Humanitarian Education
Encyclopedia
Humanitarian education teaches various social topics from a humanitarian perspective. A desire to reduce suffering, save lives and maintain human dignity is central to understanding humanitarian education. It is based on the assumption that people have an innate desire to help others, so is centrally concerned with our shared humanity
.
and Personal, Social and Health Education
. It began to be developed and encouraged in the UK by the British Red Cross during 2005.
and that individuals and groups are more confident, able and willing to help themselves and others when faced with a crisis.
The way in which educators explore with students any topic, issue or event must be within the framework of the principles of humanity
and impartiality. It does not directly address causes and explicitly avoids exploring political, religious, social class
, nationality
, economic, environmental
or other factors that might contribute to or create a crisis.
mean that humanitarian education is sometimes confused with development education or global education, or simply teaching about the work of aid or development NGOs. Adherents also stress that humanitarian education is philosophically and practically distinct from human rights education
, since the humanitarian impulse is founded on needs rather than rights or entitlement.
Humanitarian education is linked to, but distinct from, education about international humanitarian law
, often referred to as the laws of war. Aspects of IHL are often topics within humanitarian education.
Human condition
The human condition encompasses the experiences of being human in a social, cultural, and personal context. It can be described as the irreducible part of humanity that is inherent and not connected to gender, race, class, etc. — a search for purpose, sense of curiosity, the inevitability of...
.
Definition and context
Humanitarian education is an area of learning that concentrates on the desire or impulse to save lives, protect human dignity and reduce suffering. It particularly relates to offering assistance to others in an emergency or crisis and is also used to refer to the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed for individuals and communities to help themselves. In the UK it may appear within curriculum subjects such as citizenshipCitizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
and Personal, Social and Health Education
Personal, Social and Health Education
Personal, social, health and economic education has in various forms been part of the national curriculum for schools in England since 2000. Some aspects, but not all, have been compulsory...
. It began to be developed and encouraged in the UK by the British Red Cross during 2005.
Goals and outcomes
The goal of humanitarian education is that communities increase their resilienceResilience
Resilience is the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored...
and that individuals and groups are more confident, able and willing to help themselves and others when faced with a crisis.
Curriculum content
By exploring crisis situations humanitarian education enables students to recognise that people can overcome adversity. It develops their understanding of humanitarian issues, the skills that build resilience and encourages them to intervene to support others in crisis.The way in which educators explore with students any topic, issue or event must be within the framework of the principles of humanity
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
and impartiality. It does not directly address causes and explicitly avoids exploring political, religious, social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
, economic, environmental
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
or other factors that might contribute to or create a crisis.
Difference from other forms of education
Its origins in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent MovementInternational Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
mean that humanitarian education is sometimes confused with development education or global education, or simply teaching about the work of aid or development NGOs. Adherents also stress that humanitarian education is philosophically and practically distinct from human rights education
Human rights education
Human rights education is the teaching of the history, theory, and law of human rights in schools and educational institutions, as well as outreach to the general public.-Human rights education and the United Nations:...
, since the humanitarian impulse is founded on needs rather than rights or entitlement.
Humanitarian education is linked to, but distinct from, education about international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
, often referred to as the laws of war. Aspects of IHL are often topics within humanitarian education.