Inertial constraints to educational change: The case of human rights education in Iceland

Abstract

Despite national education policy that presents human rights as a core curriculum concern, education systems seem to resist the introduction of new content areas. This is not only worrying but unethical, given the human and ecological crises that characterise the world our students inhabit. This paper responds to Jón Torfi Jónasson’s belief that education will remain the same unless there is an understanding of, and even respect for, the inertial constraints that prevent change from taking place. The paper uses data from a broader narrative inquiry on human rights education (HRE) to illustrate how inertial constraints operate in the context of upper secondary school teachers working with human rights in Iceland. A reflexive thematic analysis suggests systemic inertia leaves teachers working as individuals depending on tacit human rights knowledge in school environments. Tacit knowledge makes acceptable dominant hierarchical practices that encourage hostility to new content and ideas. The paper concludes with implications of a lack of institutional accountability for human rights, raising questions of significance for teacher education and HRE in Iceland and internationally.