The Human Right to Education, the Ethical Responsibility of Curriculum, and the Irony in “Safe Spaces” .......... 407

Authors

Petro du Preez
Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education Sciences, School of Education at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus (South Africa)

Synopsis

Scholarly explorations have revealed that neither “education” nor “rights” are static concepts and that their varying interpretations have a direct influence on the way we understand the right to education. This paper will, firstly, aim to contribute to a more nu-anced understanding of education and rights. Secondly, this paper will attend to the plea of curriculum renewal and the ethical turn in the study of curriculum that necessitates us to rethink how we curriculate and to think about our ethical responsibilities where the right to education is concerned. Lastly – based on literature that indicates that the use of the notion of safe spaces is often ambiguous – the implications of the right to education and the ethical responsibility of curriculum will be discussed in the context of the notion “safe spaces”.

Author Biography

Petro du Preez, Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education Sciences, School of Education at the North West University, Potchefstroom Campus (South Africa)

Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies at the North West University (Potchefstroom Campus). She obtained her PhD from the University of Stellenbosch in 2008. In 2006 she received a German Academic Exchange Service scholarship to study in Germany. Her research foci includes: curriculum studies and human rights for diverse education environments. Petro’s research involvement includes national and international projects funded by the National Research Foundation, the South African Netherlands Partnership on Alternatives in Development, and the Danish International Development Agency. She has delivered several papers and published widely on the topics of human rights in education for multicultural and multireligious environments.

Forthcoming

23 July 2013

Series

How to Cite

Preez, P. du . (2013) “The Human Right to Education, the Ethical Responsibility of Curriculum, and the Irony in ‘Safe Spaces’ . 407”, in Mazur, K. and Musiewicz, P. (eds.) Promoting Changes in Times of Transition and Crisis: Reflections on Human Rights Education. Poland: Księgarnia Akademicka Publishing (Societas), pp. 407–420. doi:10.12797/9788376383651.28.