부산대학교 도서관

In contexts such as Brazil, marked by high levels of social inequality and intolerance of difference, it’s essential to promote educative practices that work for equality of opportunity through recognition of cultural differences and human dignity. Our aim is to understand education as a political tool towards social justice, human dignity and equality of rights for everyone and should be in the centre of educational processes. In this research, human rights education (HRE) are examined as one of the ways in which to influence education toward this aim. However, it is essential to maintain a realistic and critical view. By focussing on the tension between equality (rights) and difference (culture), and stressing the political role of human rights education, educators and pupils are more aware of their social roles and the ways that they are represented in society. This work focuses on a case study of a teacher-training programme developed by a well-known NGO in Rio de Janeiro. This NGO, NOVAMERICA, engages school teachers in empowerment for social change, in low-income areas of the wider city that are vulnerable to police violence, crime and other types of abuse. The methodology used for data collection (interviews, observations and document analysis), as well as how the findings were triangulated are exposed trough the investigation. The thesis then dedicates space to illustrate the results at NOVAMERICA. The organization’s dynamic is analysed in depth, the whole teacher training process and its impact in the professional and personal lives of the teachers involved. The last chapter’s aim is to comprehend how human rights education is introduced in the field. Through the interview results it is possible to build up a panorama of the theme with different perspectives, views and attitudes surrounding human rights, and particularly of what is understood of this educational process by the teachers involved. The conclusion presents a proposal to improve teaching training in Brazil, with human rights education as a key area. In order to make this happen, education and society must be focused on promoting a democratic educational process that supports the empowerment of those historically marginalised, and the “renegotiation” of dominant more privileged societal groups.