Development and motivation of human resources in lifelong education and learning in the defence of the human rights of vulnerable social groups: The case of social services in the Region of Western Greece

This research paper presents the findings of a pilot study I conducted as part of my doctoral research to explore the impact of human rights education on the development and motivation of social services staff in relation to issues of protecting the human rights of vulnerable social groups. The research sample consisted of forty-two heads of social organisations operating in the Region of Western Greece. The main findings of the research show that the training of human resources in human rights issues is associated with an adequate compliance with professional ethical rules as well as a very low negative impact of the characteristics of vulnerable social groups (gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, racial origin, religion, nationality, social and family status, language) in their service by human resources, while it is associated with a low motivation of human resources for the defence of the human rights of vulnerable social groups inside and outside the work environment.