Developing of Human Rights Curriculum in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study

Human rights protect the dignity and liberty of every human being, therefore governments should direct their education and training towards promoting the enjoyment of human rights. This study aimed to develop a human rights curriculum for higher education in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Based on the qualitative design and case study methodology, to determine the necessary elements for developing a human rights curriculum, the opinion of professors and experts of law and social sciences in Shahid Beheshti, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Kerman universities was obtained by using an open-ended and semi-structured questionnaire with purposeful sampling and theoretical saturation technique. Then, the obtained data were categorized and organized into basic, organizing, and global themes by using N-Vivo software which created a thematic network. The triangulation method was used to validate the qualitative data.

A human rights curriculum (global theme) has some dimensions such as content, logic, goals, methods, and learning environment as organizing themes, and each of these has different levels and various basic themes that should be considered in developing a human rights curriculum.

Human rights are realized through conscious and continuous demands for the rights of all individuals and learning, understanding, protecting and respecting these rights are vital for their realization. Therefore, educating about human rights plays a major role in the persistent protection of human rights and fighting against their violation and it is an important investment in achieving a society in which all people are respected and valued.