Young adolescents’ positioning of human rights: Findings from Colombia, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and the United States

Abstract

This study investigated how young adolescents thought about the location of human rights issues and the nature of violations in differing geographic regions. Open-ended, task-based interviews were conducted with 116 students in Colombia, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the United States. Although students in each location pointed to a combination of global, national, and local human rights issues, as well as those found in nations distant from their own, the salience of these varied by setting. Variations were consistent with the contexts in which students had learned about human rights; these included personal experience, school instruction, and broader national discourses. This research indicates that students’ understanding of human rights is influenced by a variety of contextual factors, and it suggests that educators may want to consider how they can complement the messages and experiences students encounter in settings outside school.