Part II Human rights education theory, principles and approach Banking education:73 Some education relies on information-giving as the only method. In this form of education, the educator is seen as the authority of the knowledge. The participants are treated as if they have no knowledge or experience that can contribute to the leaning. Human rights education risks becoming a “banking” process if the only methods used are “giving information”. Bottom-up/top-down perspective: The bottom-up/top-down dimension describes the behaviour of an individual or group when it imposes its views and ideas onto another individual or group. This is particularly so when the relationship is hierarchical and power-based. A “top-down” process can be important and effective; a department of education, for example, may decide that all teachers will include human rights education in the curriculum. Effective human rights education, however, relies significantly on a “bottom-up” approach, where based on fundamental human rights principles people are encouraged to relate these to their own contexts, attitudes and behaviours and actions. Figure 4.1: Bottom-up/top-down perspective Top-down Bottom-up Critical pedagogy:74 It is important to encourage participants to think critically about their own situations and to make connections between their individual issues, priorities and experiences and their wider contexts. A critical pedagogy of education involves encouraging a deep understanding of the world and the events that impact on the world’s communities. It also includes taking action. The role of the human rights educator is to provide an opportunity for participants to identify shared concerns, analyse them and find agreed and practical solutions. Dialogical education: Real learning happens when people communicate, and listen to, different experiences, thoughts and ideas. Through genuine dialogue, everyone learns. The role of the human rights educator is to create a genuine “learning community” where those involved, included the educator, are able learn from each other. 73 A term coined by Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968). 74 Ibid. Chapter 4: Human rights education theory and principles | 31