Child’s Rights oriented Teaching and Learning

The poster highlights the integration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into teacher education at the University of Teacher Education Bern. This initiative responds to critiques from the UN Committee regarding insufficient knowledge of the UNCRC among professionals in Switzerland, limiting its transformative potential in education. Funded as part of an innovation project, the aim was to embed children’s rights systematically into teacher training across primary, secondary, special needs, and continuous education programs. The approach followed a step-by-step strategy, starting with identifying connections between the UNCRC and teacher education modules. Using the Whole Institution Approach, the project embedded children's rights into modules covering curriculum learning, social sciences, music, and migration. The UNCRC principles were made accessible by focusing on its general principles and models like Lundy’s framework for participation. Recurring references to the UNCRC in professional practice established it as a practical tool for rights-respecting learning environments. Findings demonstrated the positive impact of this embedded approach on teacher education. It reshaped students’ perceptions of children as rights holders, fostering a deeper understanding of inclusive, differentiated teaching. The integration also improved teacher competencies, enabling better support for diverse learners.