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Teacher’s vital role in strengthening the rule of law through education

Teachers are vital to developing students’ knowledge, attitude and skills to constructively and responsibly engage in society, uphold the principle of justice and help build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.

UNESCO and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have partnered on a joint project titled "UNESCO/UNODC Initiative on Global Citizenship Education: Doing the Right Thing" aiming to improve the capacities of policymakers, educators, teacher trainers and curriculum developers to design and implement educational interventions addressing today’s challenges to peace, justice and the rule of law.

UNESCO and UNODC’s recent publication, Strengthening the rule of law through education: A guide for policymakers, offers concrete examples of how schools and teachers can increase trust and serve as models of just societies. For instance, when teachers establish fair classroom rules and enforce them uniformly, children and youth experience first-hand equal treatment, transparency and accountability, which are key elements of the rule of law. In addition, when teachers empower students to co-create classroom rules, young people recognize that they have an active role in shaping governance.

In contexts when ethical norms and values taught and modelled in schools are not prevalent outside of schools, it important that education programmes inspire learners’ motivation, and confidence to improve their situation. For example, teachers can facilitate the dialogue and exposure of young people with former actors of violence who recount their stories of transformation to develop positive role models.

In addition to this guide, UNESCO and UNODC are currently developing primary and secondary level teacher toolkits that include activities, lessons and resources to strengthen the rule of law, available October 2019. For more information, visit the project site at Global Citizenship Education for the Rule of Law: Doing the Right Thing.