Human rights education implementation in Turkish teacher education: faculty members’ and teacher candidates’ views

Abstract

Teachers play an essential role in promoting human rights and a just society. However, the lack of Human Rights Education (HRE) knowledge, skills, and values among teachers in Turkey is a commonly reported issue. This study aims to assess the need for HRE implementation in the Turkish Teacher Education Programmes (TTEP), where academic research on HRE is scarce. Data were collected from a survey of 632 Teacher Candidates (TCs) and 47 Faculty Members (FMs), interviews with 14 FMs, and focus group interviews with 34 TCs. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analysed using a qualitative data analysis framework proposed by Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña (2019). The results indicate the urgent need to integrate HRE through curricular and extracurricular activities. We also consider the benefits and challenges of implementing HRE in TTEP.