HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION: QUALITY, POLICIES, AND PROGRESS. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN AND BRITISH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

ABSTRACT The quest for human equality, dignity, and respect for fundamental human rights has continued to plague the human race. Hence, the need to address the issues of discrimination, respect for fundamental human rights, gender mainstreaming, and all variants of imbalance that the human rights systems try to address. In an attempt to understand and proffer a durable and sustainable solution, one would discover a working tool in the Human Rights Education (HRE) system. Human Rights Education is conceived to pave way for a world that respects human rights through an awareness of and commitment to the normative goals laid out in the Universal Declaration and other key documents. In addition, Human rights education (or the construction of a human rights culture) is inherently revolutionary: if implemented effectively, it has the potential to generate social opposition, alongside rising demands for justice and accountability (Cardenas,2005). Human rights education in early childhood is about how and which human rights become part of and affect young children's everyday practices and, more particularly, how very young children enact and learn human rights. Through the application of human rights theory, Early childhood Education theory, and pedagogy to early childhood education in Italy and Britain, this study establishes practices, policies, and methods suitable for the development of Human rights culture in early childhood and the need to intensify research on Early childhood Human rights education (ECHRE). After an extensive examination of all documents and information, it is noted that in other to achieve a sustainable HRE, there has to be a conscious effort to reform national educational systems to include HRE educational structures in ECE, revamping and management of the education system to include HRE, teaching/learning practices, the revision and adaptation of learning materials and tools to teach HRE in ECE, and the adequate preparation of educational personnel for this enormous task while not overemphasizing the role of family, parents and guardians, non-governmental and international organisations in the teaching, study and development of HRE in ECE. Key words- Human Rights education, Early Childhood Education, Policy,Italy ,Britain