Children as subjects of rights? The role of HRE in early childhood education in southern Chile

Human rights education at the early childhood level: its integration into the curriculum and the perception of educators

Abstract

Human Rights Education (HRE) promotes a culture of peace, tolerance, and respect, values that are essential to foster in our current weakened democracy. In childhood, its teaching is key to promoting social inclusion, participation, empowerment, and agency. For these reasons, this research aims to analyze the perceptions of early childhood educators about HRE and assess how they relate it to the early childhood curriculum. To achieve this objective, from a qualitative approach and an interpretive perspective, a documentary analysis of the Chilean Early Childhood Curriculum Guidelines (Mineduc, 2018) and a thematic analysis of interviews with four educators from the public education system in southern Chile were carried out. The results reveal a human rights-based approach in the curriculum and the explicit recognition of children as rights-holders, which holds great potential for promoting Human Rights Education. However, this approach is not always recognized by educators. Despite this, they highlight various forms of children's participation in the classroom and consider play as a key tool for promoting human rights. The gap between the prescribed curriculum and the educators' perceptions underscores the need to strengthen initial teacher training to consciously and effectively integrate these principles into their pedagogical practices.