Human Rights Education with Socioscientific Issues through the Environmental Education Courses

Purpose: Human rights education is vital for democratic societies. For an effective human rights education, teachers need to have an in-depth comprehension regarding human rights in the first place. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop, implement and evaluate the Human Rights Curriculum Based on Socioscientific issues as Part of the Environmental Education Course (HRCSEC) for pre-service primary school teachers (PPSTs). Method: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental study with non-equivalent pre-test/post-test control group. The participants of the study include 77 PSPTs 38 of whom were included in the experimental group and 39 of whom were included in the control group. The implementation lasted for 14 weeks within the scope of the study. Results: The study results showed that following the implementation the experimental group pre-service teachers had significantly higher knowledge and attitudes regarding human rights compared to the control group pre-service teachers. In addition, the experimental group pre-service teachers were equipped with various acquisitions, in addition to knowledge and attitude development regarding human rights, such as, the relationship between environment and human rights and knowledge development. Implications for Research and Practice: According to the results of the research, it can be suggested to establish a human rights connection with SSI in environmental education courses for PSPTs to gain a holistic understanding of environment and human rights and in order to gain knowledge and attitude about human rights. For comprehensive information on the situation, studies can be conducted in environmental courses at different levels of education. (c) 2018 Ani Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved