Diversity, Human Rights, and Curriculum in Canada.

Although a discussion of human rights is perhaps the most important topic of any social studies curriculum, such discussions are absent from even those curriculum topics where they would seem most appropriate. While the foundational principles of human rights are basic in all cultures throughout history, these basics are seldom taught. This paper seeks to create an awareness of the history and fundamental issues of human rights, and reviews how school curricula in New Brunswick (Canada) reflect human rights controversies. The first section of the paper outlines the basic concepts of natural law and positive law and argues that human rights are based on a universal conceptualization of the human essence. The second section discusses the debate between universalism and the epistemological relativism and anthropological relativism. The last section stresses the importance of helping students comprehend the rights and duties of citizenship. (Contains 14 references.) (BT)