Learning how to speak truth to power – comparing Ukrainian and Swiss foreign language curricula

Abstract

Human Rights Education strives to empower learners to participate meaningfully in a democratic and sustainable society in which human rights are guaranteed for all. Foreign language education enables students to transcend borders, gives them an opportunity to share their views, ideas, and beliefs, and contributes to the development of critical thinking skills. It can thus endow students with a ‘voice’ to claim and defend their rights and learn to ‘speak truth to power’. This article explores if and how the intended foreign language curricula for lower secondary schools in Switzerland and Ukraine integrate human rights education. Drawing on the 2011 UN Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training as an analytical framework, the analysis reveals that ‘education for human rights’ is the best represented dimension in both contexts. Our results may serve as a springboard for exploring further opportunities to integrate human rights education and foreign language education.