret Katherine Covell 241 What Is Children’s Rights Education? The Convention on the Rights of the Child has nine articles that address children’s rights to and in education. The focus of this chapter is on children ’s rights in education. However, first, it is important to note that articles 23 and 28 specify children’s rights to education. These rights include the right to free primary education, and to accessible secondary and higher education, and the right of children with disabilities to appropriate education and supports. Canada’s record in education generally is consistent with articles 23 and 28. Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties continue to experience some exclusion from the regular classroom, but overall, Canada’s record on inclusion of children with exceptionalities is improved.2 Children’s rights in education specify what and how children should be taught. The umbrella term of children’s rights education is used for these rights. Children’s rights education is the explicit teaching of the rights in the Convention in an environment that itself models and respects those rights. Education does not just occur in the classroom. Children learn both from the formal curriculum and from the informal or “hidden ” curriculum. The hidden curriculum—the way students are treated by teachers and administrators, teaching styles, disciplinary strategies, the school’s policies and practices—has a profound impact on what students learn.3 It is, therefore, important not only to teach children in their classrooms what their specific rights are, but also to respect and promote children ’s rights in all aspects of school life. The overarching content and goals of children’s rights education are specified in articles 29 and 42; the appropriate pedagogy and the basis for school rules and regulations are described in articles 12 to 15. In addition , article 16 protects the child’s privacy and has relevance to policies such as locker searches, and under article 28, children have the right to disciplinary procedures that protect the dignity of the child and are in conformity with the other Convention rights. True children’s rights education requires that curricula and school policies and practices be consistent with all of these articles. The rights of the Convention are interrelated and were not intended to be in a hierarchy. This is very clear in rights relating to education. Article 29 specifies the goals and the general content of education. First, teachers are expected to provide education that promotes the optimum physical, social, and cognitive development of each child. Education , then should take into account the development of the whole child, with attention paid to much more than the dissemination of information. The child’s physical development should be promoted through physical 242 Katherine Covell education as well as health and nutrition teachings, and the child’s social development should be promoted through the provision of appropriate opportunities for social interaction, and teaching...