Toward cosmopolitan ethics in teacher education: an ontological dimension of learning human rights

Abstract

There is a globalization trend in teacher education, emphasizing the role of teachers to make judgments based on human rights in their teaching profession. Rather than emphasizing the epistemological dimension of acquiring knowledge about human rights through teacher education, an ontological dimension is emphasized in this paper of what it means to become a professional teacher. An ontological dimension of ‘learning to become’ can be captured in critical examination of a cosmopolitan awareness of teachers in relation to judgment and justice. I read the critique through studies on human rights in teacher education, which transforms notions of openness and respect in relations marked by difference.

Keywords::

• ontological
• teacher education
• human rights
• ethics
• becoming

Notes

^1. Osler contrasts this legal approach to human rights learning in a joint article with Zhu (2011) where she explores a narrative learning of human rights.

^2. For further reading on this note, see George-Jackson (2010).