| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
This thesis examines students’ perceptions of human rights and multiculturalism. It is a small-scale, qualitative study conducted in an urban secondary school in South-East Norway with a diverse cultural and socio-economic student population. the thesis’s starting point is Norway’s obligation to provide human rights education (HRE) as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and other international treaties to which it is a signatory, and to ensure that this education is in keeping with the human rights principles of human dignity, equality, justice, and tolerance, principles broadly recognised as elements of multicultural education and multiculturalism in schooling. The study adopts James A. Banks’ (2008) Dimensions of Multicultural Education model and Laura Lundy’s (2007) conceptual model of CRC Article 12 as a theoretical framework for data analysis. CRC Article 12 also informs the research methodology and data gathering processes. Data is gathered through in-depth interviews and a focus group interview with 9th grade students (n. 8) of both visible minority and majority backgrounds, and supplemented with an interview with a 9th grade teacher and data from a pilot study. The study is believed to be the first of the received human rights curriculum in the Norwegian lower secondary school, examining how students’ understandings are influenced by teachers, their peers and the formal and informal school curriculum. Methodologically, data indicated that students’ discourses were influenced by the researcher’s positionality as a woman of colour. HRE is implicit, rather than explicit. While students were positive towards human rights, and to studying diverse cultures and religions, their understanding of human rights in general and familiarity with the CRC in particular, was at best hazy. They were interested in freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Data analysis reveals some students’ engagement in racialization processes. Findings suggest that students learn about gross violations of human rights in distant places, particularly in the Global South, and compare Norway favourably with such places. This makes it difficult for students to engage in critical reflection on human rights close to home. Students reflect critically on their own schooling but do not frame concerns in human rights terms. From students’ perspective, the curriculum partially matched Banks’ Equity Pedagogy dimension. Yet students reported that teachers frequently overlooked racist abuse and micro-aggressions.
Keywords: Norway, human rights education, racialization, belonging, received curriculum, Convention on the Rights of the Child | |