Availability of the Universal Human Rights Concepts in the Arabic Language Curricula in Palestine

Abstract

This study aimed at identifying the human rights concepts which should be included in the Arabic language textbooks of the primary schools in Palestine. It examines to which degree human rights concepts have been included in the Arabic language textbooks of the primary schools in Palestine. The study population consists of all the Arabic textbooks approved by the ministry of education for the academic year 2013-2014 in the primary schools, as the researchers’ sample is 12 textbooks. They used the descriptive analysis to identify the concepts contained in the Arabic textbooks, and the content analysis was used to identify the human rights concepts contained in the study sample. It was found that there is a realistic perception to integrate the human rights culture within the Arabic language curriculum in Palestine. It was also found that the Arabic language textbooks of the first and second primary grade focus on rights of essential freedoms over social and economic rights. Keywords: Arabic language curricula in Palestine; Human rights concepts;