Report 2008:43 R

Teaching human rights in higher education institutions

The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education (Agency) identified 29 qualification descriptors in the System of Qualifications valid from 1 July 2007 that included statements about human rights and where teaching human rights was a stipulation. This stipulation was included in the majority of study programmes leading to a qualification for the health professions but could also be found in the stipulations for other qualifications, for example teaching, law and social work.

The Agency sent a questionnaire to a selection of higher education institutions offering these types of study programmes. The questionnaire included questions about the teaching of human rights. The Agency has not assessed the contents of the study programmes.
 
The report begins with a reflection about teaching human rights by Elisabeth Abiri, a university lecturer and chair of the Government´s delegation for human rights in Sweden.

The results of the questionnaire indicate that the teaching of human rights occurs in more or less all study programmes leading to professional qualifications and this takes place in a relatively satisfactory manner. Human rights is given a wide interpretation and includes several areas ranging from the texts of conventions about human rights, gender equality, professional ethics and research ethics to the situation for different social groups in Sweden and abroad.
 
The results of the questionnaire also point out several areas in need of improvement. It would appear that the new qualification descriptors have not resulted in any major changes of approach. Neither does teaching competence in the area of human rights appear to have developed in any way. The proportion of teachers with special competence in this area is small. It should also be pointed out that the teaching staff has only had a short time to develop its teaching of human rights.

It would also appear that the rights that are highlighted in the teaching of human rights are the social rights of individuals. Rights to health and culture are mentioned less frequently. This is an area that could be developed. Most of the higher education institutions offering freestanding courses or study programmes in human rights also have the possibility of improving teaching by collaborating internally.